**Enjoy this Featured Chapter from Beauty in the Making!**
/Reading Time: 2.5 Minutes
Input Output: What Goes in Must Come out
2 Timothy 2:21 (ESV) says: “Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.”
Have you ever noticed if you hang around your best friend for too long you begin to start acting like them? You start using the same phrases and can even tell what each other is thinking. Whether it’s television shows, magazines, video games, social media, or music, a lot of times what you watch, read, and listen to influences what you think, feel, and say as well. Your thoughts not only influence your success in life, but they also greatly affect your walk with God.
The summer before I began playing college volleyball, I was up early running or lifting weights every morning. For me, nothing was better than working out and listening to music. I turned it all the way up!! As the music pumped into my ears, I was motivated to keep going. I started out listening to Christian music, but eventually I got bored. It did not have the bass and the excitement I enjoyed in secular music. I missed that cool feeling, so I began searching online for some of the top hits. This music had amazing bass and provocative beats, but along with that came one curse word after another. I convinced myself that I could listen to this music without it impacting me, but boy I was wrong! As I pictured the lyrics, seductive images bombarded my mind. The music felt good to listen to, but it was as if the lyrics were cutting my soul.
By the time I got to campus, I noticed my thoughts were changing. I began to look at the guys differently. I wanted them to think about me like the music artists described the girls in the songs. I craved the attention they got in the music videos and wanted someone to desire me in that way . . . even if it was only for my looks or my body. I knew deep in my spirit that it was wrong, but the lyrics made it seem so glorious to have all the guys’ attention. The music videos painted the picture that it was something every woman should want and desire.
Eventually, what I was thinking began affecting how I acted. I started carrying myself differently. I flirted with guys in the gym and dressed less modestly when I went out with my friends. Sometimes I even let a curse word slip. My teammates would look at me in shock. They cursed, but they were not used to me doing it because I was the “Christian girl”...the “goody two shoes.” I knew these moments damaged my reputation, and I now realize how it hurt my witness.
How could I be “the light” on campus if I was walking in such darkness? How could I say I represented Jesus when my actions were declaring something else?
I continued to explore the party life for a while; but, when I hung out with my Christian friends, I felt how empty I was on the inside. I knew that if I did not change what I was listening to, who I was hanging out with, and what I was watching, things were only going to go downhill.
My mother once told me that even if I could not talk to her about something, I could always talk to God. In college I used that advice more than ever. I was too embarrassed and ashamed to tell others, but I knew I could turn to Jesus. I was painfully honest with Him. I asked if He would purify my mind, change the desires of my heart, and help me want the things that pleased Him.
It was not overnight, but as the days went by, I began to blossom in my relationship with God. He helped me build godly friendships and I started losing my craving for the kind of music and behaviors that were only holding me back. During this time, I realized God wanted to help me, but I had a role to play in my transformation. I had to start being disciplined with my input so I could have holy output.
Take some time to honestly reflect on your entertainment and friends today. Sometimes living for God is unpopular, uncomfortable, and it usually goes against the grain of culture, but it is well worth it! Now that I am a young adult, I am grateful that I turned back to Jesus because it allowed God to protect me tremendously. God kept me from making life-changing decisions that would have dishonored Him and my body—choices that could have negatively affected the wonderful plans He had for my life. He gave me opportunities I did not feel worthy of and even lifted me up onto a platform where I can now minister to others.
My challenge to you is to learn this while you are young: what we take in will surely come out. If you are struggling with being around the wrong people or taking in negative influences, God is always reaching out and giving you an opportunity to change. Will you reach up and grab His hand?
Prayer Starter: Dear Heavenly Father, I want to honor You with the influences I allow into my life. Forgive me for what I have done wrong and give me the strength to do it right. Please help me to desire the things that glorify You and make me a better person. Please send the right friends my way and lead me to the best kind of entertainment. I want to walk in power and I know this starts with guarding what comes into my mind. Give me the grace I need! I know that with You by my side I can do this!
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