Deep Clean: Getting Rid of Shame, Toxic Influences, and UnforgivenessSample

Deep Cleaning Toxic Influences 

Have you ever noticed your anxiety spike after spending a lot of time reading the news? Does your blood sometimes boil after scrolling through social media, seeing the misinformation and arguments that inevitably fill the comments? Have you noticed yourself becoming more cynical, critical, or crude in your conversations with others after listening to certain music, watching certain shows, or following certain accounts? 

While there’s nothing wrong with being informed, watching entertaining content, and spending time on social media, it’s wise to evaluate how all those influences are affecting us. If we’re finding ourselves feeling anxious, frustrated, and cynical instead of joyful, peaceful, and gentle, we might have a problem. 

This isn’t a new phenomenon. Jesus talked about this during His time on earth, cautioning His disciples to make sure they weren’t allowing toxic influences to take root in their hearts. 

In Matthew 16, Jesus and His disciples are traveling across the lake. At this point, Jesus has already fed the 5,000 and the 4,000, and the disciples are freaking out because they forgot bread. Jesus says something a bit odd in response: 

“… But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Matthew 16:11 NIV

Jesus knew that a little influence goes a long way. Earlier, both the Pharisees and the Sadducees were trying to undermine faith in Jesus by trying to trap Him into saying something that could discredit His ministry. Jesus is warning His disciples not to allow that same kind of cynicism and doubt to pollute their minds. 

Just as the disciples had to limit the influence of the Pharisees, we also have to limit what influences we allow. What may seem meaningless or insignificant can, over time, start to corrupt our character and poison our souls. 

Jesus was serious about safeguarding ourselves against sin. In His famous Sermon on the Mount, he says that if your right hand causes you to sin, to cut it off. While we won’t literally need to cut away body parts, we do need to cut out anything in our lives that leads us to sin or causes us to stumble. 

That doesn’t mean we have to cut out every influence, exclusively listen to Christian music, or only follow other Christians online. However, it does mean that we need to spend time praying about what influences are the best investment for us and asking the Holy Spirit to help us deep clean anything we’re consuming that is slowly corrupting our character. 

And it’s not just about removing what’s toxic. It’s also about replacing bad influences with good influences—things that are true, right, noble, and praiseworthy. And when you make the switch, you just might find a little more of God’s peace in the process. 

Pray: God, I want to please You in every area of my life, including the voices I listen to. Give me wisdom about any bad influences I need to cut out, and show me how to honor You with my time. Help me fix my thoughts on things that are good, right, true, noble, and praiseworthy. In Jesus’ name, amen.