Filter all things coming in through purity.

Guard your heart and mind from the wrong influences. Be very intentional and pay attention to what you’re putting in your mind, in your heart, and in the minds and hearts of your children. It should be supporting what’s in the Word.

Shut the door on bad input

Do you ever find yourself feeling weighed down, discouraged, less than, comparing yourself to others, anxious, scared, depressed? If so, you might want to take a moment to reflect on where those feelings are coming from. The way that you think and feel is affected by what you are consuming.

Things to consider that could be affecting your mood/heart/mind:

• something you’re watching
• something you’re listening to
• books/articles you’re reading
• social media
• people you follow online
• conversations

If you are struggling to overcome negative emotions or thoughts, it could be related to what you are allowing into your heart and mind through one of the things listed above. Be careful what you watch, see, hear, and think about. Things that may seem harmless at first can be very bad for your mind and heart. Have a zero tolerance policy for anything that makes you feel bad or wrong when you watch it, read it, or hear it. Just cut it off.

What you put in your mind matters

Everything that we put into our minds is input. Whether it be a conversation with a friend, a conversation with a coworker, a tv show, articles that we read online, or comments that we read online on videos. Even time spent just scrolling, which feels mindless and meaningless, is all input. What you put in your mind matters!

Your brain, your spirit, your mind, you’re taking this all in… so it should be worth it! It should be building you up.

Follow God

With God’s microphone being the only one turned on, and all others on mute, make sure His voice is the one you hear. Let it drown out the rest. Make sure that whatever content you are consuming from any and all sources, is in alignment with the Word of God. If it isn’t, do not allow it to speak into the lives of you and your family.

Which seeds are you planting in your hearts and minds?

The seeds that are planted will grow. You have to make sure that you are planting the Word of God and not allowing other seeds to be planted in your life or in your children’s lives that are not of God. You may not even realize this is happening if you aren’t on guard.

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.

1 Peter 5:8-9

Are you blindly allowing influences into your home without knowing the content of them?

Watch out for tv programming, music, books with messaging that isn’t in alignment with the Word. Sometimes the most innocent looking children’s programming is still pushing an anti-Christian agenda. We have to draw a hard line against the enemy and not allow him to set up camp in our homes, through our devices and our programming or through anything else. Shut the door to anything not of God in your home.

Turn off the TV, games, and devices unless you are watching it alongside your children or have previewed the content to be sure that it is appropriate for them. Never assume that you can trust a certain program or app. Dig deeper and make sure it is good. On the surface things can look innocent that aren’t.

The same thing is true for educational resources. Take a magnifying glass to all of it, and make sure it aligns with Biblical values. Train up your children in the way they should go.

Watch what comes out of your mouth

Speak words that are edifying, that build others up.

It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.

Matthew 15:11

Don’t be afraid to take a stand

If this is something you haven’t been doing yet, and you’re worried about the backlash, don’t be. Stand for what you know is right and speak up. If your children are used to having screens often or unbridled access to the TV, it could be a hard adjustment for them and for you as you have to stand firm. Do it anyway. It is worth the battle to take your home back. TV and screens, even aside from the abundance of untrustworthy programming, are not what is best for children.

Minimize screen time

Let your children spend time outside, doing hobbies, playing with each other, learning new skills, etc. Spend time with them, one on one, and connect with them. Allow them to get bored. They will adjust and you may be amazed with how they begin to entertain themselves in new ways. Creativity increases with decreased screen time.

Find fun activities to do together

Many times the reason that we as adults and as kids turn to these tv shows and screens is simply boredom. Find things to do together. Get outside and enjoy nature around you. Find local parks, beaches, trails, etc. that you can enjoy as a family.

You can also get your child lessons to learn to play an instrument, etc. Try hands on activities with your children. Help them learn more about thing that interest them.

Bible verses related to purity for reference:

Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.

Titus 2:3-5

Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, when they see your respectful and pure conduct. Do not let your adorning be external – the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear – but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.

1 Peter 3:1-4

let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.

Hebrews 10: 22-23

But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

James 3:17-18