Garbage

"Garbage in, garbage out"

So much junk flooding my senses. Bombarded from every side. I can't stop this stuff coming in. Does that mean that eventually it will come out of me?

Profanity ringing in my ears. I can't stop other people from cursing. I cringe when I hear it, but now the phrases are repeating themselves in my mind.

Provocative pictures and video etched in my memory. I can't help but see these things, but I wish that I didn't have these images replaying themselves in my mind.

How can I keep my heart pure in the midst of this? "May the words of my mouth, and the meditations of my heart be pleasing to You" The meditations of my heart are so distracted by all this garbage.

The most effective way to keep my mind pure is to stay away from these things. But how do I know what I can handle and what I need to respectfully stay away from? I can humbly ask others not to curse, and I can regretfully decline seeing a movie, but where do I draw the line?

Where is the line between guarding my heart and being legalistic?

""Everything is permissible for me"—but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible for me"—but I will not be mastered by anything. "
1 Corinthians 6:12