Transforming Our Minds

Which is better for your brain? Reading a book or watching TV? Which of these two activities enhances your relationships? Which more effectively lowers your stress? Which develops your frontal lobe? Hands down, research continues to uncover the long-term benefits of reading.

It keeps your mind alert, while watching TV tends to encourage your brain to be passive. Reading has actually been shown to delay cognitive decline in elderly people, and those who regularly read are less likely to have Alzheimer’s. Six minutes of reading can also reduce stress levels by 68 percent, according to researchers at the University of Sussex.

One study found that mothers who read to their children had much better communication with them. The interaction of asking their child questions was much higher than while sitting and watching an educational TV program. Parents who read to their children tend to more carefully choose books with values important to them versus parents who allow their children to watch TV programs while monitoring the content.

The Bible explains how “beholding” transforms us into the very image of what we spend time observing (2 Corinthians 3:18). If we watch movies that portray lying, stealing, cheating, drinking, drugging, and pre-marital or extra-marital sex, it bends our thoughts and behaviors in that direction. While media can be used for good, the Christian will be cautious about their choices because television and movies make a huge impact on one’s life.

The apostle Paul outlines a simple plan for keeping a handle on media: “Whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things” (Philippians 4:8).

Apply It:

If you currently do not read much, find a good book and determine to fill your mind by reading literature with high values.

Dig Deeper:

Psalm 101:3; 1 Corinthians 15:33; Matthew 5:29

Key Bible Texts

But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. (2 Corinthians 3:18 KJV)