Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey - Ep 140 ｜ Whatever Is Lovely

00:00:00.000 Hey guys, welcome to Relatable. I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer day.

00:00:05.900 So a question that I get a lot is how we as Christians should approach what we watch,

00:00:13.380 what we listen to, the things that we consume. It can be really difficult to be, as we Christians

00:00:20.660 often say, in the world but not of the world. What does that look like? What does it mean to

00:00:25.840 be too legalistic about that kind of stuff? Does that mean that we can't have any fun at all?

00:00:30.920 Or is it a matter of holiness and righteousness to make sure that we are being set apart in the

00:00:36.040 things that we consume? First of all, let me just say I did not and do not want to do this episode.

00:00:43.480 Like I don't want to. I tried to think of different subjects that I could cover that are not this one

00:00:50.020 because I knew that while preparing for this and while writing this podcast, I was going to be

00:00:57.220 convicted about the things that I listened to and watched and I was. So that said, I am not giving

00:01:03.300 you this episode as someone who has been perfect in this by any means, not even close. It's something

00:01:10.120 that I am learning and really have learned, I would say more than ever, preparing for this podcast

00:01:15.460 and that I'm being sanctified in because I'm actually going into the word of God saying,

00:01:20.720 okay, what does it say about the things that I should consume? It's very easy to get lazy on

00:01:25.860 things like this. But in my learning, I have recognized just how important it is to be careful

00:01:32.620 about the things that we put in our mind. So just know that I am not just some mom, just some prude or

00:01:40.100 something like that that is speaking from a place of like hating all things secular. I mean,

00:01:43.520 one of my favorite shows of all time is the Sopranos of all time. I can tell you right now

00:01:48.940 that that is not a show that is going to fall into the category of lovely or pure or right. So

00:01:54.620 know that this is not coming from a place of condemnation. This is coming from a place of

00:01:59.840 dang it. I need to, and we need to align ourselves in our lives to the Bible. And we are going to work

00:02:07.880 to do that together through this episode today. So before we actually do that, we need to know

00:02:13.700 what the Bible says about all of this. The first verse, as you can tell from the title of this

00:02:20.680 podcast episode, the first verse that I think of when I consider this question is, and this question

00:02:26.200 is, what should we be filling our minds with is Philippians 4.8. Finally, brothers and sisters,

00:02:32.680 whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,

00:02:38.100 whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things. This was

00:02:45.280 an exhortation to the Philippian church, and it really doesn't need any more context than that to

00:02:49.800 understand exactly what God through Paul means by this particular verse. So what things should we be

00:02:56.340 thinking about as Christians according to this verse? Things that are true, whatever is noble,

00:03:01.320 whatever is right, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, anything that is excellent, anything

00:03:07.280 that is praiseworthy. I mean, how many things, when I read this list, how many things can I think of

00:03:12.160 that I consider throughout the day or that I dwell on throughout the day that do not fall into these

00:03:17.720 categories? How many things do I think about other people, people who make me mad online, politicians who

00:03:23.740 say ridiculous things? How often am I thinking about things about them that are not lovely

00:03:31.180 or kind or true or right or good? How often am I feeling some kind of resentment thinking about

00:03:37.360 what someone has done to me, why they're wrong, hoping it catches up to them? How often am I

00:03:42.100 anxious considering the worst case scenario in the situations I'm facing? How often am I negative

00:03:49.200 and cynical? The answer to all of those questions is a lot. And how much of the content that I'm

00:03:56.640 listening to via podcasts on television and my music is corrupt and is not glorifying to God and

00:04:02.880 is fueling these negative thoughts that don't fall into the categories that are listed in Philippians

00:04:08.220 4.8. Because the fact of the matter is what we consume has a profound effect, a profound impact on

00:04:15.520 what we think. It is impossible for any of us to be unaffected by the things we watch and listen to

00:04:22.640 for better or for worse. For example, when you are sinning, we've all been in some kind, probably

00:04:29.120 some kind of season of rebellion, either before you were a Christian or after you knew about the

00:04:35.540 Bible and knew about Christianity, but you decided to go your own way. When you're in a season of 0.96

00:04:41.120 rebelling against God, where you're doing something that you know you shouldn't be, how easy is it to

00:04:47.020 read your Bible and listen to worship music or listen to a sermon? If you do have the Holy Spirit

00:04:52.020 inside of you as you've chosen to sin in a particular way, it's not easy. It hurts. You

