One of the recent additions to our public safety system in the U.S. has been the use of rumble strips along highways. Rumble strips are designed to keep wandering minds, sleepy bodies, and burger-eating mini-van drivers from driving off the road and hurting themselves or others.
The other day I was thinking, "Wouldn't it be cool if there were rumble strips for your mind?" You know, when your mind starts wandering off the path of God's truth into either lust, greed, revenge, fear, or some other mindset that is contrary to God's plan for us as men, suddenly your head would begin to shake violently to keep you from going any further into destructive thinking.
In some respects, that's exactly what the Holy Spirit does in conjunction with the Word of God to keep our minds where they belong. A man who is sensitive to the direction of the Spirit saying to him, "Hey buddy! Not there! This is not where you want your mind to go," is a man who is keeping in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:25). When our minds are filled with the truth of God's Word it is much easier for us to recognize when we are heading toward the guard rail.
What are some tools and strategies you have found helpful in keeping your mind set on a path that is lifegiving and not a path that leads to destruction?
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What Do You Think?
3 comments:
Christians are quick to jump on the homosexual condemnation agenda but slow to address their own perversions of lust, pornography as well as emotional and physical attachments.
Internet accountability is one of the keys to keeping pure in one of the huge pitfalls for men;which would be lust and sexual perversions.
The internet is such a terrible hook for porn and opportunities to "meet singles (even christian singles) in your area".
So, I have a simple plan. 1. I quickly delete and block email from unknown senders. 2. Our computer is in the most public place in our home. 3. No one in our home uses the net when they are alone in the house. 4. I personally never use the net when my wife is asleep.
It also doesn't hurt to remember the acronym H.A.L.T. which translates to Hungry-Angry-Lonely-Tired. If any of those describes your mood or feelings, stay away from decision making and risky internet browsing.
I've had people tell me that they are stronger than this and don't need these kinds of "buzz-strips". But these buzz-strips have helped to keep me from going off road for a long time now.
I love the HALT acronym. These four are so true. I think that "tired" and "alone" are the big ones for most guys I talk with.
I would love to hear what other mental and spiritual tools guys are using to help walk free.
I think the best way to avoid (certain) harmful things is to just not have them in your life. If you know that a computer is a dangerous thing then only use it when others are around or better yet, only use it where it's offered publically.
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