On frosty winter days I love to bake cookies. The aroma fills the kitchen and brightens my spirits. I look forward to that first warm bite of a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie and the refreshment of a cold glass of milk. Mmmmm.
We live in such abundance in this country. We have the luxury of books, movies and freshly baked cookies. Compared to much of the world, we live like kings and queens. Recently we watched the movie, Ratatouille, in which the main character, Remy (a rat), is delegated to be the food taster for all the rest of the rats because he has a special gift sniffing out rat poison. Before eating any morsels, each rat presents its food to Remy, who determines if it is safe to eat or not – somewhat similar to when kings had food tasters to prevent being poisoned by the enemy.
God tells us that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. In other words, we are carriers of the presence of God. What we ‘feed’ ourselves affects the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, and affects our lives as well.
I Peter 1:15-16
But as the One Who called you is holy, you yourselves also be holy in all your conduct and manner of living. For it is written, You shall be holy, for I am holy.
Are we living holy lives even in the choices we make as to the books we read or which movies we see? “Character and conduct begin in the mind. Our actions are affected by the things we dwell on in our thoughts.” {author unknown} What affects our thoughts? The things we see or experience. That includes books and movies. They aren’t harmless forms of entertainment. Their content influences our thoughts and therefore our character and conduct.
Ephesians 5:1, 11
Therefore, be imitators of God as dear children. Take no part in and have no fellowship with the fruitless deeds and enterprises of darkness, but instead let your lives be so in contrast as to expose and reprove and convict them.
II Corinthians 7:1
….let us cleanse ourselves from everything that contaminates and defiles body and spirit, and bring our consecration to completeness in the (reverential) fear of God.
So how do we determine what is safe to ‘consume’? After Jesus died on the cross for our sins, He sent His Holy Spirit to guide and to teach all believers what is good and what is evil (John 14 and 16). In addition, the scriptures are filled with teachings on what is righteous and unrighteousness. If you want just a short snippet of guidance, read Ephesians 5.
So when it comes to our choices of entertainment, we have two forms of quality control. Just like a taste tester, if we submit those choices to God and ask for His wisdom, the Holy Spirit will warn us about what is poison (ungodly) and what is healthy (godly). God’s standards for choosing are in His Word – the Bible. The more we read His Word and learn what pleases Him, the easier it becomes to make choices that honor Him. We’re going to make mistakes. God knows that. He’s looking at our hearts to see if our intent is to please Him. God’s Word says that our hearts are deceitful and we can’t always trust ourselves to make wise choices - another reason for studying the Word and asking for wisdom.
If we call Jesus Christ our Savior, is He also Lord of our lives? Of all of our choices? Even books and movies?
Like a freshly baked cookie, does the latest movie or new bestseller smell good to you? Are you tempted to read it, before running it past the ‘taste tester’ (God’s Word, the Holy Spirit)?
Before you take a bite, ask yourself, ‘Is there poison in that cookie?’
We live in such abundance in this country. We have the luxury of books, movies and freshly baked cookies. Compared to much of the world, we live like kings and queens. Recently we watched the movie, Ratatouille, in which the main character, Remy (a rat), is delegated to be the food taster for all the rest of the rats because he has a special gift sniffing out rat poison. Before eating any morsels, each rat presents its food to Remy, who determines if it is safe to eat or not – somewhat similar to when kings had food tasters to prevent being poisoned by the enemy.
God tells us that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. In other words, we are carriers of the presence of God. What we ‘feed’ ourselves affects the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, and affects our lives as well.
I Peter 1:15-16
But as the One Who called you is holy, you yourselves also be holy in all your conduct and manner of living. For it is written, You shall be holy, for I am holy.
Are we living holy lives even in the choices we make as to the books we read or which movies we see? “Character and conduct begin in the mind. Our actions are affected by the things we dwell on in our thoughts.” {author unknown} What affects our thoughts? The things we see or experience. That includes books and movies. They aren’t harmless forms of entertainment. Their content influences our thoughts and therefore our character and conduct.
Ephesians 5:1, 11
Therefore, be imitators of God as dear children. Take no part in and have no fellowship with the fruitless deeds and enterprises of darkness, but instead let your lives be so in contrast as to expose and reprove and convict them.
II Corinthians 7:1
….let us cleanse ourselves from everything that contaminates and defiles body and spirit, and bring our consecration to completeness in the (reverential) fear of God.
So how do we determine what is safe to ‘consume’? After Jesus died on the cross for our sins, He sent His Holy Spirit to guide and to teach all believers what is good and what is evil (John 14 and 16). In addition, the scriptures are filled with teachings on what is righteous and unrighteousness. If you want just a short snippet of guidance, read Ephesians 5.
So when it comes to our choices of entertainment, we have two forms of quality control. Just like a taste tester, if we submit those choices to God and ask for His wisdom, the Holy Spirit will warn us about what is poison (ungodly) and what is healthy (godly). God’s standards for choosing are in His Word – the Bible. The more we read His Word and learn what pleases Him, the easier it becomes to make choices that honor Him. We’re going to make mistakes. God knows that. He’s looking at our hearts to see if our intent is to please Him. God’s Word says that our hearts are deceitful and we can’t always trust ourselves to make wise choices - another reason for studying the Word and asking for wisdom.
If we call Jesus Christ our Savior, is He also Lord of our lives? Of all of our choices? Even books and movies?
Like a freshly baked cookie, does the latest movie or new bestseller smell good to you? Are you tempted to read it, before running it past the ‘taste tester’ (God’s Word, the Holy Spirit)?
Before you take a bite, ask yourself, ‘Is there poison in that cookie?’