00:04:57.820 know that something's got to give. Either you've got to separate yourself from what you're reading

00:05:01.960 in scripture and tune out the truth being sung in the worship music or in the sermon, or you have

00:05:08.240 to stop sinning. When you are in the midst of sin of doing that, which you know the Bible tells you

00:05:14.380 not to do, what do you want to read and what do you want to watch and listen to instead? You either

00:05:20.240 want to listen to mindless content or the kinds of things that affirm your choices. You will do

00:05:26.500 anything to get away from your guilt, to stop thinking about it. You will do anything to avoid

00:05:32.280 conviction. Of course, we don't only watch and listen to these things to avoid some kind of

00:05:38.640 conviction of sin. We ingest these things for entertainment because we like them, because we

00:05:44.100 want to numb our minds after a long day, because they're just funny. But no matter what the reason is,

00:05:49.400 the point is this, the kind of content that we take in has a direct and significant impact on our

00:05:55.700 thoughts, on our feelings, and consequently on what we do. This is true whether you are a Christian or

00:06:01.540 not. Being a Christian does not make you immune to the effects of worldly shows or podcasts.

00:06:08.940 So the question I've had to ask myself is this, how much of what I'm listening to is truly noble and

00:06:15.280 praiseworthy? And according, not according to the world, but according to God. If God asked me,

00:06:21.660 Allie, is what you're watching or listening to noble and praiseworthy, is this right? Is it excellent

00:06:28.620 according to my standards? What would I say to those questions? So again, these standards, according to

00:06:34.420 God's word, are true. Does this reflect what God says is true? So for example, is it portraying

00:06:41.380 having sex outside of marriage is good? Is it portraying lying as justified? Is it 0.87

00:06:45.820 communicating something as true that God says is not actually true? Noble. Is this upright? Is this

00:06:52.640 honorable? Is this something that is held in high regard to God? Are the characteristics of this show

00:06:59.160 or book or whatever falling in line with what God finds honorable? Right. So is this correct?

00:07:06.980 Similar. It's similar to true. Is this righteous according to God? Is this condoning something

00:07:12.400 is right that God says is not right? Another qualification is lovely. Is this beautiful

00:07:18.120 according to God's standards? Is this pure? Is this positive? Is this worthy of my adoration and

00:07:23.820 affection? Admirable. Are the themes in this book or show or podcast as something that I as a Christian

00:07:30.780 should be applauding? Uh, are these the morals that I, according to scripture, uh, would uphold

00:07:37.200 is good. Excellent. When I think of the word excellent, I think of exceeding standards. So

00:07:43.300 something being above reproach, this is not talking in quality because let's be real. The quality of the

00:07:48.840 Sopranos is excellent. Uh, so is the podcast crime town, by the way, if you can't tell, I like crime

00:07:53.740 stories, but are these things above reproach? Are these things excellent? Are they excelling the standards

00:07:59.980 of God's goodness? Probably not. Uh, praiseworthy. The one being who is worthy of all of our praise is

00:08:07.460 God. And thus, uh, only that which is of him can actually be considered praiseworthy. Uh, praise,

00:08:14.300 worship, honor, lifting up, exalting, complimenting is what we are watching, taking in, uh, reading

00:08:20.520 worthy of these things. Now I know Paul doesn't say in this verse in Philippians 4, 8, uh, to only watch

00:08:28.940 or listen to, uh, or read things that are true, noble, right, lovely, admirable, excellent,

00:08:34.900 and praiseworthy. He tells us to think on these things, but as we have already stated, what we

00:08:40.580 watch and what we listen to and what we read, uh, shapes our thoughts. So naturally what we put into

00:08:47.520 our minds should fall under these categories as well. Um, now I am not going to list every single

00:08:53.760 show and podcast that I personally, Allie Stuckey think is a disqualified from what Christians should 1.00

00:08:59.520 watch. I mean, some of them are probably pretty easy. Like Christians shouldn't be watching or 1.00

00:09:04.060 reading 50 shades of gray. It's not that difficult to realize, but other things like the office, one of

00:09:09.800 my favorite shows of all time, maybe a little bit more difficult. It's not explicitly a Christian 1.00

00:09:14.780 show, but it's also not explicitly violence or especially, uh, violent or especially sexual or

00:09:20.480 something like that. Um, I am not going to be the ultimate arbiter of what counts as righteous for

00:09:25.520 the Christian and what doesn't, uh, all I can do in this episode is point to God's word and remind us

00:09:31.520 all of us, me included of our call to spirit led discernment that is guided by the word of God.

