Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world (James 1:27).

Every man for himself.

I’m looking out for Number One.

What’s in it for me?

That’s the attitude of the world, Beloved.  And, as you may have noticed, we live in the world.

When I was a kid, I remember that they used to issue Smog Alerts when the air pollution was particularly bad.  On those days, just breathing the air around you was enough to make your lungs hurt. Heavy exercise could really do some damage to your innards.  The attitude of the world gets into our system, like pollution on a smoggy day.  What can we do about it?

We can use a filter.

God has given us his Word, and it makes a pretty awesome attitude filter.  Breathing through the Word turns the smog of, “Look out for yourself,” into, “Look after the weak and helpless.”

If we want to live A Life Worthy, we need to use that filter constantly, to keep the pollution out.  Kinda feels like an astronaut, wearing his spacesuit as he steps out onto the surface of an alien world.

Actually, that’s pretty accurate.  After all, this world is not our home, is it?

Breathe deep, Beloved—but use your filter.