World Pollution

Don’t worry. I’m not going to talk about saving the environment or greenhouse gases or global warming here. I have a more pressing issue to discuss. Is the world polluting you? I ask this because I think it’s poisoning me.

I was reading James 1, and verse 27 smacked me upside the head: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

It literally stopped me in my tracks as I began to think about ways the world pollutes me. For example, that latest Lady Gaga song on the radio—have you really listened to the words? She’s just playing with a guy’s mind (and being sexually suggestive) in the song, and that’s not how we’re supposed to treat each other. And then, when I got to work and felt guilty for eating a brownie because it’ll keep me from being as thin as some super-cute celebrity, I realized that I was listening to what the world says beauty is (being skinny, tan, with good hair and nice clothes, etc.). We read books about vampires, witchcraft, and sorcery, and think it’s all good, clean fun. We absorb almost anything on the news, in a magazine, or a textbook without evaluating it next to God’s standards.

Maybe we should quit being so worried about us polluting the world and start being more concerned with it polluting us. (I am not, however, advocating that we be careless or irresponsible with the environment.) Stop and think about it. What are you taking into your mind or body every day that is contrary to God’s Word? How is your thinking toxic to the life He wants you to live?

Evaluate what you listen to. Does it make you think about sex, or drinking, being depressed, or getting revenge? I’m not sure about you, but I used to really like rap and hip hop music. I liked the beat and the way it made me want to dance. I noticed that when I tried to work out to it though, it made me tense, angry even. (No lie. When I run, I do so much better if I listen to rock or more mellow music.) And eventually, the rap all started to sound the same. So I’ve taken the rap stations off my radio preset buttons, and I’ve severely pared down my playlists. Maybe you could try listening to some other types of music, if you’ve noticed that what you normally listen to leaves you grouchy, disrespectful, or angry.

Evaluate what you watch. Does it advocate cussing, homosexuality, being disrespectful to authority figures, dressing inappropriately, backstabbing friends, or hooking up? (Ahem. The following shows do all those things: “Gossip Girl,” “90210,” “Grey’s Anatomy” . . . do you really want me to keep going? I’m not even going to get started on the movies.)

Evaluate what you read. Do the books you read romanticize sex, relationships, or violence? Do the magazines you look at ooze sexuality and material possessions? Would you feel uncomfortable reading the magazine in front of your parents or grandparents? Then maybe you should find some other reading material.

I’m not saying you should sell everything you have and become a hermit in order to avoid the world’s influence. But you shouldn’t take it all in and absorb it like a sponge, either. THINK! Ask God for wisdom to evaluate the messages you hear. Don’t take to heart those things that don’t help you. We live in a world that pushes lots of messages. Most of them are garbage. Being concerned with pollution is fine, but just make sure you’re not letting the world pollute you.