This is from the current issue (Aug.) of Pressing On Magazine, Click Here For More Information.

What Are We Consuming?

This is a good question when we are shopping for groceries, ordering from a menu or preparing food at home. Most of us love salt and sugar, yet we know our consumption of these substances must be controlled. Though our discipline may often lag behind our knowledge, the objective knowledge remains. It is good to watch what we consume. Wise behavior needs our consistent attention.

I know that paragraph might have been a bit painful to read. Pain Alert! I’m going to take this to another level. Should we pause and evaluate our online consumption?

If what we put in our bodies deserves good thought and practice, what about what we put in our minds? When we open a computer browser, think of that as a container holding what we are about to mentally consume. When we view social media, read emails and do all those Google searches, we are feeding our minds through our eyes and ears. What are we putting in our minds through online content? We know this is important. But online technology makes it so effortless to ignore.

Newsfeeds and websites we view and read may be the sugar and salt that is hard to turn down. We need to stop and think about our digital diet. When we read a newsfeed (cable news, websites with specific agendas or social media), we are reading what another human being saw or heard, or thought they saw or heard. They are writing about that event, person or idea based on their worldview. It may at first seem to fit something we want to say. Yet blind trust may lead us astray, little by little. Or leave a subtle impression in our minds that is like a seed planted that may not yield good fruit.

Memes are sometimes defined as pieces of cultural material captured by image and quotes. Do we ever source a meme? Do we spread it or share it impulsively? Do we see something in sync with our assumptions or beliefs, then quickly hit the share button? These are good questions but the primary question is, what are we consuming?

Is your mind hungry? Feed it and be nourished.

Truth Connection: Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. (Matt. 4:4, 5:6)