GIGO

There is an old computer expression I learned more that forty years ago. It sums up the idea that what you put in to a system, whether good or bad, is what you get out. GIGO refers to the principle of Garbage In - Garbage Out.

I have found that while it applies to computers, it applies to almost everything in this life.Whatever we put into our body has everlasting effects. They might not show up for years, but eventually our body breaks down and we begin to wish we had taken better care of ourselves. This same principle also applies to our mind. If you sit in front of the TV and watch the news, Your mind will get more negative trash about the state of the world, rotten financial news, disasters, political happenings, crime and sex. Talk shows and "reality TV"  thrive on our thirst for messy details. Sex is used to sell everything nowadays. Do we hang out with negative people and absorb what they are broadcasting?

As pointed out in Relationships and Ethics in Ministry (pg. 33),"To hate evil and love good takes practice. It takes self-control (Galatians 5:23) to not give in to our natural tendency to listen to a good story about a coworker. One half of the destructive process of slander includes a willing listener. Without one, there is no story. Be a protector, not a destroyer."

Shouldn't we be listening to the Father and growing in the Word? The more time we spend with God and His Word, the more our faith develops. The closer to Him we become, the more our fear diminishes.We need to constantly work on hating evil and loving good. We should be diligent in our effort to spend more time with God and his Word and less in the world.

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things" (Philippians 4:8).

We should change our personal GIGO to Good Stuff In - Good Stuff Out...