“Always think about what is true. Think about what is noble, right and pure. Think about what is lovely and worthy of respect. If anything is excellent or worthy of praise, think about those kinds of things.”
— Philippians 4:8 (NIrV)
On the bus ride to her friend’s house, Shae took a good look at Zoe. Something’s wrong, she decided. Zoe is changing.
The change bothered Shae. Since third grade, the two had been good friends. Even on that first day of school, they had ridden the bus together. But now, Shae didn’t understand what was happening. When Zoe laughed, it didn’t reach her eyes. Instead, the laugh that was once full of fun had a hard ring to it.
Just thinking about it, Shae twisted a strand of her long blonde hair. What made Zoe seem so hard? So turned off to the things she used to like?
When their bus squealed to a stop, Shae and Zoe climbed down and walked to the house. In the kitchen, they found Zoe’s dad sitting at the table.
“Hi, Zoe. Hi, Shae. Have a good day?”
Zoe shrugged.
“How did your test go?” her dad asked.
“Same as always.” Zoe’s dark eyes were angry. Turning her back to her dad, she seemed to say, What’s it to you?
Without another word, Zoe headed down the steps to her bedroom in the basement. Shae accepted a bowl of munchies from Zoe’s dad and then followed her friend.
When Shae entered the room, Zoe handed her an MP3 player. “Listen up! You’ll like it!”
Shae slipped the headphones in her ears. At first, the song sounded fun and catchy. Then Shae began hearing the words. There were swear words, but even worse were the things the singer was saying about girls. It was insulting. Looking at the picture of the singer on the screen, Shae felt uneasy. After a minute, she turned down the volume and shut off the player.
Is this the singer’s way of selling lots of CDs?
Of one thing Shae felt sure. The music would negatively affect a girl who listened. That was exactly what she had seen in her friend.
Removing the headphones, Shae leaned forward, tucked her face into her hands, and started praying. After a moment, she looked up and cleared her throat.
“Zoe, we’ve been good friends for a long time. Remember what we promised each other? That we’d always tell each other stuff, even if it’s hard?”
When Zoe met her eyes and nodded, Shae began. “Do you know what the words of these songs really say?”
More to Explore: Psalm 119:9
Girl Talk: What kind of music or movies are you putting in your head?
God Talk: “Protect me, Jesus, from harmful thoughts that would enter my mind through what I see, hear, and read. Help me to focus only on thoughts that are true, noble, and right. Amen.”
From Girl Talk by Lois Wilfred Johnson