Who’s Shaping Your Thinking?

“But Jesus told him, ‘No! The Scripture says, People should not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” - Matthew 4:4

I want to ask you one question today: who is shaping your thinking? What source is influencing your mind and thought patterns? We live in this “information age” where new information is available quite literally in the palm of our hands. We can search and find anything we want to know about through these handheld devices we call smartphones.

On top of that, about 7-10 different platforms have created new-age media outlets that the public masses flock to. These platforms even create algorithms designed to show us what we want to see so that we stay on the platform longer. They are literally feeding us exactly what we want to hear so that they keep our attention.

You wonder, “How did it know I was thinking that?” Well, maybe because you like and follow everything associated with your belief patterns, and thus it shows you what you want to hear. But what if what you want to hear isn’t exactly what you need to hear?  

This is why the Bible should be our primary form of “information intake.” This is not to say that we can’t look at social media or google things we want to learn more about. The problem doesn’t come when we pull out our smartphones. Our problem comes when we substitute the smartphone for the Bible.

What you spend time consuming is what your mind will shift to. When you start listening to one song on repeat over and over, what pops into your head randomly in the middle of the night or at lunch the next day? That song.

In order to continue to follow Jesus and know His will, we must be consuming Him more than all else. It is easy to become distracted with all of the resources now available to us. That is why we must be intentional about finding time to get into the Word of God and listen to what He is trying to teach us.

When is the last time you sat down and traded the smartphone for your Bible? When is the last time you asked God to speak to you through His Word? It might be time to get back to your Bible.