I know a lot of corny Bible jokes. Being a pastor’s kid exposed me to those kinds of jokes. Here are some classics.

Why is Jesus rich? Because Jesus saves.

Why is Jesus never thirsty? Because he’s King of the Jews (juice, if you didn’t get it).

Unfortunately, I also know a couple of improper Bible jokes. Yes, the funny ones that you never say in front of a pastor. (Or at all. You know what, if you have a couple rude jokes up your sleeve, just don’t say them. Don’t be a Nathan—me.)

You guessed it. I was at a joyous lunch gathering with some pastors and missionaries, and I popped a bad joke about Jesus that I heard from somewhere. I took it a step too far. No one found it funny except me. I pretty much melted in my chair.

Because I heard that joke somewhere and I found it funny, I thought that it was okay. But it’s not good to consume content without any filters. If you let blasphemous things (those greatly offensive and disrespectful to God) into your system, you may end up like me one day—dying on the inside because the things you let inside finally showed themselves on the outside.

Philippians 4:8 tells us to think about what is honorable, pure, and good. That’s an awfully difficult task if we keep consuming dishonorable, impure, and bad content. So here are a few filters that help me when it comes to our social media consumption, and I hope these would be helpful to you as well.

1. Watch the eyes.

Since I was a kid, my parents would always have me cover my eyes during kissing scenes in movies. To this day, because I grew up seeing my parents do it, I instinctively dart my eyes away from the screen when any suggestive content comes up on a TV show or film.

Sounds legalistic? Maybe so. But Luke 11:34 talks about the eye as the lamp of the body. When the eye is healthy, our whole bodies are full of light! Maybe it’s an excessive rule for some, but at least I know I’m keeping my eyes healthy. Because I know that what I watch will affect how I look at things.

Are there videos, movies, or shows you watch that dim the lamp of your body? Pray for discernment to identify content that honors God, and to stop consuming content that proves to be otherwise.

2. Guard the feed.

Fun fact: If you follow someone, you will see their content on your feed!

“So what, Captain Obvious?”

Well, if you’re following someone who continuously spouts off negative, degrading, or rude content, then you will constantly be bumping into negativity. Sometimes I have to unfollow acquaintances (even a couple of friends, in a few cases) because all they do is bash, hate, and cancel on Twitter.

Maybe it’s a news account that’s just not making your day any brighter. Maybe it’s that girl who can’t help but post revealing pictures of her body every week for attention. Maybe it’s that guy who likes to tweet bad jokes about obscene topics. Whatever it is, be wise with the accounts you allow onto your feed. You have control over that.

3. Read the Word.

Psalm 119:9 says that if we want to live pure lives, we guard them according to God’s Word. Yes, the Bible is God’s love letter to us, but it’s also a brilliant guide to life (among a million other great things)!

Keep reading God’s Word! When the content we consume contradicts what’s in the Bible (for example, loving your neighbor as yourself, or say, staying humble), then we should be wary.

Paul in 2 Corinthians 10:5 tells us to take every thought captive in obedience to Jesus, who is the Word of God. That’s why we move toward building a deeper relationship with Him and knowing Him more. We ought to actively guard our hearts and minds from even the little things that could eventually pile up and lead us to words or actions that dishonor Him.

But above all, let’s remember that whenever we slip up (like I did), we can repent of what we’ve done, present our requests to God, and ask Jesus to guard our hearts and minds. His forgiveness and cleansing is always available to us.