00:09:38.540 Uh, Christians are called to discern in all things. We are called to determine what is good to weigh

00:09:44.060 carefully the decisions that are at hand, even seemingly trivial decisions, like what shows to watch.

00:09:49.600 Uh, we are not supposed to be flippant about what we put before our eyes and what we put

00:09:54.080 in our ears, the way the rest of the world is. We are actually called to be very careful about these

00:09:59.160 things. Uh, why? Because we as Christians are called to be holy, which means we are called to be

00:10:06.160 set apart from who, from those who are not Christians, those who do not know Christ. Uh, Romans 12,

00:10:12.620 one through two says this, I appeal to you therefore brothers by the mercies of God to present your

00:10:17.740 bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be 0.85

00:10:24.940 conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind that by testing, you may

00:10:30.880 discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. So let's break that down

00:10:36.900 for a second. First, uh, the text says that our bodies are a living sacrifice to God. That means

00:10:42.780 nothing in our body, including our minds as Christians, uh, are our own, uh, or is our own,

00:10:49.040 but rather is to be presented to God as a sacrifice. So our entire being is meant to be dedicated, uh,

00:10:55.940 to the service of, and to the worship of God. Uh, what is the only kind of sacrifice that God accepts?

00:11:03.060 One that is holy, one that is sanctified, one that is unstained. Now, just an aside on that,

00:11:09.660 we know that it is actually Jesus who makes us holy and acceptable before God. So I'm not saying

00:11:15.060 that by not watching game of Thrones, you are made more right before God. That's not what I'm saying,

00:11:20.440 but it does mean that because we have been made holy by Christ, because we have been made right with

00:11:27.020 God, because of crisis Christians, that our entire beings are to be dedicated to holiness. Uh, we are 1.00

00:11:33.520 living out the righteousness that is imputed to us by Jesus. We are thus to live sacrificially before

00:11:39.640 God in holiness, in set apartness and in continual worship. And again, this includes our minds,

00:11:46.080 which are of course, a part of our bodies. Um, and what should a mind dedicated to being a living

00:11:52.740 spiritual sacrifice to God look like? Uh, it should be filled according to Philippians 4, 8 with that,

00:11:59.800 which is true and noble and right and lovely and admirable and excellent and praiseworthy.

00:12:05.960 And how do we ensure that our minds are characterized by these things? Well, Romans 12,

00:12:11.300 two tells us instead of conforming to the world, we should be transformed by the mind's renewal.

00:12:18.120 So what the world gives us will deteriorate our minds, but what God gives us will renew our mind.

00:12:24.680 So instead of doing what the world does, thinking how the world thinks and taking in what the world

00:12:29.660 takes in, we are to be completely changed, completely made new by doing what God calls us to do.

00:12:35.960 Uh, thinking of the things that he tells us to think about and taking in the things that he tells us

00:12:40.460 to take in. Um, and how do we do that? We do that by quote testing so that you may discern what is the

00:12:47.600 will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. And what is the will of God? What is good and

00:12:53.680 acceptable and perfect? What is true and noble and right and lovely and admirable and excellent and

00:13:00.100 praiseworthy? Um, how do we discern what falls into these categories? When some of these things like

00:13:06.280 we've already noted are actually greater than others, uh, by testing and discerning the Bible

00:13:11.200 says, how do we test and discern by reading God's word and praying for the help and the wisdom of the

00:13:16.440 Holy spirits. And remember, remember, as we've said on this podcast before, the Holy spirit is not

00:13:21.580 going to tell you something that contradicts God's word. As we've said before, when you try to separate

00:13:26.540 the Holy spirit from God's word, you end up with only your feelings. And when you follow only your

00:13:31.280 feelings, it will lead you to sin. That's because as Jeremiah 17, nine says, the heart is deceitful

00:13:37.000 above all things and desperately sick. Who can understand it? Um, and I am, when I'm saying this,

00:13:43.920 I just want to reiterate this. I am speaking to myself just as much as I am speaking to anyone else,

00:13:48.920 as much as it may seem lame to make a big deal of the things that we read and watch and listen to.

