Eat a large amount of junk food, and you will become less than healthy. Start a diet of fruits and veggies, and slowly, you become healthier. I don’t know of anyone who argues against that logic. The condition of our body is intimately connected to what we consume.

This is not true only for our bodies; it is also true of our minds. The material that we take in through our eyes and ears impacts our heart, mind, and soul.

Whenever I meet someone with a different point of view than mine, I instinctively ask about what books they read, podcasts they listen to, and people whom they hang around with regularly. Those answers will reveal the source of their thinking. People who are conservatives listen and read conservatives. Liberals will listen to liberal commentators and authors. Many have one or two people who influence all their religious and ecclesiastical thinking. If those people say it, then they listen and change. What they hear and read is molding their thinking in a specific pattern.

Not only does it affect our thinking, but it also impacts our attitudes. If you read and listen to people who are angry and argumentative, then you become that way. Your tone begins to imitate the people who you allow to speak into your life.

The material we consume is who we become. You, as an individual, are becoming exactly what you allow into your mind.

If this is true, then if you want to change your life, one of the most significant steps is to start listening to different voices. The primary application is to the Bible. If you want to know the things of God, then you must expose yourself to his word. But the application is bigger than that and often more practical. If you want to be kind, listen, and read people who are known for their kindness to others. If you’re going to overcome busyness, then buy books and find blogs by people who are not busy. If you want to know how to serve in a particular way, then find videos and resources to help you serve that way. We must remove the destructive voices and add constructive ones in order to change our lives.

We live in an information age. Sometimes it can be overwhelming; many times, we can use all that material to transform us into the person God wants us to become.