Passage: Philippians 4:8
"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things [are] honest, whatsoever things [are] just, whatsoever things [are] pure, whatsoever things [are] lovely, whatsoever things [are] of good report; if [there be] any virtue, and if [there be] any praise, think on these things."
G.I.G.O.
No, I am not talking about some inane electronic toy pet that "beeps" when it's hungry, and electronically "downloads" after it's eaten! Color me a party pooper, but I just don't get those things... in my book, keychains were never meant to be fed, napped, and cleaned up after. But... I digress. (grin).
G.I.G.O. *is*, however, a common term in the field of computer electronics! It stands for, "Garbage In, Garbage Out". And, believe it or not - Bill Gates does NOT own the copyright to *this* concept!
God invented this principle, and we can find it in a multitude of places in the Word. However, I'd like to paint a picture for you, and then ask you a personal question, for the purposes of this devotional.
Imagine that you had no concern whatsoever for the quality and quantity of the food you consumed, and that your appetite were voracious! (I can just see now, I am likely to get a ton of e-mail suggesting that some of you need not use very much imagination! LOL!!)
Now imagine that in your "feeding frenzy" which lasts several decades, you develop a particular affection for items loaded in saturated fats and little or no health value. (Still describing some?)
It does not take a genius to figure out the end result of such a prolonged exposure to mass volumes of "junk food" will lead to a huge series of physical maladies, not the least of which would be a HUGE girth! Along those lines, we would see the priniciple of "Garbage In" (the junk food), "Garbage Out" (obesity, poor health, etc.) in action!
Paul, however, has something to say about this... and he puts it in a positive format for us to ponder. He says, "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things [are] honest, whatsoever things [are] just, whatsoever things [are] pure, whatsoever things [are] lovely, whatsoever things [are] of good report; if [there be] any virtue, and if [there be] any praise, think on these things."
It is safe to say that if "garbage in" equals "garbage out", that the converse of that statement is also true, "Good In, Good Out"! And here we have it, in the writing of Paul, by the divine inspriation of the Holy Spirit... we are to dwell, (meditate, ponder deeply, reckon, compute, calculate, take into account, weigh, deem and consider), upon those things listed in the verse above!
And what will be the end result if we turn our "garbage" into "good"?
The Word says this: "Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you."
I don't know about you... but I'll take THAT any day of the week! I'd much rather have the God of peace WITH me, than AGAINST me! What about you?
Prayer: Heavenly Father, let us be ever cognizant of those things that we allow into our hearts and minds, as we go about our daily business. Lord, we wish to dwell upon the things that would be pleasing to You, and to meditate upon Your Word day and night. Please help us to be positive witnesses for You, and Your Kingdom... this we ask in Jesus' name, amen!
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Eric Reamer is an evangelist, and full time Christian Illusionist. If you enjoy this devotional, please e-mail Eric at: Eric@IllustratedIllusions.com.
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