Episode 23
FILTER IT
(Guard Your Heart)
Wednesday, 23 September
TO THE BIBLE – Proverbs 4:23
“Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life….”
The comment from Monday still tried to replay itself.
By Wednesday morning it had company. A short video clip circulated in one of the side chats—someone exaggerating the “church kid” stance for laughs. Nothing directly aggressive, but the tone was clear enough. Negative words, even wrapped in humour, still carried weight if they were allowed to settle.
Jordan mentioned it first as they walked toward the building.
“It’s not even a full attack,” he said. “It’s just… noise. But I notice it still tries to get in. Like my mind wants to process it and turn it into something heavier than it is.”
Maya adjusted her bag strap. “That’s exactly why the filter matters. Your mind is the door to your spirit. Whatever you allow through will shape what’s inside. The Bible says to keep your heart with all diligence because everything about your life flows from there. We can’t stop every negative comment from existing, but we can stop it from taking root.”
Jordan glanced at his phone, then locked the screen. “So I just ignore it?”
“You filter it,” Maya answered. “When something doesn’t line up with God’s Word—whether it’s ‘life is impossible,’ or ‘you’re just a phase,’ or whatever version of fear or smallness shows up—you refuse to process it as truth. You replace it. The Word is the filter. Transformation starts with what you allow your mind to keep.”
They paused near the entrance as other students streamed past. Across the courtyard, Tyler stood with a small group. He didn’t look over this time, but the awareness of unfinished tension still lingered in the background like static.
Jordan exhaled. “I’ve been letting some of those thoughts sit longer than they should. Replaying the tone. Wondering if people are still measuring us. That’s the opposite of guarding the heart.”
“Then we start screening on purpose,” Maya said. “Every time a negative thought tries to settle—about the social stuff, about school, about anything—we don’t fight it with more thinking. We open our mouths and reject it. Words shut the door that thoughts try to keep open.”
They walked inside together. The day still held the usual pressures: classes, deadlines, the residual social undercurrent. Yet both of them carried a clearer assignment than before.
The heart would not be left unguarded.
The filter would stay in place.
And whatever tried to enter would have to pass through the Word first.
ACT
When a negative thought tries to settle, open your mouth and reject it. Note: You don’t fight thoughts with thoughts; you fight thoughts with words.
