GIGO

I took some computer science classes some years ago, and one of the biggest things my professor wanted to make sure that we knew was the 'GIGO Principle." A lot of people try to blame a lot of things on 'computer error,' when, in fact, it is considerably more likely that those things are 'carbon-based errors.' My prof always insisted that computers don't make mistakes. I disagree. I've run the same code through the same compiler on the same computer and gotten different results enough times that you will never convince me that computers don't make mistakes. The point is essentially true, though, the computer can only work with the information it is given. If you give it nonsensical data, then what you get out is equally nonsensical (if not more so). GIGO stands for "Garbage In, Garbage Out."
We, as human beings, have some things in common with computers. We have more memory, but we can't erase memory nearly as easily. We are actually smarter, but, we have so much stuff stuck in memory that it sometimes takes longer to dig out the needed information, and when we do, it is frequently distorted by other experiences. Most importantly, if we take in garbage, we will eventually spew out garbage, as well. Jesus said that it's not what goes into a man that defiles the man, but what comes out of the man. He was talking about eating without washing one's hands first. Quite frankly, we generally wash our hands before eating for sanitary reasons, but, let's face it, most of the time, what's on your hands isn't going to kill you, anyway (of course, in Jesus' time, there were a lot fewer industrial chemicals and pesticides, greases and oils to worry about). But what I'm talking about isn't so much what you eat (or might have on your hands while you are eating) as what you take in--what you read, listen to, or watch.

David said that he would set no wicked thing before his eyes, but that he would meditate on God's Word. David made his share of mistakes, but this is a man that the Bible refers to as a man after God's own heart. I would like to become a man like David, but, to be honest, on my best days, I can end the day by saying, "Today, I was an unprofitable servant. I have done that which was my duty to do." I don't have many days like that, but God is good to me anyway.

Look, I'm not saying that watching, say, slasher movies is going to send you to Hell. It may be that some people watching slasher movies would eventually start thinking that it's okay to start going out and killing people, but those people are probably a little unhinged to start with. What I am saying is that there are a lot of things that you could be watching, listening to, or reading that will have a negative effect on your mental outlook. There are also things that you could be experiencing that will have a positive effect on your mental outlook. There's an old story about a wise Native-American man who said that he felt like there were two wolves inside him, struggling for control, one good, and one evil; which one got control? whichever one he fed more. If you read your Bible--and don't just read it, study it: look for connections between, say, Job and Hezekiah; compare and contrast Peter and Paul, that sort of thing--that should be a positive thing (I say 'should' because I know that a lot of people study Scripture just to try to find fault with it, that would be a negative). If you take in good things, and make an effort to avoid taking in bad things, then that will help to build up positives in your heart and mind, so that what comes out of you is also positive.