00:13:55.080 I mean, gosh, I remember in high school, my parents wouldn't let me see some movie or watch

00:13:59.240 some TV show. It was so lame. Who cares? It's fine. I'm not going to be affected by this stuff. I'm not

00:14:04.300 going to be influenced by this stuff, uh, is legalistic as it might feel to not watch a popular

00:14:09.860 show, uh, because it doesn't meet God's standards of loveliness. Uh, Christians are not called to 1.00

00:14:15.700 submit to the fear of missing out. We are called to submit to Jesus. Um, and because Jesus died for us,

00:14:22.820 because he chose us before the foundation of the world, honoring him means more to us than being

00:14:29.180 relevant. Uh, becoming more like him, uh, means more to us than being able to quote, engage with

00:14:35.220 the culture. Uh, I don't like that. I, I want to be relevant. I want to be a part of what other people

00:14:41.400 are doing. I want to understand cultural references. And I think that a lot of times this is totally

00:14:47.400 possible for Christians, but, but here's the caveat when being relevant involves compromising

00:14:54.100 our holiness, uh, lowering our standards of what goes into our minds, it has to be avoided.

00:15:00.520 Uh, I think another verse that helps us discern what we should be taking in is this, um, it's

00:15:05.320 Ephesians 5, 15 through 17. So it's a few verses look carefully. Then how you walk, not as unwise,

00:15:11.940 but as wise, making the best use of the time because the days are evil. Therefore do not be

00:15:18.760 foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. So let's highlight some of these really

00:15:24.560 important words. It says, look carefully. We are supposed to be cautious, conscientious,

00:15:31.100 thoughtful, deliberate about how we, what make major decisions, how we approach important crossroads

00:15:36.940 in our life. No, how we walk. So how we move forward, how we step forward day to day. So we're

00:15:42.460 not just looking carefully and cautiously. We're also doing so to be wise, to make sure that we are

00:15:48.000 making wise decisions. And what is wisdom according to God's word? Proverbs 9, 10 tells us the fear of

00:15:53.900 the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy one is insight. So the fear of the Lord

00:15:59.320 is the beginning of wisdom, meaning that a reverence of the Lord, the honor of the Lord, the deference to

00:16:04.820 the Lord, the submission to the Lord, uh, is the beginning of wisdom. So in submitting to the Lord,

00:16:10.400 we get wisdom. So in relationship with God, we get wisdom and knowledge and insight, which gives us the

00:16:16.500 ability to discern as Romans 12, two tells us what is good and acceptable and perfect. Um, so we look

00:16:24.020 carefully, we look cautiously, we look purposefully how we walk, how we move forward on a day-to-day basis,

00:16:30.220 making decisions that are wise according to the Lord and according to his word, uh, making the best

00:16:36.600 use of our time, not just an okay use of our time, not just a neutral use of our time, but the Bible

00:16:43.440 says the best use of our time that should convict all of us, especially me, me, the foremost, I would

00:16:49.660 say, uh, of how much time we spend scrolling on Instagram. That's certainly not the best use of my

00:16:55.140 time. Uh, why does it matter? The Bible, uh, asks or the Bible answers, uh, that we spend our time in

00:17:01.700 a way that is good and wise and careful because, because the days are evil. They're evil. They are

00:17:08.500 corrupt. They are tricky. They are deceitful. They are depraved. Uh, they are infected by the one who

00:17:15.320 Ephesians two calls the Prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of

00:17:20.480 disobedience. This is Satan. He is looking to pull people away. He is looking to distract the

00:17:25.780 Christian from the work of sharing the gospel. He is looking to numb our minds with the things of 0.67

00:17:31.380 this world. If he cannot pluck us out of God's hand, he at least is going to make sure, uh, to make us 0.67

00:17:37.620 care about the things that don't matter. He can at least lead us to obsess over things that are not

00:17:43.200 eternal. He can at least contaminate our minds with shows and books and podcasts that are completely

00:17:49.120 unholy and don't meet God's standards. Uh, first Peter five, eight says this, be sober minded, be

00:17:56.240 watchful. Your adversary, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. So

00:18:03.200 here we get similar language as we did in Ephesians five, be careful, be sober minded, be watchful. Why?

