Life Filters
As my previous church, we had a bit of a catch phrase saying on staff: "Filter! Filter!" We'd say it when someone spoke before their thought had a chance to be filtered before hitting the vocal cords. You know the kind - where we have a thought, then speak that thought, then think "oh, that could have come out in a better way", or even, "did I just say that out loud?". Some people have little to no filter - they "speak their mind", as it were. Some have very narrow filters and choose every word very carefully. Most of us fall somewhere in between these two extremes.
While we all have various levels of (non)filters in our brains, we also all have (and need) some kinds of filters in everyday life. We are surrounded by so much information that is often conflicting. In a Google world with any tiny bit of information available on millions of web pages, or a Facebook and Twitter world where we see updates every few minutes, how do we make sense of it all?
We need filters.
Filters are meant to keep out the undesired and to allow desired things to pass through. This is true for every kind of filter: water, air, oil filters in our cars, lens filters on cameras, etc.
It's also true of our lives. For us as people, we need "life filters" - the trusted resources in our lives that help us decide what information to take at face value, what to be skeptical of, and what to reject. They are family members and friends, web sites, newspapers, TV shows, books, etc. that we turn to for advice. They are the people and things that we want to know, "what would they think". I would bet that many times this isn't a conscious thing, like we sit down and say, "I need to filter through the world of today's news. I'm going to let Kevin Newman do that for me today." But the fact is, that's really what we are doing.
For us as Christians, the Bible is a primary filter. We seek to understand it - and to "stand under" it - as the self-revealing of the God of the universe. It points us to the true God and His saving work in Jesus Christ, which is called "the Gospel" - the "Good News". And this Good News changes we how view everything in life (2 Corinthians 5:14-17). It becomes a very important filter for us.
So two questions: 1. What are your filters? and 2. How do you decide who and what your filters are? What causes you to trust one person over another, one book over another, one web site over another?
I'd be most interested to hear from you in the comments below - thoughts on how you and others in your life deal with the ocean of information and opinions floating "out there". Who and what are your filters?
Comments
Prayer is my most primary
Prayer is my most primary filter. I like to listen and take in peoples opinions, especially people who seem to be in "the know" about a particular topic. I especially like to listen to people who don't only know, but are passionate about their conviction. I then tend to get very quiet and decipher it all, take it to prayer and listen for what God has to say, or which way He nudges me or what he might have in store because of the various conversations that have been engaged in. My husband would also say...after prayer...and around prayer...I talk things to death. Sometimes, no probably most of the time, he's right....over thinking things is my thing. What can I say, its's is how I am built!
Hey Michael! I really
Hey Michael! I really enjoyed this post! Very clearly written and easy to read, and thought provoking too. I've never thought about the people in my life as filters before. But maybe I'm not supposed to comment since I don't go to your church ahaha! Anyways, it makes sense to use the word "filter" instead of "judge" to me. People don't like to be called judgmental as everyone does need to form opinions for themselves. But thinking of your judgmental thoughts as "filtering information" is a good perspective to have I think.
~Kirstin L.
Hi Kirstin! Welcome! Anyone
Hi Kirstin! Welcome! Anyone is allowed to read and comment, so fire away. :)
I think both of you are right - we need filters not so we don't have to think for ourselves, but that so we aren't overwhelmed. Especially in this age of the web, you can get 4 million different opinions about something in micro-seconds. We take the best info we can through trusted filters, then think for ourselves.
But to go further than that, I would argue that the act of choosing our filters is perhaps more important than deciding what to do with "filtered" info. If we trust those things/people, that's a tremendous help.
So for a simple example - there is so much music out there. How do we find good stuff (and stuff that we like)? Recommendations from friends? Whatever's playing at Starbucks that week? Top-40 radio station playlists? Those are all filters. We can't possibly listen to all the different music that's out there to decide what we like. So we need filters. For me right now, the crew at Relevant Magazine and anything that's not on Top-40 radio :) are two of mine. That helps me sort through the mass of info that's out there.
The concept of judging is a whole other topic. :) But that's a good thought too. I would say that this is less about being judgemental, since these filters are things/people that we actually seek out - it's not unsolicited opinions or anything. But they're the resources that we say "I trust you and I trust your opinion/taste/knowledge/experience/etc. so when you speak I will listen".
It's perhaps another take on "consider the source", but in more of a positive way. :)
Thanks for your thoughts. Feel free to continue the conversation!
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