Filters, Part 2: You Get What You Choose to Pay For

In India, tap water is unreliable even though it is purified. Local entrepreneurs recycle used water bottles, fill them with tap water, and reseal them with a hot nail or piece of metal so the bottles appear to have been processed in the factory. These water bottle knocks-offs are considerably less expensive than factory-processed bottled water, which is produced using high-quality purification and filtering. For their health, travelers are encouraged to pay for the higher-priced bottled water. Wellness has a cost.

In Guatemala, water is not filtered. An individual portable water bottle, with a filter system, costs $40-60. The filter must be replaced regularly. Though pricey, the filter removes 99.9% impurities from the water, making it suitable for travelers to drink. Safety has a cost.

If you travel in India or Guatemala, you could rely on others to provide safe water or pay less for what you to perceive to be filtered water. But in doing so, you place yourself at risk.

Risks to Relying on Someone Else’s Filter

At first glance, you may think it’s easier to let someone else filter truth and ideas. And it “costs” less. Or does it? When you rely on others to provide your filter, you place your heart and your mind at risk.

You may rely solely on your pastor for biblical instruction, rather than considering his teaching as just one element in wrestling with God’s Word for yourself.

You may rely on the media (regardless of political leaning) which purveys news in ways that impact ratings, rather than processing current events for yourself.

You may rely on a friendly neighbor for third-person information rather than connect with mutual friends and build relationships for yourself.

Every Filter Has a Cost

All filters have a cost. So does using no filter.

If you don’t filter, you choose to rely on others’ input. You pay by accepting the consequences of their choices.
If you filter lightly, you choose to use information from trusted sources but avoid expending the energy required to weigh input. While you may get good information, you don’t acquire and develop discernment. You pay in the loss of skills.
If you filter with the Holy Spirit, you choose to learn to discern God’s will in the midst of confusing or difficult situations. You pay daily with time in the Word and prayer, practicing God’s presence in order to know the truth and what actions to take.

Paul, the leading teacher of his day, praised the Bereans. “They received (his) message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11, NIV). The Bereans didn’t simply take Paul’s word as truth. They tested it. Though it required a cost, the Bereans developed their own filters.

All filters have a cost.

When it comes to choosing your filter, remember this: you get what you pay for.