Feed Your Mind with God’s Word

by Rick Warren — October 30, 2017

“I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me” (Psalm 101:3 ESV).

You’ll hear a lot of concern these days about water pollution and air pollution. And those concerns are important.

But there may be a more important pollution in our lives: mind pollution.

The Bible tells us that what we feed our minds is just as important as what we feed our bodies.

Psalm 101:3 says, “I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me” (ESV).

When feeding your mind, you must choose from four kinds of content.

  • Poison – These are the concepts that will derange, degrade, or demoralize you. For instance, pornography will do that.
  • Junk food – Most of the stuff on television is the mental equivalent of junk food. You’ll find little to no nutritional value in it. You can eat junk food, but you’re not going to get very wise.
  • Brain food – This is the “good stuff.” It educates you in areas like math, history, English, and geography. You need to fill your mind with brain food. It’ll make you a well-rounded person.
  • Super food – This is the Bible. God’s Word will teach you what you won’t find anywhere else. It answers fundamental questions like, “Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going? Does my life matter? Is there a purpose to my life? Is there meaning? Am I significant?” You’ll only get answers to those questions in the Bible. We need to feast on God’s Word daily.

    • Unfortunately, many of us fill up our brains with junk food, and we leave ourselves little time for reading the Bible. If you watch six to eight hours of television a day, you’ll have no time for God’s Word. Worse yet, you won’t even be hungry for God’s Word.

    Let’s cut out the junk food, and learn to feast on the Bible.

    That’s how we become wise.

    Talk It Over

    • Of the four kinds of “food” described in this devotional, which one do you consume the most? The least?
    • What’s one practical idea for spending more time consuming “brain food” and “super food”?
    • What kind of “junk food” media consumption are you the most susceptible to, and why?

    Give hope, prayer, and encouragement below. Post a comment & talk about it.