We have a lot of filters in our life.

A furnace gets a fresh, white filter every fall and spring. A car’s oil change is accompanied by a new filter. My old-school Mr. Coffee gets a fresh paper filter once or twice a day.

I never knew there was a filter hidden behind a secret door in the deep recesses of my car’s glove box.  That is, until the guy at the quick oil change place approached me in the waiting area with great concern and urgency.

He held an air filter (which may or may not have been the shop’s prop) that looked disgusting. It was filled with dust, lint, pine needles, a bug or two, and crinkly pieces of dried leaves. I panicked and immediately felt inept at owning a car.

There are risks with poorly filtered cabin air, he tsked. But, lucky for me, they had one in stock and could replace it right away, saving my day and apparently my lungs. Even luckier, I was eligible for a special discount!

I only fell for that once.

Once I knew about this filter and its need for my attention, I had my brother teach me how to replace it. I could do that regularly and spend fifteen bucks instead of the special discounted price of fifty dollars!

There is another filter a lot of folks are not aware of, and it needs regular maintenance as well. As Christians, we are instructed to filter our thoughts. This one is complex, multi-layered, and responsible for a whole lot of important filtering. Paul explains it like this:

Keep your thoughts continually fixed on all that is authentic and real, honorable and admirable, beautiful and respectful, pure and holy, merciful and kind.

~Philippians 4:8a TPT

When I visualize filtering or fixing my thoughts, I see a spaghetti strainer upside down on my head, controlling what gets in and what must not. When the hot scummy water gets separated from a large amount of pasta, the holes begin to clog so the strainer no longer works.

In a time when we are bombarded with negative thoughts, skewed beliefs, unkind people, selfish motives, depravity, and more, our filters need constant monitoring. Without attending to it regularly, our mind’s filter can become clogged, dirty, and disgusting. And that puts us at risk for poor thinking quality, which is dangerous.

Thought quality is so important because our mind informs our heart, which impacts our words. So, if you want to know how well you are filtering your thoughts, listen to your own words.

A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.

~Luke 6:45 NIV

If you catch yourself snapping too quickly, sounding critical too often, or spewing more discontent than joy and love, then consider your “CHANGE FILTER” light. It is most likely in the “On” mode. Schedule time with your Creator to change the filter of your thoughts.

How often do you filter your thoughts?

Father God, May I be diligent and constant in filtering my mind and my heart of evil and destructive thoughts, so I can focus more on gratitude and praising You.

In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Genre: Nonfiction

Copyright2021: Filter Scams and Scummy Filters: Cynthia Mendenhall: All Rights Reserved