Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. – Colossians 2:8 (NLT)
You’ve heard the saying, “You are what you eat,” well the same could be said to what you read. Books and social media influence our thoughts. Just like food, some of it may be of benefit to us but there is plenty out there that isn’t.
What we read depends on who you are. People tend to read things that interest them or will answer questions they may have. The more you read the more you learn and eventually it starts to shape the way you think and feel. For some, reading fiction takes them to places they wish to go or to be involved in something that stirs their imagination. For the most part, this may be harmful but when it starts to change the way you think and see things that’s when it becomes a problem.
People who read romance novels, for example may start wishing their own relationships were like those in books. Those reading pornographic or violent stories may find themselves thinking about these things more often. When these and other thoughts are generated by what we read, we find ourselves becoming worried, stressed, or even depressed. We may also begin to form ideas on how we could carry them out in real life.
In our search for knowledge, we access books and social media to find answers. With the abundance that is available today, there is a lot to take in on any subject. Some of it may be true and some it may not be. The more and more we read the more and more we become influenced. We can get anxious, angry, and sometimes obsessed with what we read. Our mental health becomes more precarious.
The Bible warns us to be cautious about the influences in our lives. We must be careful with what we read as Satan will use whatever he can to destroy us. If reading a certain type of novel or reading about how things should be affects our well-being, then we should stop. The deeper we go into reading things that we shouldn’t, the more it will harm us.
People will have various reactions to what they read. What one person reads may be of benefit to them but not to someone else. If you find what you are reading is not benefiting you then you should change. God doesn’t want us to have unhealthy minds, attitudes, or lives. He wants us to be healthy in both mind and spirit. Reading things that are not good for us keeps us in the pit. That’s where Satan would love to keep us, but God has other plans.
God’s plan for us is to stop worrying, to stop being anxious, to stop looking at what we haven’t go and to look at Him. His plan is for us to be captured by things that come from Him and not what comes from human thinking. We must be diligent and discerning in what we choose to read. Is what you are reading today, good, or bad for you?
Originally published October 2018