Garbage In, Garbage Out
Warning: I am going to sound old school in this post, so hang in there.
I recently got a craving for a certain fast food establishment. This eatery is not known for the nutritional value of its food, but they are great at convincing you to eat there anyway. I usually don’t give in to cravings like this, because I know what’s waiting for me on the other side of consuming this type of food. But, I am human, so I got in my car and found myself at the drive-thru window.
As I channeled the 16-year old version of myself, I was reminded of a looming lesson that I had learned a long time ago. That lesson: Garbage In, Garbage Out. In the moment, the food tasted good. But in the morning, I paid for it. See, I have a habit of waking up early and exercising. Things are quiet, and I get time away from everything to pray, listen to an audiobook, and go through my daily Bible reading. All of these are good things, but that morning, I hit a hurdle. The fast food from the previous evening had not fueled my body with what it needed to make it through my workout. I was exhausted, and I felt like trash. This affected my workout, as I sluggishly moved through it, never giving my best effort.
So, what does this have to do with the everyday choices of our lives? It’s that reminder – Garbage In, Garbage Out. We consume quite a bit of content each day. From social media, internet searches, daily phone reminders, news updates, YouTube, television, streaming platforms, all of it feeds us. The books we read, the people we listen to – all of it feeds us. The conversations we have, the relationships we build, the choices we make – they all feed us. The challenge: are we feeding ourselves with good food or bad food? What are you putting in the stomach of your soul? (Yes, I know that sounds weird).
Certain choices feel good in the moment, but they don’t actually satisfy us like we wish they would. Certain thoughts feel good in the moment, but they don’t actually help us grow like we really want. Certain conversations seem to make us feel better about ourselves in the moment, but they don’t actually help us become the best versions of ourselves. Most things that are bad for us actually do seem good for a little bit. That’s the sneaky part of the whole thing. What seems good in the moment proves itself bad later. Why? Because we have to manage our choices. See, making choices is actually the easy part; but managing our choices is the hard part. And It is easier to manage good choices than bad ones.
If you put anger in, you get anger out. If you put comparison in, you get jealousy out. If you put lust in, you get selfishness out. If you put self-gratification in, you get regret out. If you put gossip in, you get negativity out. See the pattern here? If you want to get the best out of that morning workout we call LIFE, you can’t make a pattern out of late night fast food snacking. Because when we put garbage in, we get garbage out.
At the risk of sounding old school here – guard your heart, and your eyes, and your ears, and your mouth, and your mind. Because garbage not only stinks, but it also keeps us from God’s best in our lives. He wants better FOR you. Forego the fast food of the mind, because it offers nothing for the soul. Garbage In, Garbage Out.