What You Consume Is Shaping Who You Become
Have you ever had a song get stuck in your head? Not just any song, but one of those earworm melodies that plays on repeat without your permission? Maybe it's "We Will Rock You," "Don't Stop Believing," or even "Who Let the Dogs Out." These songs lodge themselves in our minds, playing over and over whether we want them to or not.
This phenomenon reveals something profound about how we're wired: what's repeated, what remains, tends to train us.
And here's the uncomfortable truth—this principle applies to far more than catchy tunes. It applies to our entire spiritual formation.
Your Soul Has an Algorithm
Just like social media platforms use algorithms to determine what content you see, your soul is being shaped by an algorithm of sorts. Every day, you're being trained. Every day, you're being influenced. Formation is always happening, whether you're aware of it or not.
The critical question isn't whether formation is occurring—it's what is doing the forming.
What feeds are shaping your spiritual algorithm? What influences are determining the direction of your soul's formation? Are you consumed by anxiety because everything you watch amplifies fear and catastrophe? Are you filled with discontent because you constantly scroll through curated highlights of other people's lives?
Here's the reality: what we consistently take in shapes what we love, what we fear, what we assume, and even what we normalize.
The Eye Is the Lamp of the Body
Jesus addressed this directly in the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 6:22-23, He taught: "Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light. But when your eye is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is."
Jesus is teaching us that our inner life is downstream from our inputs.
Think about it like an oil refinery. What happens upstream determines what comes out downstream. If crude oil enters the system contaminated with impurities, sulfur, and water, you can't ignore those contaminants and expect clean fuel to magically appear. What flows in eventually shows up in what flows out.
The same is true for our souls. We cannot consume chaos all week and expect peace to show up on demand. We cannot fill our minds with distortion and expect clarity. We cannot feed on fear and expect faith to flourish.
Partnering With God in Formation
The beautiful news is that as followers of Christ, we're in a covenant relationship with God—a give-and-receive partnership. We're not passive victims of our environment. God has given us both the responsibility and the power to control our influences, desires, and the things that shape our spiritual algorithm.
The Apostle Paul gave us a practical strategy in Philippians 4:8: "And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise."
Notice the three words: "Fix your thoughts."
This is a biblical formation strategy for changing your spiritual algorithm. Paul isn't speaking vaguely—he's specific about what deserves our attention:
We have the power to change our inputs. We can curate what we consume. We can be intentional about what shapes us.
But here's where it gets even better.
The Holy Spirit's Transforming Power
Spiritual formation isn't just about white-knuckling better behavior. It's not merely behavioral modification or managing our habits through sheer willpower. That approach exhausts us and ultimately fails.
True transformation happens when we partner with the Holy Spirit. When we repeatedly take in truth, sit in what's good, and dwell on what's life-giving, the Spirit of God begins to rewrite our cravings. He softens what we've hardened. He redirects what we're naturally drawn to.
Over time, we begin to desire what is right. We start wanting what God wants for us. That's real transformation—internal change that lasts, not just external pressure that fades.
The Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead has the power to transform you and me. That's not hyperbole. That's the gospel.
The Power of Community
Here's something we often overlook: people are part of our algorithm too.
People normalize things for us. People reinforce values. People shape what feels right or what feels off. We're shaped by those closest to us, whether we realize it or not.
This is why the church matters. This is why genuine Christian community is non-negotiable.
When you surround yourself with people who chase what the culture chases, fear what the culture fears, and value what the culture values, you'll drift in that direction—not because you want to, but because formation is always happening.
But when you're connected to a community pursuing God, something shifts. You start caring about what God cares about. You see things differently. You desire different things. You have people who challenge your thinking, affirm your identity in Christ, and walk alongside you.
Social media gives us people who affirm us. The church gives us people who form us. There's a difference.
What Gets Your Attention Gets Access to Your Life
Think about an elite triathlete training for an Ironman. They don't train randomly. They don't eat whatever they want and hope for the best. What they consume and what they practice determines how they perform.
Yet spiritually, we often treat our souls with less care than an athlete treats their body. We consume whatever content comes our way. We scroll mindlessly. We binge on entertainment that shapes us in ways we don't recognize until the damage is done.
Inputs don't stay inputs. They become thoughts. Thoughts become patterns. Patterns become behaviors. Behaviors become character.
Before we know it, we're living lives we never intended, shaped by influences we never examined.
Three Questions Worth Asking
As you reflect on your own formation, consider these questions:
This isn't about creating a purity culture where you control everything you see. That's impossible and unhealthy. This is about choosing what shapes you and partnering with God in that process.
The life you want tomorrow is being shaped by what you allow in today.
What are you allowing in?