00:18:09.540 Because Satan is here. He is also powerful and you are not immune to his attacks. Uh, this is

00:18:15.700 precisely why in Ephesians six, we are called to arm ourselves with the full armor of God because we

00:18:21.000 don't wrestle against flesh and blood, but against spiritual principalities, the powers at work in this

00:18:26.960 present darkness. Uh, the verses in Ephesians five go on to say, do not be foolish, but understand what

00:18:33.340 the will of the Lord is. Uh, that is an extremely close, we're doing a lot, by the way, we're doing a lot

00:18:39.560 of cross-referencing here. That is a, an extremely close reflection of Romans 12 too, which says we

00:18:45.640 are to discern what the will of God is, what is good and acceptable and perfect. And what is God's

00:18:50.740 will? What is good and acceptable and perfect? What is true and right and lovely and admirable

00:18:56.560 and excellent and praiseworthy. So as cumbersome and as uncool as it sounds, we are supposed to be

00:19:04.840 thoughtful and prayerful and wise and considerate and cautious and righteous and different in the

00:19:12.660 decisions that we make even. And I would say, especially in the content that you and I consume.

00:19:18.620 Um, I actually think that the next verses in Ephesians five also speak to why this is, and I'll

00:19:24.060 explain. So five, uh, five through 17 says this, look carefully then as you walk, not as unwise,

00:19:30.680 but as wise, making the best use of the time because the days are evil. Therefore do not be

00:19:36.460 foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Then verse 18 says this, and do not get drunk with

00:19:43.040 wine for that is debauchery, but be filled with the spirit. Now we are not talking about drunkenness in

00:19:48.860 this episode. So how is this verse particularly relevant? Well, I want us to look at the wording here.

00:19:55.760 Do not get drunk with wine, but be filled with the spirit. Another way to say this is do not fill

00:20:02.700 yourself with wine, but fill yourself with the spirit. Um, if you have ever gotten drunk, you know,

00:20:08.220 the alcohol affects how you think, uh, what you say and how you act. And if you've ever gotten really

00:20:14.060 drunk, uh, you know, that the way that alcohol typically affects these things is not in a way that

00:20:18.980 actually honors the Lord. You say and do things that are embarrassing, that you wouldn't have if you

00:20:23.420 were sober, that are sinful, that are unwise, that are shameful, that are foolish. You lose control.

00:20:29.000 Uh, you make decisions that you wouldn't, if, uh, you weren't filled with this alcohol. God does not

00:20:35.260 want this for us. He says, don't fill your body with wine to the point of being drunk, but fill your

00:20:42.040 body with the spirit. Why? Because whatever fills you controls you. Um, so if your body is filled with

00:20:50.180 wine or drugs or whatever, these substances dictate your thoughts, they dictate your behavior

00:20:55.380 and they dictate your words. That is why when someone is drunk or high, uh, it's called being

00:21:01.520 under the influence. They are being influenced by an external substance and all they say and do is

00:21:07.080 being impacted by it. Uh, in the same way, when our minds are filled with something in this case,

00:21:12.860 particular messages from some kind of, uh, medium, whatever we're listening to or watching,

00:21:17.620 this content is going to shape our thoughts, behavior, and words. Uh, this is why, uh, first

00:21:23.540 Peter five, eight says to be sober minded. And we can take this to mean both, uh, both literally

00:21:30.240 and figuratively when our minds are filled by something, uh, they are going to be controlled

00:21:36.340 by it. And again, uh, what is the Christian's mind supposed to be filled with, uh, through the

00:21:44.260 power of the Holy spirit, that which is true and noble and right and admirable and lovely and

00:21:50.120 excellent and praiseworthy. Why? Because the days are evil. The time is short and Satan is looking,

00:21:58.020 uh, for every avenue he possibly can to take our minds off Christ and onto that, which renders us

00:22:05.600 useless. As Christians, we are called to be different. We are called to be set apart. We are called to be

00:22:12.000 holy. Um, we cannot expect to be different. If we are essentially the same, if we are consuming

00:22:17.580 all of the things that the world is consuming, uh, everything from the inside out for us,

00:22:22.620 Christians is supposed to look different than the world looks not because we are trying to earn God's 0.98

00:22:28.020 approval or salvation, which we know is impossible, but because in Christ, we already have it. And because

00:22:33.980 of that, we live in such a way to honor our salvation and to obey the God who graciously saved us,

00:22:39.740 who calls us to live lives of righteousness, to spend our time wisely and to share the gospel

00:22:46.360 with those around us. Colossians three, one says this, if then you have been raised with Christ,

00:22:52.620 seek the things that are above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Uh, if you have

00:22:59.360 been raised with Christ, so if you're truly a Christian, if you venture to follow him, if you've

00:23:04.100 counted the cost, uh, then do what, uh, seek actively look for, go after, pursue that which is of heaven,

00:23:13.900 where Jesus is seated at the right hand of God as our intercessor, as our redeemer, as our king,

00:23:20.200 uh, that which is of heaven is good and acceptable and perfect. It is pure and holy and lovely.

