VanMoof bicycles had a problem. The Dutch company would ship orders to people that wanted one… but far too many were damaged during the process. Careless delivery drivers, cargo shifting during transit, and airplane storage problems all took their toll on these beautiful vehicles before they could arrive at the homes of those awaiting them. The solution? Not one that you would expect. The co-founder of the company realized that their bikes were about the same size (in the box) as a large flatscreen television. He knew that flatscreens arrive at their destination far less damaged than his bikes because those that handle them believe them to be more fragile. Thus… VanMoof began to print pictures of large televisions on their boxes.
The damage rate fell 70 to 80 percent.
People protect what they perceive to be valuable…at least when it comes to televisions and the like.
What about the things that REALLY matter? How protected are people’s hearts and minds? How careful are they about protecting their thought life? What are they letting in that could permanently damage what God created to be pure? Problem with most people is that they think the mind is like those bicycles… able to take mental hit after hit and still remain viable and healthy. It’s just one movie. It’s only an image on a computer screen. It’s a tasteless book, a dirty joke, or a friend who’s a bad influence. Each of these hurt us. Collectively they can cause our lives to derail, our faith to wither, and cloud our ability to make God-honoring decisions.
Scripture tells us in Philippians 4:8: “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”
Great advice. For some of us this is an hour-by-hour or minute-by-minute commitment. Some are in environments that are not conducive to Godly thinking. In any case, take today and recommit to protecting what goes into your mind. Once it’s there… it’s there. You can try to imagine it away or think about other things… but when it comes to filling your head with inappropriate images and words… there can be permanent damage. See your mind like those shipping clerks did when they saw that image of a TV on the box… and handle your thought life with extreme care!
