“Hey Nolan, listen to this,” his best friend, Zeke, says to him as he pushes an ear pod into his ear. “It’s the new Dustin Woodpond track. It just dropped last night. I’ve probably listened to it 50 times already!”

“Woah, it’s really loud,” Nolan complains, feeling like his head is now throbbing from his eardrums to his temples.

“That’s the best way to listen to it man, you gotta feel the music. Don’t you like it?” Zeke asks.

“The beat sounds pretty good, but I don’t know what he’s talking about and I think he just swore,” Nolan says.

“Who cares about that!?” Zeke replies, “Everyone is listening to it.”

“Oh really? I guess I can give it a listen, but can you turn it down a little?” Nolan asks.

The next day at lunch, Zeke is singing one of Dustin Woodpond’s new songs and looks at Nolan to finish the verse. Nolan gives him a confused look and everyone at the lunch table finishes the verse in unison and laughs at Nolan for not knowing it. Nolan tries to brush it off and digs into his lunch sack. A note from his mom drops out and Zeke quickly scoops it off the table.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. Is this a love note from your mom?!  I haven’t seen one of these since elementary school, and there’s a Bible verse on the back,” Zeke says, holding his stomach while laughing uncontrollably.  “Oh my gosh, did you have to ask Mommy to download the Dustin Woodpond album?  That’s why you didn’t know the words to the song I was singing! No way, your mom said ‘no’, didn’t she?” Zeke continues.

“You know what, Zeke, my mom actually did check out that album and I’m pretty disappointed that you listen to it, to be honest. There’s a parental warning on the cover and every song has bad language or is about inappropriate stuff. I don’t want to put that into my head and neither should you,” Nolan responds. With that, the table explodes with laughter. “Nolan cuts through their laughter saying, “You always used to go to church with me, Zeke. You even went to Bible camp with me for the last three years. Why are you acting like this, and why did you make fun of a Bible verse in my lunch sack?” Nolan asks.

“Because I grew up, Nolan. I even listen to big-boy music now,” Zeke says, looking around the table to see all the laughing faces in agreement with him.

“You may have grown up, Zeke, but you are far from mature or wise!” Nolan states firmly. The books you read, the music you listen to, and the movies you watch influence your life and can lead your heart away from Jesus. I think it goes without saying, but the people you choose to hang out with can corrupt you too. We’ve been best friends since the 2nd grade man, but it seems like we don’t have much in common anymore. I’ll be praying for you,” Nolan says, packing up his lunch from the table. As he walks away, no one is laughing.

Weekly Bible Verse: Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. -‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭4‬:‭23‬ NIV

Note to Nibble: Wisely choose what you fill your heart and mind with, because what you watch, read, and listen to, can have an influence over your life.