"the heart of darkness"
"All these evils come from within." —Mark 7:23
Jesus said: "Wicked designs come from the deep recesses of the heart" (Mk 7:21), and not from eating the wrong foods (see Mk 7:18-19). He denied the old saying: "You are what you eat." Food is not the issue; the heart is.
What affects us permanently is not so much what we put in our mouths, but what enters our lives through our eyes and ears. Jesus said: "The eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyesight is sound, your whole body is lighted up, but when your eyesight is bad, your body is in darkness" (Lk 11:34). Paul taught, "Faith...comes through hearing" (Rm 10:17). What we believe and don't believe has been affected by what we have heard with our ears. Therefore, Isaiah described a righteous person as "stopping his ears lest he hear of bloodshed, closing his eyes lest he look on evil" (Is 33:15). We must guard our eyes and ears. Otherwise, our hearts will be in great danger of defilement. If defiled, they will spew forth "acts of fornication, theft, murder, adulterous conduct, greed, maliciousness, deceit, sensuality, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, an obtuse spirit" (Mk 7:21-22).
Consequently, you can see how dangerous a TV is. It can bombard our hearts with thousands of pictures and words which, unless extremely good, will be extremely devastating in their effect on us. TV can destroy our hearts. Guard your heart (see Phil 4:7).
Prayer: Jesus, Doctor and Surgeon, remove any foreign elements from my heart.
Promise: "Bless the Lord, O my soul! O Lord, my God, You are great indeed!" —Ps 104:1
Praise: Realizing that inner turmoil was only getting worse, Rosa made a decision to think on that which is noble, beautiful, upright, holy, and pure (Phil 4:8). She soon regained her peace.
Reference: (For a related teaching, order our leaflet TV Addiction or on audio AV 65-1 or video V-65.)
Nihil Obstat: Reverend Robert L. Hagedorn, August 1, 2002
Imprimatur: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, August 7, 2002