Knee Jerk Devotional: October 27, 2020

Luke 11:29-36

Photo by Lukas ter Poorten on Unsplash

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Passage:

As the crowds increased, Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation. It asks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation. The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the people of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom; and now something greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and now something greater than Jonah is here.

“No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light. Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy, your body also is full of darkness. See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be just as full of light as when a lamp shines its light on you.”

The second part of this bit of Jesus’ teaching is similar to something from yesterday’s passage.

The question that pops into my mind, “What am I putting into my mind?”

There’s a saying that a friend of mine drops regularly: GIGO. It means, “garbage in, garbage out.”

I think this is what Jesus is getting at here. Your eyes, here, are metaphors for what you’re putting into you mind and soul.

In what ways are you filling up your mind and soul?

TV?
Social media?
Nothing?

Just like when we put healthy food into our bodies we end up with healthier bodies, so too, when we put healthy things in our mind and souls we end up with healthier minds and souls.

I have lots of friends who take breaks from things like the news, social media, and the like. When they come back, they are voracious. The intake of whatever it was they were taking a break from is twice as much or more.

Why?

Because whenever we take a break from something we create a vacuum. Vacuums will be filled.

The question always comes back to, “What are you taking in?”

I keep learning that social media, TV, etc… are not the evils. It’s the choices I make to look at things that are not good and beautiful that lead me to the bad places. I must consciously choose the good and the beautiful.

This doesn’t mean that I cut myself of from the world. Far from it.

What it means is that I must search these things out intentionally. I don’t live in the world passively. No, I pursue and look for the good and beautiful. This can look like television shows, music, social media, fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and more.

It also means that I choose to spend time in the Scriptures daily and meditate on them throughout the day.

How can you can set your mind on the good and beautiful today?