FilterSample

BAD WATER

I love backpacking! I’m not sure if you’ve ever been, but I highly recommend it. There is just something about putting everything you need to survive on your back, hiking miles away from any road, and then just surviving in the wilderness for days at a time. But, if you’re in that situation for more than a couple days, you’re eventually going to have to replenish your water supply. It’s simple: humans need water to survive, you can only carry so much water with you (because water is heavy), so you’ll have to find some more while you’re back there. 

This is where a crucial piece of gear comes into play - a water filter. It would be absolute madness to find a creek, fill up your hydro, and start chugging. The water may look clear, it will be crisp and cool, but a few hours later you will quite possibly be sicker than you’ve ever been in your whole life. The reason? That water source you found is also used by all the animals that call that area home. They walk down to the stream, bring their whole families along, and spend some time drinking, bathing, probably going to the bathroom nearby (or even right in the river). That clear and cool water you’re looking at is potentially packed full of microscopic parasites that will make you terribly sick. So, if you’re ever backpacking in the wilderness, you would be insane to not bring a water filter!

What does that have to do with the next 5 days of our time together in the Bible? Well, our souls are kind of in the same situation. Every day we take in hundreds and thousands of pieces of information. Stuff we see in our social media feeds, news alerts on our phone, music in our earbuds - we are constantly “drinking” from this river of content. And if we don’t take some time to filter what we allow in, it can make us spiritually sick. 

So today, as we start this plan, I want to challenge you to begin thinking about what you’ve been taking in. Where might you need to start filtering what you’re watching, listening to, or reading? We’ll talk more about how as the week goes on, but begin to identify the spiritual “parasites” that may be hiding in the content you’re ingesting so that you can be prepared to filter them out for the health of your soul.