Cleaning House

Until a few years ago, I had never truly thought about mental purity. As I mentioned in the last article, the first and only thing I used to think of when someone spoke about “purity” was sexual purity. 

I had a pen pal when I was around 16 years old and we were writing about standards and purity (as you do) when she wrote something that changed my whole view on the subject. She emphasized that it’s important to be pure in your mind not just your body. We were specifically talking about sexual purity but this “being pure in the mind” caused me to think about purity in a way I never had before. After that, I began to notice references to a “pure mind” in sermons and Bible reading, something I had not thought much about before came alive to me. As it did I started to question whether my mind was pure. 

I have learned so much since then and I hope I can help you as well. 

Whatever things are…

Phillipians 4:8

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

Philippians 4:8 is one of the most common verses used about mental purity. It can be described as the filter that you need to place in your mind, what are you allowing in? Is it true, noble, just, pure, lovely, or of good report? Is there any virtue in it? Is it praiseworthy? Answering these questions alone places an immense safeguard over our minds. It’s easier to block something from entering your mind than it is to remove it once it’s there.

Colossians 3:2

Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.

This is our constant reminder that we need to have a heavenly focus. When you use this verse as a way to filter what you choose to think about you will begin to see a shift in the way you process life. We were made for far more than just a mundane life here on earth.

Luke 11:34

The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness. 

Our eyes are the gateway into our minds, what are you looking at that is defiling your mind? What are you putting in front of your eyes that is filling you with darkness?

Matthew 5:28

But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

It’s possible to sin in your heart and mind before you ever sin in word or deed. What has taken residence in your mind that has caused you to sin many times over?

I love this quote from the leader of the church fellowship I’m a part of, 

“Your mind is what you are.” 

So true, what resides in your mind is what comes out in every aspect of your life.

Something’s got to go

Identifying the things that are defiling your mind is not always a walk in the park. Sometimes, it’s easy to determine those things that you should remove from your life, listening to openly ungodly music, watching filthy movies, and even reading perverted books. Other times, we must examine our lives more carefully to establish what should and shouldn’t have access to our minds. 

Social media is one of the leading factors that can cause our minds to be polluted. Social media is a platform where anyone can post anything they want. And more often than not, the things that are posted are not pure or appropriate. You may say that because you are a Christian you don’t look at sinful things and the algorithm won’t give it to you. 

Unfortunately, that’s not the case, you may not search it out, but it will still be there, plain as day because that’s what they want you to see. 

Aside from the risk of bringing defilement through what you look at, social media can also cause your thoughts to be impure as well, these thoughts range from lust to jealousy, envy, and even rejection or self-hatred. The reason being is whether consciously or subconsciously we start comparing ourselves to others when we see someone who is prettier than us or has something we don’t. As girls, it’s like second nature to immediately begin to “calculate” what other girls have that we lack and try to make ourselves feel better in some way, usually by magnifying ourselves in our own eyes. Some swing to the opposite end of the spectrum and constantly beat themselves down when they don’t measure up to what they see in others. Both of these responses cause us to dwell on what we wish we were instead of who we are in Christ. 

What are you watching? Do you spend hours on YouTube, easily getting lost in the rabbit hole of YouTube Shorts? Do you compromise by allowing hours of garbage into your mind while binging Netflix shows? Even if you aren’t watching anything “bad” your mind can be soiled. Not only because in reality, too much screen time will do terrible things to you, but because when hours of your week are spent being filled with pointless entertainment, you will be thinking about it for even longer. If you are anything like me, after you watch a movie at church (Who else loved the movie 'Jesus Revolution'?) you think about it for a while, replaying the scenes that impacted you the most in your mind for hours, days, and even weeks afterward. 

In the book of Psalms, we read multiple accounts of the psalmist meditating on God's Word (Psalm 1:2, Psalm 119:97, Psalm 119:78, Psalm 119:15, Psalm 77:12). He would spend hours thinking about God’s laws, His precepts, and His goodness. In Joshua 1:8 we read of God’s command for us to meditate on His laws day and night. 