This phenomenon reveals something profound about how we're wired: what's repeated, what remains, tends to train us.
And here's the uncomfortable truth—this principle applies to far more than catchy tunes. It applies to our entire spiritual formation.
Your Soul Has an Algorithm
Just like social media platforms use algorithms to determine what content you see, your soul is being shaped by an algorithm of sorts. Every day, you're being trained. Every day, you're being influenced. Formation is always happening, whether you're aware of it or not.
The critical question isn't whether formation is occurring—it's what is doing the forming.
What feeds are shaping your spiritual algorithm? What influences are determining the direction of your soul's formation? Are you consumed by anxiety because everything you watch amplifies fear and catastrophe? Are you filled with discontent because you constantly scroll through curated highlights of other people's lives?
Here's the reality: what we consistently take in shapes what we love, what we fear, what we assume, and even what we normalize.
The Eye Is the Lamp of the Body
Jesus addressed this directly in the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 6:22-23, He taught: "Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light. But when your eye is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is."
Jesus is teaching us that our inner life is downstream from our inputs.
Think about it like an oil refinery. What happens upstream determines what comes out downstream. If crude oil enters the system contaminated with impurities, sulfur, and water, you can't ignore those contaminants and expect clean fuel to magically appear. What flows in eventually shows up in what flows out.
The same is true for our souls. We cannot consume chaos all week and expect peace to show up on demand. We cannot fill our minds with distortion and expect clarity. We cannot feed on fear and expect faith to flourish.
Partnering With God in Formation
The beautiful news is that as followers of Christ, we're in a covenant relationship with God—a give-and-receive partnership. We're not passive victims of our environment. God has given us both the responsibility and the power to control our influences, desires, and the things that shape our spiritual algorithm.
The Apostle Paul gave us a practical strategy in Philippians 4:8: "And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise."
Notice the three words: "Fix your thoughts."
This is a biblical formation strategy for changing your spiritual algorithm. Paul isn't speaking vaguely—he's specific about what deserves our attention:
- True: Reality as God defines it, not as our culture distorts it
- Honorable: What's worthy of respect and reverence
- Right: What aligns with God's character and ways
- Pure: What's uncorrupted and uncompromised
- Lovely: What draws us toward love and goodness
- Admirable: What's worth remembering and repeating
We have the power to change our inputs. We can curate what we consume. We can be intentional about what shapes us.
But here's where it gets even better.
The Holy Spirit's Transforming Power
Spiritual formation isn't just about white-knuckling better behavior. It's not merely behavioral modification or managing our habits through sheer willpower. That approach exhausts us and ultimately fails.
True transformation happens when we partner with the Holy Spirit. When we repeatedly take in truth, sit in what's good, and dwell on what's life-giving, the Spirit of God begins to rewrite our cravings. He softens what we've hardened. He redirects what we're naturally drawn to.
Over time, we begin to desire what is right. We start wanting what God wants for us. That's real transformation—internal change that lasts, not just external pressure that fades.
The Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead has the power to transform you and me. That's not hyperbole. That's the gospel.
The Power of Community
Here's something we often overlook: people are part of our algorithm too.
People normalize things for us. People reinforce values. People shape what feels right or what feels off. We're shaped by those closest to us, whether we realize it or not.
This is why the church matters. This is why genuine Christian community is non-negotiable.
When you surround yourself with people who chase what the culture chases, fear what the culture fears, and value what the culture values, you'll drift in that direction—not because you want to, but because formation is always happening.
But when you're connected to a community pursuing God, something shifts. You start caring about what God cares about. You see things differently. You desire different things. You have people who challenge your thinking, affirm your identity in Christ, and walk alongside you.
Social media gives us people who affirm us. The church gives us people who form us. There's a difference.
What Gets Your Attention Gets Access to Your Life
Think about an elite triathlete training for an Ironman. They don't train randomly. They don't eat whatever they want and hope for the best. What they consume and what they practice determines how they perform.
Yet spiritually, we often treat our souls with less care than an athlete treats their body. We consume whatever content comes our way. We scroll mindlessly. We binge on entertainment that shapes us in ways we don't recognize until the damage is done.
Inputs don't stay inputs. They become thoughts. Thoughts become patterns. Patterns become behaviors. Behaviors become character.
Before we know it, we're living lives we never intended, shaped by influences we never examined.
Three Questions Worth Asking
As you reflect on your own formation, consider these questions:
- What is shaping your thinking right now?
- What's forming you toward Christ—or away from Him?
- What needs to change in your inputs this week?
This isn't about creating a purity culture where you control everything you see. That's impossible and unhealthy. This is about choosing what shapes you and partnering with God in that process.
The life you want tomorrow is being shaped by what you allow in today.
What are you allowing in?