New Jeep brings lesson on the heart

Published 1:57 pm Thursday, July 15, 2021

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I recently purchased a Jeep Wrangler. This is a vehicle I have always wanted.

My mom said they were too dangerous when I was starting to drive, so I knew she’d never allow me to get one.

Now I am in my 40s and I pay my own bills, so guess what? I done did it. Sorry mom.

This Jeep is awesome. It is so much fun to learn about the hidden “easter eggs” Jeeps have. Jeep owners have this special wave you are supposed to do when you drive past another Jeep. They even have a fun game where you place a rubber duck on someone’s Jeep handle for them to keep if you like the look of their Jeep. I look forward to taking my doors off, putting my top down and just Jeeping to the fullest.

I have noticed something since I got this Jeep. I see way more Jeeps now. It’s like everywhere I turn there’s another Jeep.

Then it dawned on me, not only did my mom think Jeeps were too dangerous for me when I started driving (and I gotta admit, she was right), but she also let my brother and I know that whatever we put in our heart, and whatever was on our mind, would be what we thought of and noticed more.

She knew full well that if I listened to bad stuff (music wise, bad witnesses from unbelieving folks, watched bad things in movies or TV shows, etc.) that the bad stuff would fill up my heart and mind. The whole “garbage in, garbage out” idea is oh-so-true.

If you set your heart and focus your mind on something, that is what you become filled with. Grant Taylor, in the movie “Facing The Giants,” said, “Your attitude is like the aroma of your heart. If your attitude stinks, it means your heart’s not right.”

If you are thinking about Jeeps, you see more Jeeps. If you notice that your attitude (or the attitude of someone around you) lately has been negative and, well, stinks, maybe it needs to be called out in a loving way and refocused.

Colossians 3:2 challenges us to “Set our minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” Stay in this chapter and verse 16 says, “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly.” Notice the community around you could use some goodness? Let it begin with you.

Attitude issues? Focus on God. Fill your mind and heart with God and His way.

The Psalmist says, “My heart is confident in You, O God (Psalm 57:7).”

Maybe it’s time we focus on more important stuff.