you are what you eat

You are what you eat.

We have all heard that term and how true it is.  Our physical bodies process and respond to what we eat. When we eat healthy foods, our bodies respond by working properly, burning the fuel provided efficiently, giving us energy to accomplish all the things we need to do. Healthy food produces strong, healthy bodies. When we partake of junk foods and leave off the healthy foods, our bodies respond by becoming unhealthy, weak,  tired, overweight and eventually become ill. Diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, and even cancers can be attributed to unhealthy diets. There are many ways our body can react and we pay a price for unhealthy eating habits. 

The same can be said about the spiritual diets we feed on.  When our spirit is fed healthy 'food', our spirit is healthy and when it is fed unhealthy 'food', it will be unhealthy.

What do I mean by that?  Lets take a look at what our spirit needs to be healthy. 

Our spirit needs to be healthy by connecting to our Savior on a personal level daily. There should be a daily dose of scripture reading, prayer and interaction with the Holy Spirit. Prayer and scripture as well as adding in fasting and other activities such as fellowship with others of like-minded faith, brings about a spiritual health that allows life to flow forth from our very spiritual being. Our connection to God, becomes stronger and His Spirit can flow and operate efficiently. 

When we are partaking in things that are unhealthy for our spirit, our spirit becomes weak, broken, and disconnected to the Holy Spirit. We become weak and our physical nature becomes the driving force for our direction. We become prideful, willful, uncaring, selfish and seek to give our flesh nature whatever it desires without consideration of the consequences of sin, nor the will of God. We become disconnected and no longer can the Spirit of God flow through us and direct our walk to bring about the good He desires for us. 

What is something that is spiritually unhealthy of which we partake? There are a lot of things that can become spiritually unhealthy for us, when we become too involved and forsake the good things that feed our spirit. But I do believe there are some things that have negative impacts on our spirit. When we put something before God, it has become an idol and our God. That negatively impacts our relationship with God and is unhealthy.  Some things, I believe, are providing a spiritual diet that is unhealthy is participating in any activity that brings about sin and feeds the flesh desires more than the spirit.  

Galatians 5:13-25 gives a great detailed list of what we can do to feed the spiritual man in a healthy way and also a list of unhealthy activities:

You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh ; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.  So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.  The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
Galatians 5:13‭-‬26 NIV

Acts of the flesh are listed and are things that will fill us with sin and disconnect us from Christ. Some of these very activities are found in our homes, coming through entertainment media, and filling our thoughts and minds to the point that we see no wrong in it. When we are allowing our minds to be filled with these acts, it is not long before we do not recognize it as sin and allow ourselves to begin to partake. It can lead us to a place where we have had our spiritual senses dulled, we are weak and unable to resist temptations. The actions we take, the thoughts we think, the words we say, and the way we live reveals the conditions of our spirit. I pray that the body of Christ, each and every member take time often to examine the conditions and the actions we have and compare ourselves to the word of God. What we do and say, reveals the condition of the spirit. 

If sin is manifesting itself in your thoughts and deeds, maybe it is the food you have been eating.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:23 NIV

We need to remember to examine ourselves and make sure we are partaking of the things that will feed our relationship with God rather than hinder it. 

Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?
2 Corinthians 13:5 NIV

If we fail the test, we need to turn away from whatever is causing the unhealthy spiritual diet and turn to the things of God. 

Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “ ‘Come out of her, my people,’ so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues;
Revelation 18:4 NIV

We need to put the things of God into our hearts and lives so that our spirit is able to commune with the Spirit of God easily and effectively. 

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
Philippians 4:8 NIV

Consider the Word of God and recognize that what you put into your heart and mind will have an effect on your spiritual being. What your feed it through your participation, whether actively or be hearing and watching matters greatly.  Feed upon the things that bring life to you soul and allow God to effectively use you, speak to you and minister to you and through you.