Just the other day, I was sitting in a coffee shop in Nashville. A few of my friends had gathered for a Bible study. Normally, we meet on Tuesday nights, but travel threw off our schedule, so we met on a Wednesday morning instead.
Only a few minutes into our meeting, one of my friends paused, looked around, and said, “Seventy-five percent of the people in here are doing a Bible study right now.”
I glanced up from the page. He was right.
Every table around us looked just like ours. There were two, three, or four people per group—all of them leaning over their Bibles, reading aloud, and learning together.
And in that moment, something clicked for me.
The Power of Our Environment
There are many reasons why I moved to Nashville in 2018. One of those reasons was because I felt like God was calling me to go deeper with Him. There are still plenty of Christians who live on the West Coast—and perhaps you might even be one of them—but I sensed the Lord saying, I have more for you in Nashville. And so, I went.
When I arrived in Tennessee, I could immediately sense a difference in the culture. There is a reason they call that area of the country “the Bible Belt.” Now, to be fair, there are certainly people in the South who attend church on Sunday but leave their faith at the door. I get that. But even still, you can’t ignore the influence of the environment.
You see, the human mind was made to mimic.
That’s how we learn to walk, talk, and live our lives. We look at someone who is completing a task, and we think, Huh. I’d like to give that a try.
Whether we realize it or not, we are constantly imitating the world around us.
A few years ago, I went on a skiing trip with some friends from Minnesota. If you’ve ever heard a Minnesotan accent, you know it’s impossible to miss their long Ohhhhhh’s. After a few days together, I caught myself saying, “There’s a lot of snooooow on the ground,” and I sounded exactly like them.
That same thing happened when I moved to Nashville. I spent the first twenty-plus years of my life in California, where I was “living” my life and pronouncing my G’s. I was “running,” “walking,” and “eating” as well. But after a few months in Tennessee, all those G’s just disappeared. All of a sudden, I was livin’, runnin’, walkin’, eatin’. You get the idea.
I was reflecting the people that I found myself with. I was mirroring the environment that I saw around me.
The Inputs That Shape You
You’ve probably heard it said that “we are the sum of our five closest friends.” I think there’s truth in that, but I’d even go one step further.
In today’s world, with constant access to podcasts, music, social media, and news, we aren’t just shaped by people—we are shaped by various inputs.
You are not the sum of your five closest friends.
Nowadays, you are actually the sum of your five greatest inputs.
Maybe one of those inputs is Fox News. Maybe it’s CNN. Maybe it’s a celebrity you follow or a series you watch. These aren’t neutral sources. These inputs are powerfully shaping your thoughts, your emotions, and your faith, everyday.
If you find yourself anxious, angry, or spiritually numb, it’s worth asking: What am I feeding my soul right now? What are the inputs I’m allowing to affect me?
A Call to Reframe Your Environment
You don’t have to move across the country or change careers to reset your environment, you just have to be intentional.
Who are you spending time with?
What voices are you listening to?
What inputs are you allowing to shape your soul?
Paul wrote, “Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). The transformation he describes isn’t passive—it’s cultivated. It’s intentional. If we don’t consistently fill our minds with truth, the world will fill them with lies.
So this week, take a look at your environment. Audit your inputs. If you are the sum of your five greatest inputs, make sure that those inputs are leading you to Jesus.
Whether we like it or not, we become the things we’re surrounded by.
Blessings,
