What's in your basket?

Sunday night I was filling in for another goalie before my game. I entered the locker room to find a couple of guys there. I had played for them before so I thought I knew most of them. We were in a locker room that had a flat panel TV hanging on the wall. It did not take long for someone to take a minute to see if they could turn the TV on, in this instance someone commented about playing a "porn." Now the locker room has 9 guys getting ready for a game, 6 of which were distracted by this conversation, 3 sat silently. I am proud to say my integrity was not questioned, nor distracted, I was 1 of the 3. This all was momentary, and happened in an instance, yet I noticed the 3 that sat silently on this conversation, instantly they are the ones I want to associate with, invest myself in. To think about the fact that any other suggestion could have been made, "let's see if the game is on" or something similar. What is disheartening was the statistic that suddenly appeared 66% of the men in this room were drawn to this place, to this conversation, to this thought initiated by one.

What does this have to do with life? A couple of things come to mind, first, I can not always insulate my surroundings. I must function in a fallen world, reality of life is that this has become acceptable conversation. The unfortunate point of this, it could have even been surrounded by believers, perhaps among believers the suggestion may not have been made aloud, easily the thought could have been distracting...silently. See this issue effects us all, Satan is an equal opportunity "seducer," he wishes to attack the moral fiber of the believer just as much as he wants to keep non believer gripped in the world fallen..."to hurt the Father."

Next, am I easily distracted by those around me? What am I doing to protect my heart and guard my thoughts? I recognize my weaknesses, acknowledge the strongholds in my life and seek counsel. I do not wish to fight this battle alone, that is where Satan has his best shot at me, together we stand strong. I seek righteousness, to soar on God's wings of grace and power.

What am I doing to flip this statistic on it's head? The buzzards don't hang around if there is nothing to feed on! This does not put me on a soap box to profess my faith, this may not be appropriate forum. I do acknowledge, "I sat silently," Paul declared that he was not worthy of the calling God had given him (1 Cor. 15:9-10), by God's grace we can also say, "I am what I am, and His grace to me was not without effect."

I do not always know who's around me, so I must act in an appropriate manner. I must guard my heart protecting the investment that has been made in me. I can not hide the light, I must let my light shine, that others may see........"Together we can win," I noticed the other 2 in the room who sat as I did, I know God empowers the righteous and a battle can be won together, no matter what the odds!