00:23:26.620 Ephesians four, 17 through 24. We've read this passage many times on this podcast, but it speaks

00:23:32.960 to who we were and who we're supposed to be and what that difference really is. Um, it says now

00:23:39.460 this, I say in testifying the Lord that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do in the futility of 1.00

00:23:46.040 their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the

00:23:51.920 ignorance that is in them due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given

00:23:57.000 themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity, but that is not the way

00:24:02.860 that you learned Christ. Assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him as the truth

00:24:07.580 is in Jesus to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through

00:24:13.420 deceitful desires and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds and to put on the new self created

00:24:18.920 after the likeness of God and true righteousness and holiness. And so right there in verse 23,

00:24:24.720 we see that phrase again, to be renewed in the spirit of your minds. A God through Paul is emphasizing

00:24:30.800 how important our thought life is. And again, the things that we consume, the things that we put in

00:24:36.260 our minds, the things that we fill our bodies with our minds with are going to affect how we think

00:24:43.180 they are going to affect our perspective. They are going to affect how we approach life.

00:24:47.680 And God is telling us to be renewed in the spirit of your minds. Why? Because you're a Christian,

00:24:53.100 because you care about different things, because as Colossians says, that you are looking to the

00:24:57.940 things above, the things of heaven, where Christ is, where he is seated as your authority. And we are

00:25:05.980 to put on the new self, verse 24 of Ephesians 4 says, created after the likeness of God. So our new

00:25:15.040 selves are created after the likeness of God, it's not just a better version of us. It's a new version.

00:25:21.560 It's a new self that is created after God's likeness. And what is that likeness? True righteousness and

00:25:28.840 holiness. So I think that especially in America, we as Christians have come to accept cultural 0.90

00:25:38.420 Christianity as really all that's needed in order to be saved. And we think that being saved and being

00:25:46.080 saved from hell is all that Christianity is about. So it doesn't really matter what we do. It doesn't 0.83

00:25:52.000 really matter what we put inside our minds. As long as we said the prayer, when we were seven years old,

00:25:56.940 we walked down the aisle and we got baptized after taking the new Christians class, everything is all

00:26:01.840 good. Sanctification doesn't really matter. Holiness doesn't really matter. We don't have to be set

00:26:06.360 apart because, well, that's uncomfortable. That's awkward. That's inconvenient. I don't want to be

00:26:10.980 that different. Sure. Some of the things in my life might look different. I might give a little bit

00:26:15.280 more. I might not cuss quite as much. I might not move in with my boyfriend or girlfriend or whatever

00:26:19.520 it is, but I don't really want to go out on a limb and do the things that people are really going to

00:26:25.800 stand back and say, whoa, are you a Pharisee? Are you legalistic? Wow. You come across as so judgmental

00:26:31.700 because you're not watching the things that I'm watching. I think we as Christians, and I've been

00:26:35.860 there again, I'm not speaking from a place of condemnation. I have been there many times.

00:26:40.280 We as Christians don't want to put ourselves in that position. Like we want people to know that

00:26:44.480 we're relevant. We want people to know that we're cool. We want people to know that we fit in with

00:26:48.120 them that like, yeah, we're a Christian. We go to church and we read the Bible and we believe in God and

00:26:52.740 all that kind of stuff, but don't worry. Like we're not lame. We're not super lame. Like we get it.

00:26:58.460 Like we're down with the, with the cultural stuff. Like we understand. No, we're cool. We're

00:27:03.320 the cool kinds of Christians thinking that this is going to make others accept us more. And maybe

00:27:09.300 we think that this is going to make others, um, I don't know, appeal or that this is going to make

00:27:14.820 Christianity appeal to non-believers more, but it won't. The reality is, is that people are looking

00:27:19.940 for something that's different. People are looking for a special kind of freedom and liberty that is

00:27:24.780 only found in knowing Jesus Christ. And if our lives, including the things that we consume,

00:27:30.480 which as we've said many times, shape our minds and shape our hearts and shape the things that we

00:27:35.580 say and do, if it all looks the same, then what appeal are we really? I was just reading in second

00:27:40.680 Corinthians about how Christians are supposed to be an aroma of Christ, which, um, is, uh, really

00:27:47.780 smells like a stench of death to those who are dying, but is, uh, a sweet aroma of life to those who

00:27:54.380 are being saved. And so our call is to not look like and act like the rest of the world, but be

00:28:01.000 transformed from the inside out transformed in the renewal of our minds or the spirit of our minds.

