Saturday Read: The Power of What You Consume
You are what you eat - not just physically but mentally and spiritually. What you consume shapes who you become. The content you watch, the music you listen to, the books you read, the social media you scroll, the conversations you engage in - all of it deposits into your heart and mind, influencing thoughts, shaping values, and forming character.
Paul wrote: "Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things" (Philippians 4:8). This isn't suggestion for occasionally pleasant thoughts. It's command to deliberately direct mental attention toward what's worthy, to intentionally consume what builds up rather than tears down.
Modern technology has made consumption easier and more constant than ever in human history. Previous generations consumed content deliberately - choosing books to read, attending performances, seeking out music. Now content streams continuously, algorithms feed us what keeps us engaged, and we consume passively without conscious decision. We scroll mindlessly, watch automatically, listen absently - letting others curate what enters our minds.
This matters because consumption shapes formation. What you consume repeatedly becomes familiar. What becomes familiar feels normal. What feels normal influences behavior. If you consume violence constantly, you become desensitized to it. If you consume pornography regularly, you rewire your brain's pleasure pathways. If you consume outrage perpetually, you become chronically angry. If you consume comparison endlessly, you become perpetually dissatisfied.
Jesus warned: "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness" (Matthew 6:22-23). What you allow into your eyes - what you watch, what you view, what you focus on - fills your inner life with either light or darkness. You can't consume darkness constantly and expect to produce light.
This doesn't mean complete isolation from difficult content. Jesus engaged with sinners, Paul quoted pagan poets, Christians must understand the world we're called to witness in. But there's difference between strategic engagement and passive consumption, between understanding culture and being shaped by it, between knowing what exists and dwelling on it.
Proverbs 4:23 commands: "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." Your heart - the center of thoughts, emotions, and will - is the wellspring of your life. What flows out of you in words, actions, and attitudes flows from what you've deposited into your heart through consumption. If you fill your heart with anger, anger flows out. If you fill it with lust, lust flows out. If you fill it with gratitude, gratitude flows out.
How do you guard your heart in age of unlimited content? First, be intentional about consumption. Don't just scroll whatever appears - deliberately choose what you'll watch, read, and listen to. Ask: Is this true? Noble? Right? Pure? Lovely? Admirable? If not, why am I consuming it?
Second, practice digital Sabbath. Designate times when you're offline, unplugged, disconnected from constant content stream. Create space for silence, reflection, prayer - activities that require you to engage actively rather than consume passively.
Third, audit your consumption patterns. What do you actually watch, read, listen to? Not what you think you should consume or wish you consumed, but what you actually do consume? Track it for a week. You might be surprised - and convicted - by the gap between your stated values and actual consumption.
Fourth, replace as much as you subtract. Don't just eliminate negative content - fill that space with positive content. If you stop scrolling social media, start reading Scripture. If you stop watching shows that glorify sin, start watching things that inspire virtue. Nature abhors vacuum - if you create space without filling it, something will fill it anyway.
Finally, remember that formation is slow and gradual. One movie won't ruin you. One song won't corrupt you. One article won't deform you. But patterns of consumption over months and years will shape you profoundly - either toward Christ or away from him, toward light or toward darkness, toward life or toward death.
What you consume today is forming who you'll become tomorrow. Choose wisely.
