When I’m away on Army duty, I’ve got to make sure I take care of things on the home front first, which always means what do I need to finish before I head out? Only a water heater this last time—but shouldn’t I change the water filter before putting in a new heater? So, a new filter it is.
I had the filter on my mind when at the airport and on the flight for that trip—not a water filter, but other filters we use without even thinking about it. Just think about all we filter out in order to have any focus. On the cramped airplane with just a quick glance around, I see 27 different hair styles with at least 17 hairs out of place, four different novels being read that I can wonder about, at least half a dozen magazines, 13 conversations I’m overhearing, 9 different sports logos (most are Packers and Vikings—now what does that mean?), one guy studying something that looks interesting, three different movies in my line of sight, just to name a few. Then the layover at O’Hare—multiply everything by about 100– I need filters!
SO WHAT? you might say. Well, 
And What’s Important, what is (or SHOULD be) foundational to Everything we see, think and do as disciples of Jesus, is that assurance of God’s hand at work throughout it all, and God’s calling on us to be a blessing through it all—rather than being distracted by a hair out of place, a team we don’t like, or countless other glimpses of drivel that maquerades for what is Important.
And just like at our house in the country where we need to check and update the water filter on a regular basis, it would probably be a good idea to check and update our spiritual filters on a regular basis too, in order to make sure they’re helping us focus on what Really Matters. How are your filters? It’s really not that difficult to check… Rev. Jim