” %*(^#%@*&^%@# “

When my wife was a young girl, she and her little sister were treated to a Saturday night at the drive-in theater. Popcorn. Giggling. A good wholesome time during a family-oriented film, the first of a double feature. During intermission, the parents informed the girls it was time to go to sleep. Their movie was over, and it was time for mommy and daddy’s movie.

Worn out from the excitement and late hour, her sister conked out before the second movie started. However, my future wife sat in the back seat, quiet, patient and supposedly asleep, while the adults became engrossed in the movie, oblivious to the small sponge behind them.

The very next day, a teacher intercepted my future mother-in-law at the classroom doorway as she came to pick up her daughter. The teacher looked horrified; her eyes wide with shock as she pulled my future mother-in-law aside.

The teacher leaned in nervously. “I’m not sure how to tell you this,” she whispered incredulously, “but Kristin said ‘%^(*^@#!$^$*#&.’”

In front of the teacher. For all the other kids to hear. During Sunday School. Probably made for some interesting discussions around town later that day, when unsuspecting parents innocently asked, “So, Betty, what did you learn at Sunday School today?”

When religious leaders arrested Peter and John for preaching about Jesus’s resurrection, they stated, “We cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20). And neither can we.

We all repeat and tell other people about the things that influence us, good or bad. What we expose ourselves to sways our hearts, minds and opinions, which in turn, drives what we talk about. Peter and John spoke about the miracles, healings, love and good news they were exposed to by hanging around Jesus.

But as Kristin’s parents discovered, the flip side occurs when “bad company corrupts good character” (1 Corinthians 15:33), and bad company can take the form of people, books, music, TV shows, jokes, magazines, websites, and of course, movies.

Even if she had no idea what the word meant, little Kristin could not help speaking about what she had seen and heard, repeating at least one word from the movie with adult language and situations, and reflecting it back out for the world to hear.

But she was unknowingly exposed to some things that apparently turned out to not be appropriate for her age. As adults, however, we have a choice about who and what approaches our eyes and ears.

What is corrupting your character?