One day, I was listening to a YouTube video that had a good message, but the speaker used a lot of profanity. I kept listening, justifying that I should be more open-minded, but suddenly the Holy Spirit reminded me that “a little leaven leavens the whole lump”.
It’s a reference from Galatians 5:9, and it’s about how, over time, the seemingly small things we are exposed to can cause damage.
But let’s be real. Unless you take extreme measures, you can’t avoid hearing curse words. You can be walking through a store, minding your own business, and out of the blue, a stranger could start using them.
In addition to profanity, you can’t go long without running into a commercial or movie depicting violence, sexual immorality, and misconduct.
So what should you do? Should a Christian just accept it? Yes and no.
Yes, because on one hand, it can’t be completely avoided. Some of the people we are called to reach will do and say unacceptable things.
On the other hand, it’s a no because we are told to be in the world, but not of the world.
We should increasingly limit voluntary exposure to profanity. And go one step further by continually consuming spirit-filled, positive content.
Think of your mind as a cup of water that continually attracts dirt because of the environment. By constantly pouring clean water (scripture, worship, uplifting content) into the cup, it continually pushes out the dirty water; never allowing the cup to be overwhelmed with filth.
So, is there something you can stop listening to this week? What’s one additional step you can take to keep your mind clean?
In a world where profanity can’t be avoided, the wise believer blocks what they can while taking steps to combat what gets through.
