Purity

Purity

And now, dear brothers and sisters, let me say one more thing as I close this letter. Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

Philippians 4:8

One day when I was a child, my family was getting ready for a day trip with some church friends to the sand dunes. Mom had cooked a fancy lunch of chicken breasts and potato salad. She had even baked a pie for dessert. As we were walking out the door, my mom said, “Bob, would you please take the trash out to the garage before we leave?” My dad dutifully picked up the bag that he thought was the garbage and placed it inside a trash can in our garage.

When my family arrived at the dunes a couple of hours later, we quickly discovered that the bag in our trunk was not the bag of food we thought it was. It was just a bag full of garbage. My mom felt heartsick when she and my dad discovered the mix-up, though she has fun telling the story now.

I can’t imagine any of us sitting down to a meal of garbage and actually ingesting it into our bodies. We’re much more sanitation-conscious than that. But do we take the same precautions with our—and our children’s—eyes, ears, and minds? Are we careful to filter out the things we see, hear, and think about, so that we keep garbage out of our hearts? “No one would allow garbage at his table,” said Fulton John Sheen, “but many allow it served into their minds.” Let’s not mix up the food with the garbage.

Father,

We want to pursue purity in our lives, not garbage. Thank you that as we trust you, you share your righteousness with us. In Jesus’ name, amen.