So we see, that we are to be thinking about God and His words constantly. Does this mean we need to walk around only thinking about Bible verses? While it would benefit all of us to memorize more Bible verses (Psalm 119:11), it’s impossible to think about the Bible exclusively, and trying to do so will make you a little cooky. We need to go back to Philippians, “whatever things are..” and think about those things. Fill your mind with God’s word, with things that are pleasing and acceptable to HIM. 

Throughout my youth when my mom was disciplining me, one thing she would say was “How would you be acting if Jesus was here watching you?”, usually my response was some version of “Not the way I have been,”. The same question is applicable here. The truth is, then and now, Jesus is watching, he is omnipresent, whatever you are doing, good or bad, right or wrong. He sees (Proverbs 15:3). If God in the flesh was sitting on the couch as you browse Insta or YouTube, what would he say? Would He be pleased with what you were watching or would He leave the room?

Time for change

I think I can speak for all of us when I say that Covid brought on some major mind battles. For me, Covid was one of the wake-up calls that I needed to challenge me to guard my mind. During that time, I heard a sermon that aided in my deliverance, the evangelist was preaching about how the blood of Jesus was shed to cover every part of our lives. I can’t do the illustration justice, but the part that stood out to me was what he said about our minds. He spoke about how when the crown of thorns was smashed into our Savior's head, causing blood to flow over his mind, it was a symbol of how the blood of Jesus was shed to cleanse our minds. 

That’s powerful. There is power in the blood and when Jesus’ blood washes our minds we are set free from every thought that had us bound.

While Christ's blood is enough to wash away the sinful thoughts we have, we are the ones who choose to keep our minds pure after He cleanses us. You decide what you allow into your mind. I have found that the days I have a lot of screen time are the days my mind feels the filthiest, even if I’m just listening to podcasts or shopping online, it takes its toll on my mind and affects the rest of my day. I understand the scientific ramifications of having too much screen time but I believe there is a spiritual side as well. The devil loves to use any method he can to get our minds off the things of God and onto ourselves, or things that are of no eternal significance.

What can you do to change? Start by cutting out anything that is obviously unholy. Music with swear words, perverted films, and ungodly literature. GET RID OF IT. If you are serious about mental purification you must be willing to go the distance to keep your mind pure. 

Next, you need to dig a little deeper, maybe God has been convicting you about a certain social platform or app that you should delete. DO IT, delete the app, or better yet, delete your account, trust me, the temptation to reinstall an app you have deleted is real. Specifically when all you need to do to satisfy your “craving” is log in to your account. If you are having a hard time cutting something out of your life, don’t be discouraged, take one step at a time. Start by setting screen time limits (it’s best if you have a parent or friend set the password so you aren’t tempted to continue using the app when the time limit is up). Then go on a “fast” from the app or platform in question. Commit to not using it for a few days, you may still want to go back and check it after the time is up, but you might realize how easy it is to live without it! Finally, when you are ready, just let it go. For most people, this should be your first step, but for others who are so “addicted” to the platform, it may take some time. 

Finally, fight to keep the dominion you’ve gained. Matthew 12:43–45 tells the story of someone who was delivered from a demonic spirit (yes, I believe that's what we are dealing with here), but when the demon couldn’t find a new home he went back to the same person he used to inhabit. He found that they had been swept clean and put in order, so the demon went and found seven more spirits worse than himself and they all moved back into the person who had been delivered. This can happen to any of us if we don’t replace the junk in our minds with the things of God. Things like Bible reading, listening to Godly music (read this blog post for a few song ideas), spending time in prayer, and most importantly, being filled with the Holy Spirit, are vital to maintaining a pure mind. 

I don’t mean to be a Debbie Downer but the process of purifying your mind is no easy feat, I’ve spent countless nights in spiritual warfare doing everything I could to keep the devil out. The good news is we are not alone, God will fight for us, He is always there to equip, guide, and protect you for any trial you face.