Pink Slime of the Mind

Recently, pink slime, officially called finely textured meat, has hit the newswaves.  Whether or not you think that pink slime is safe, I think that we can all agree that the images are pretty disgusting, hence the reason it was given it's unofficial name.
This controversy is a testament to the power that information has on us.  Dubbed completely safe by official sources, the company that produces this product, Beef Products Inc., has had to suspend operations in three out of it's four plants due to financial woes.  Although I am glad that consumers are concerned about what they are putting in their bodies, it makes me wonder why we aren't so quick to filter out what we put in our mind.

Our media is filled with what I would like to think of as pink slime of the mind.  Little by little, we let it into our living rooms, our cars and our childrens' minds without much thought.  Yes, our bodies are important and we are called to be good stewards of them.  But what about our minds? 

I know that some will argue that society influences media, while others argue that media influences society, but either way, much of it needs to be filtered out.  It is not what God intends us to meditate and reflect on.

Almost a year ago, the prairie parsonage cut the ties with our cable company.  This wasn't a decision made out of spiritual pietism, but rather out of extreme frugality and ease of life.  I was about to take three months unpaid maternity leave and I really didn't want to spend it watching the Wiggles (guys dressed up as trekkies singing about fruit salad freak me out).  It was easier to cancel cable than to limit a two year old's TV intake while caring for a newborn.  There was no battle, extra money and I was spared from the horror of that creepy star on Sprout.

The first thing I noticed without cable was that I started growing more in my walk with God.  There was less distraction and background noise in our home.  That meant that in the quiet moments I could talk to God.  Before then, quiet moments were rare.

Second, I haven't really missed TV.  Yes, we may seem a bit like social freaks, but if there is something that I want to watch, I usually do so online.  Even then, we have filled our life with relationship with each other and now TV, movies and media really isn't so appealing.

1 Cor 13:15 states, "bad company corrupts good character."  This was orignally written in response to wrong doctrine that was being taught; doctrine stated that there was no resurruction.  Today, there is a different wrong doctrine being taught- one of moral relativism and apathy.  It is pretty much an anything goes mentality, but this mentality doesn't line up with scripture.

Does this mean that we don't ever interact with people who have different beliefs or that we completely cut ourselves off from society?  No.  It means that we need to be careful who and what we let into our lives.  For my husband and I, what we watched happened to be what shaped our hearts.  We aren't big music fans and we stick to pretty basic websites.  Our temptation to allow trash into our hearts came through our eyes. 

So, if a story on pink slime can cause such an uprising in the meat market, then just imagine if we stopped supporting movie studios, record companies and other pink slime producers.  Maybe, just maybe, they would listen and offer a healthy alternative.  But, even if they don't, we can choose what we chew on, whether it is pink slime of the mind or God's Word.

P.S. I spared you pictures in this post.  No one wants to see another pink slime picture!