“Garbage in, garbage out.
What goes in is found out…
All can see what goes in me...I pay the price.”
"Garbage In" by Tal and Acacia, from the album, Wake Me

The first time I heard this song, I couldn’t understand a single word of it-—not as much lyrically as technically.

You see, there is a Christian radio station about 40 miles East of us. Every now and again our car radio likes to play nice and let us get reception from the station, but not without its fair share of static and fuzz. When this song came on the radio, the only thing that I could understand was one word and one word only...

Garbage

My mom looked at me with wide eyes and asked, “What are they singing about?” I hadn’t the slightest idea. It was late at night and, as tired as I was, something about the fuzzy song playing over the car radio spurred my attention. I decided to let it be and forget about it, figuring that, because of the poor radio reception, the chances of my ever hearing that song again were slim to none.

Still, the entire next day, I couldn’t get that song out of my head.

And, even though I couldn’t understand it, something about “The Garbage Song” (as I was affectionately calling it) wouldn’t leave my mind. Rushing to the Internet to try and find what the song was actually called, it didn’t take me long before I found “Garbage In” on iTunes, recorded by sister duo Tal and Acacia. I must have listened to this song more than 20 times that day, not only because it was incredibly catchy and somewhat addictive melodically, but also because it had boldness in the message. I had never heard that kind of bluntness in Christian music.

What goes in must come out.

One of the reasons I connect with this song so much is that I feel like I’m in a place right now where God is showing me what “garbage in, garbage out” really means. It’s not just a clever song title or a three-minute song filler for radio stations. It’s a message that applies to every believer, every single day of their lives.

It says in Galatians 6:7 that whatever people sow, people reap. This Scripture is most often tied in with the principle of tithing, which is fitting, but most of the time that is where people leave it. They put it into a “scripture box,” and they don’t allow it to apply to life elsewhere. But when you go on to read the next verse in Galatians 6:8, it says this:

He who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.

There are times in life when I just can’t help but notice certain things. I will see friends or family members going through a certain situation and hear them asking “why” it is happening to them. That is when I notice the things that they are allowing into their lives.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not judging anyone here, that’s not what I’m out to do. Still, it’s almost as if people are oblivious to the trash they are letting into their lives--the shows and movies they watch, the music they listen to, the books they read, the people they hang out with--the media, the world, the lies. It goes on and on, and no one seems to get it. They think that it’s okay to see that film because it looks good or read that book because everyone else is reading it, and it’s won all these awards. It’s like a pig wearing a dress. It might look good but, in the end, it’s still a pig—-a filthy, smelly slab of bacon waiting to happen.

You see, when you allow deception and darkness into your lives, as glamorous as it might look and feel, it’s almost like you are giving the devil a doormat that has “WELCOME” sprawled across the top. Inviting him into your life to lie to you and to steal from you will inevitably kill you. He comes for no other reason than to do just that.

My challenge for you my friends is simple: Observe what you’re allowing into your lives. Are you filling your mind and your body with what’s right? Are you allowing yourself to be a temple of the Holy Spirit? Are you growing and learning through the Word of God and allowing Him to speak to you and guide you? Are you spending time with people who uplift you and make you want to desire to know God deeper? Or are you allowing junk into your life? It’s a simple question, but it’s something that far too many Christians take for granted.

If there are things in your life that you know that you need to rid yourself of, repent! Turn away! Receive the forgiveness that is right there for the taking…God has so much more for you than this world could ever try to sell you, so much more than any lies you could buy into, and far more than whatever rubbish the enemy will try to make you think you want.

The moment God taught me the effect that trash has on a life was the moment I caught the meaning of Galatians 6:7-8.

Garbage in, garbage out.

I don’t know about you but, as for me, I choose life. You’d be wise to do the same.