00:28:07.720 And that is accomplished through, as we've talked about many times, reading the word of God,

00:28:12.680 praying for wisdom and the Holy spirit and acting in obedience, even when it's hard. And gosh, that's

00:28:18.260 real. I would say sometimes that's even more difficult when it comes to the trivial stuff.

00:28:22.140 And I have in preparing for this podcast, really assessed a lot of the things that I

00:28:27.780 consume. A lot of the things, the podcasts that I listened to, I love crime stuff. And I'm not saying

00:28:34.120 every single crime podcast or show that you ever watch is bad and it's not glorifying. Some of it

00:28:38.820 could be edifying and educational if the lessons are correct in it, but some of it glorifies the things

00:28:43.940 that God says not to glorify. And I have also noticed that I am, I am just someone who is severely

00:28:50.860 influenced, I would say, especially by the things that I read and watch and listen to.

00:28:55.300 I can get a lot of anxiety from listening to things to, to crime series. For example,

00:29:01.980 I can get really weighed down by that kind of stuff. Like when I was watching the Sopranos,

00:29:06.340 for example, I remember watching one episode that was so dark. I was like, I don't think that I can

00:29:12.680 keep going in this. I, we watched house of cards too. So I'm just like laying out all of the things

00:29:18.260 that I've watched that are totally corrupt and don't fall under Philippians 4, 8 at all. But there

00:29:22.900 were times in this where I was just like, this is too dark for me to watch. This is not good for

00:29:28.680 me to consume. I'm thinking about things that I don't want to think about. I'm nervous. I'm scared.

00:29:33.040 I'm anxious. I am waking up in the middle of the night thinking about how awful that episode was.

00:29:38.280 And I think that it's especially gracious of the Lord to give us the directive that says,

00:29:43.260 hey, your mind is not supposed to be weighed down by that. Your mind is not supposed to be weighed

00:29:47.840 down by those burdens. Uh, you are supposed to be free of that stuff. I want you to realize that

00:29:55.020 the burden that I have for you is light. The yoke that I have for you, as Jesus says, is easy. I want

00:30:00.400 you to dwell on the things that are good and right and true. You're not supposed to be thinking about

00:30:04.000 darkness. You're not supposed to be waiting in darkness anymore. You're supposed to be thinking

00:30:07.820 about that, which is good. And, uh, I think it's, is it Ephesians or I don't remember where this is.

00:30:16.200 Dang it. I really wish I do. I'm pretty good at remembering at least the books of the Bible,

00:30:20.500 where certain phrases are, but the Bible also says, uh, give no opportunity to the devil. And

00:30:26.060 it's actually talking about something else and giving no opportunity to the devil. It's talking about

00:30:32.380 thing. It's, it's running out of my mind. Someone's going to be able to email me and tell me

00:30:36.700 where exactly that is. But I think in consuming certain kinds of, uh, dark and wayward content,

00:30:42.040 we are giving an opportunity to Satan. We are giving into that temptation by letting thoughts

00:30:47.280 in that don't glorify the Lord and don't help us. They don't help us heal. They don't help us

00:30:51.320 live lives of, uh, fulfillment. As Jesus says, the, the, uh, Satan comes to steal, kill and destroy,

00:30:58.980 but I have come that you may have life and have it to the full. And I think that the dark things that

00:31:03.140 we often consume can lead us in a direction that Jesus has graciously told us not to go in. So I

00:31:10.820 want you to know that if this episode challenged you, it challenged me too, but I hope it also

00:31:15.500 helps you. And I hope that you do your own digging into the Bible. And I hope at the very least that

00:31:20.780 for all of us, that before we watch something, before we read something, before we listen to

00:31:26.300 something that we're thoughtful about it, that we're prayerful about it, that we go to the word of

00:31:29.740 God realizing that's not overkill. That's just the life of holiness that we have been called to

00:31:34.660 and really aim to be sanctified in the things that we put inside our minds. Um, okay, that's it for

00:31:40.160 today. I will see you guys next time.

Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey - July 22, 2019

Ep 140 ｜ Whatever Is Lovely

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