1 Peter 5:8 says “Stay alert! Watch out for our great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.”
The devil slips in quietly through out toxic influences that we barely even notice, through what we watch on TV, the music we listen to, for example. Things that once offended us not longer bother us., such as certain TV shows or movies, jokes, pictures or videos, might entice us. They creep in an poison our minds, lives and relationships.
Five truths about toxic influences:
- What we consume shapes our mindset.
Philippians 4:8 says, “And now dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about these things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”
When it comes to diet and exercise and good physical shape is is 80% diet and 20% exercise. There is a lot of similarities between that and our spiritual health and our physical health. We come to church and serve, but maybe only 20% is spent at church. But outside of church you may be watching things you shouldn’t watch and listen to things you shouldn’t hear.
The average person spends about 2 hrs and 24 min. per day on social media, spends about 3-5 hours watching TV, 18-20.7 hours per week listening to music and 4-1/2 to 5-1/2 hours on their phone daily. The pastor couldn’t find a statistic about much time people spend reading the Bible daily, which means most people do read their Bible. He did find that only 11% of people read their Bible daily. What we consume, what we feed our minds, it shapes the way that we live and think. - The company we keep directs out path. Proverbs 13:20 says, “Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble.” The people you surround yourself intentionally or unintentionally influence the direction of your life. It can be positive or negative. Who are you surrounding yourself with? Are you being intentional about surrounding yourself with Christians?
- What we normalize defines our standards. Romans 12:2 says, “Do not copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good, pleasing, and perfect.” All of us have a tendency to compare ourselves to others. This determines what is normal. What is normal, unfortunately what is right. There is a very small amount of people who stand on God’s word. The more conform to the world’s standards, the further we drift from God.
- What we prioritize reveals your heart. Matthew 6:21 says “Wherever your treasure is. there the desires of your heart will also be.”If someone was hired to follow you around and had unlimited access to everything, and their job was to simply observe you for 30 days. At the end of those 30 days what they find out about you? Are you a Christian? Are your time, treasure and talent further the kingdom of God and make an eternal difference. Or would they find you using your time, treasure and talent to make a worldly difference and accolades? What are your top priorities? How are you spending your time, treasure and talent?It is easy to let things slip and take our priority. We need to make sure our actions align with our words.
- What we allow determines our future. Galatians 6:7-8 says, “Do not be misled-you cannot mock the justice of God. Yo will always harvest what your plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death. But those those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.”
It is easy to dismiss toxic influences and dismiss them as no big deal. What goes in will eventually come out. Our Spirit and our flesh are constantly at war with each other. The Spirit wants to pull your toward God; flesh wants to pull you towards sin. The one that grows stronger within you is always the one that you feed. Which one are you feeding the most, the flesh or the Spirit? Are you sowing to the flesh, or are you sowing to the Spirit.. If is toxic, let it go, if it is pulling you away from God, lay it down. If is shaping you more to the image of this world than the image of Christ, repent and realign your life. You can’t control what comes at you, but you can control what you allow in.
This article is a review of Pastor Sean Payne’s message on 8-13-25, about Toxic Thoughts; Crossroads Baptist Church, Hartwell, GA, used with permission)