I smoked a few cigarettes this past weekend without even knowing it. That’s when Denver earned the dubious honor of the worst air quality of any large city in the world. Wasn’t even our pollution—smoke from fires in California and Oregon just settled here. Air experts cautioned against outdoor exercise, saying a day outside would be like smoking two packs of cigarettes! I was blissfully unaware of the respiratory hazards as I mowed my lawn and gardened that morning.
The air situation got me thinking about the quality of our mental atmosphere. I suggest our thoughts have a much greater life and death impact than passing particulate matter challenging our lungs. Mowing my grass, I neither smelled smoke nor sensed danger. Most of us live equally oblivious to the real threat of ungodly influences.
The world, and its prince, the devil, constantly barrage us with thought programming. These voices share what they deem newsworthy and name your next fear; they tell you how you should live, and what you should want. While touting individuality and independent thought, through every electronic and print medium they demand conformity to their values, mindset, and speech.
The pressure to sing the world’s tune was no different in Jesus’s day, and they complained when He wouldn’t even hum along. He compared it to kids whining, “We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep” (Luke 7:32). God’s message has always run perpendicular to the world’s “Simon says” game, because the mind set on the flesh brings death, while He offers life and peace (Romans 8:6).
How can a child of God filter out faith-choking ideology? Take a few minutes to ask God whether you’ve opened windows to compromising pollutants and note what He brings to mind. Are you tuned into channels or relationships that stir anxiety, empower pride (self-reliance or self-centeredness), draw you away from God, or encourage conformity to this world?
God’s not far away—He’s with you this second to help you. In Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28). He’ll instruct you and teach you which way you should go, and counsel you (Psalm 32:8).
A literal translation of Proverbs 12:17 would read “He who breathes truth declares righteousness, but a false witness, deceit.” Choose your inputs. Breathe in oxygenating truth—let it fill your mind and soul; exhale and activate it through your thoughts and words. You can count on God’s Word for life-giving truth. Take a deep breath. Turn God’s voice up and turn the world’s voice down. You’ll breathe more easily and be more likely to leave a better smell behind, wherever you go. (See 2 Corinthians 2:14!)
Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God (1 Corinthians 2:12).
Thanks for such timely thoughts and Bible passages, JB. Something underscored to me this week how we can easily be deceived by what’s happening around us. Two nights ago, I thought I smelled something burning in my living room. “Oh,” I thought, “the smoke from the West Coast fires is coming into my house through my HVAC system!” I put up with it for a while, got concerned about my pet birds, and kept wondering why the smell was so strong. Finally, I glanced down at my coffee table and realized I had laid a hardback book that I’d been reading on top of my electric coffee warmer, which turns on whenever something semi-heavy is placed upon it!! The kleenex that lay between the book and the hot plate, was already singed brown by the heat — even the book had started baking! In light of your timely blog entry, I wonder – do I think my spirit is immune to constant exposure to the world’s “smog”, just because I acknowledge it’s there? Maybe I need to install a spiritual HVAC filter on what I allow into my house! 🙂