What was your favorite game to play in elementary school? Being a former elementary teacher, I used to always keep a game in the back of my mind for those times when my students would get a little too wiggly and need to refocus. One quick game could be the difference between them paying attention or battling for classroom control.
A favorite game of all my students was hot potato. Do you remember playing it? You gather in a circle and have an object to represent a hot potato. The teacher turns on some music and you begin passing the object as if it were a hot potato, thus the name, and whoever is caught holding it when the music stops is out. The obvious object of the game is to get rid of the hot potato the moment it comes to you.
I’ve been asked if it is a sin to have an ungodly thought and my answer is no. You cannot be held responsible for a random thought that come to your mind, but you are held responsible for what you do with your thoughts. Let’s face it, we’ve all had something pop in our mind and we’ve said “Where did that come from?”
Some thoughts are seeds of destruction the enemy plants hoping we’ll take the bait. After all, his main agenda is to kill, steal and destroy us [John 10:10]. He knows if he plants a thought in our minds and we choose to meditate on it, eventually we’ll act on it. If we act on it, it can quickly become a habit and then our reality. The Lord tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”
God knows how the enemy works and He has provided a way for us to deal with our thought life properly to avoid sin. In 2 Corinthians 10:5 He tells us “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” What Paul is saying here is play hot potato with your thoughts that don’t honor God or line up with His Word. When something pops into your mind that isn’t of God, quickly pass it to Him to deal with before you sin.
While you aren’t held accountable for thoughts that randomly pop in your mind, what you feed your mind is another story. When we willingly choose things that contridict the Lord and His Word, we’re sinning. Be careful what you read, what you listen to, what you watch, and what you discuss. Your mind is like a sponge and it absorbs whatever you expose it to, so be wise [Proverbs 8:33, Proverbs 23:19].
Philippians 4:8 says “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable– if anything is excellent or praiseworthy– think about such things.” It’s the principle of junk in, junk out. Whatever you spend time pouring into your body is what will come out of you and your mind is no different. Choose wisely. If you aren’t sure, ask the Lord. He will never lead you astray.