My friends, today I am thinking a lot about the “environment” that we create, that we allow affect us, that we realize is in us. Let’s talk about a few things. These ideas are taken from my new book HEALTH THROUGH THE PSALMS: To Do God’s Will. You can learn more about this at www.healththroughthepsalms.com.
Consider your environment and consider that you are the soil, and what you produce is the fruit. Consider both the internal and external inputs that are part of your environment. These impact you greatly; in fact, they might control you much more than you realize. Just like the gardener meticulously cares for the garden by watering, nourishing the soil, selecting the location, pulling weeds, and planting seeds at the right time, we must meticulously care for ourselves by assessing our environments, not just on a whim but with honesty and sobriety, being watchful and vigilant. This includes the environments of our brains, our bodies, and our beliefs. They all matter.
Here is a warning from Proverbs: “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” Think about this. What you believe and think matters. They affect each other. If you do not believe that God can work through His Word to transform your brain, body, and beliefs, then it probably won’t happen. If you do not believe that the psalms I am presenting to you have anything to do with your environment, your stress level, your habits, your health, and your peace of mind, then you will not benefit from this study like someone who is all in and believes that God’s Word is powerful and active and is beneficial for instruction, reproof, and training in righteousness—and, in fact, for health and every aspect of life.
We do not have as much integration in our lives between different disciplines of expertise. Many people go to their pastor for spiritual counseling, then they go to their doctor for their physical health (and many times mental health), and then they go to their therapist for counseling. My goal is to tie all three of these together. I am trying to fill the gap between all of these experts. In general, the pastor does not talk about what you are eating or how you are sleeping. The doctor does not challenge you on your spiritual convictions and if you are adhering to what you say you believe. The therapist might tackle some of this but may only have the social component as the point of focus. Again, I am challenging you to allow this study to bridge the gap between all three areas so that you will have peace in your brain, body, and beliefs. I am challenging you to think that incorporating all three together using God’s Word will benefit your entire health so that truly as you think in your heart, so will you be. In biological and psychological terms, we say, “Your psychology dictates your biology.” Do not settle for what someone else told you that you are or what you have always believed you are—such as, “Oh, I am someone who deals with depression.” Or “I am someone who will always be fat.” Or “Heart disease runs in my family, so I for sure will have to have cardiac surgery and will probably have a heart attack.” Or “I will always be poor; there is no way I could make more money.” Take the challenge and hope differently. Remember that I am not giving medical advice. I am only using God’s Word to be the source for improvement in your life. You do not need to sit in a pit of a poor mental state or in a state of poor health.
Let’s take a good look at your environment right now. Your environment includes all things that affect you in your brain, body, and beliefs. It includes your sensory capabilities—what you see, hear, feel, touch, and smell. It includes your emotions and what affects your emotions—physical touch, tones of voices, others’ facial expressions and attitudes toward you. It includes toxins that come your way, such as plastics, noise, falsehoods, conflicts, rumors, gossip, unbelief, complaints and arguing, negative social interactions, and your thought patterns. It includes how much someone touches you and how much you touch others. It includes what you think and believe, who your friends and coworkers are, how your family influences you, and what social media does to you. It includes your habits and lifestyle, the choices you make daily, even minute by minute. It includes what you say and what you spend time reading and listening to. It includes what conversations you participate in and how you contribute and respond to these. It is enormous. Learn to control your environment as much as you can or at least learn to manage it the best you can. You don’t have to be the weak recipient of toxins, whether they are environmental, social, or emotional, but instead you can be a leader to muster the change to make all realms of your life better. Don’t let the environment of others become your environment, unless of course their environment is good for you and you know it is part of the path of righteousness God has for you.
Let’s look at the power of your senses, especially your sense of sight. We have millions of sensory neurons in our system, and most of these sensory receptors are visual. Wow! How powerful our sight is. Ears that hear and eyes that see—the Lord has made them both. Think about how you have been greatly affected your whole life by what you have seen, both innocently and in a sense of unawareness but also by choice, by the willful and knowledgeable choosing of viewing movies, pictures, and other people or events. We have learned valuable skills and lessons from this, but we also have had toxic visual experiences and encounters as well. These affect the environment of our brains, how we think and feel, and then of course ultimately our own emotions, behaviors, health, and even our spiritual walk.
Remember, “as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” Who are you? How are you behaving? What are your habits? Who are your close confidants? Who are your heroes, your podcast commentators, your Instagram likes, your Facebook friends? Who are the newscasters, editorialists, or authors you follow? What stores and websites do you frequent? What luxury items and memberships do you value? How do you spend your free time? What relationships do you prioritize? These all matter.
I hope you are encouraged to take a good look at your environment today. We must guard it. This takes an effort. Be blameless, my friends. Be blameless by making this effort to clean up the environment that surrounds you, the environment that is in you and the environment that you create.