You Are What You Eat

I recently listened to the beginning of a thirty-minute infomercial (or program, according to the host) and heard a great deal about the rise of obesity.  And I was told that the reason has less to do with how much I eat or how little I exercise than it does to do with something my body is missing.  Apparently the culprit is corn syrup which my body is not able to correctly metabolize.  The remedy, I was assured, could be found by using a product that I could get for free (at first), after which I would receive it for a "ridiculously" low price.  The product contains something (I can't remember what) that will supposedly help my body properly respond to all of the things that are in foods sold at your typical grocery store.

 

While I did not buy the product, nor did I believe all of the claims, I suppose that many of the things I was told were true.  I understand that our bodies require certain things in order to obtain favorable results.  While we are not literally what we eat, our bodies definitely respond to what they take in.  Good things bring positive results, bad things have negative consequences.

 

I know that I need water to survive.  My body functions begin to break down without it.  And sleep is another thing that causes all of my systems to operate at their most effective levels.  Without it, my body begins to do weird things.

 

In Ephesians 5:18, the apostle Paul tells us "...but be filled with the Holy Spirit."  I cannot help but believe that this is important to my spiritual effectiveness.  If I do not fill my body with the proper and necessary spiritual nutrition, my spiritual self will begin to experience fatigue and failure, and will ultimately break down completely.  The spiritual body is very similar to the one made of flesh.

 

In that passage, the literal idea is to "keep being filled," as in an ongoing process.  We are being told that you don't just take one spiritual meal and think your spiritual self is healthy for life.  Staying healthy is something that takes continual effort.  Even the man on the informercial told me that I should keep ordering his product to keep the process of physical wellness going.  And I know that I can't just drink water today, then skip a few months.  The refreshment of sleep does not last longer than a day, either, and to be at my best, I must continue to give my body some of it every day.

 

I am certain that God has given us these things so that we can see how a continual intake of good things keeps us operating at a highly effective level.  But God has also intended for us to see spiritual things in pictures of our life.  Wouldn't it make sense, then, to see the clear picture of feeding on spiritual things and resting in them on a regular basis in order to function at our spiritual best?

 

Earthly parents want healthy and effective physical children.  Our Heavenly Father certainly wants the same for His spiritual children.  Knowing that taking in more of the best spiritual things makes us that way, He offers His own Holy Spirit to us so that we might be filled regularly with all of His perfection.

 

Maybe we should spend a little more time being filled with the good thing that He offers.  This makes us healthy, and it makes God happy.

Marking My Territory

My dogs, Jack and Sophie, love their walks.  They enjoy any road that I take them on, but the place that they seem to most enjoy visiting is Manito Park--a beautifully landscaped mix of water, flowers, and dirt trails a couple of miles from our home.

On their walks, Jack and Sophie like to do the common dog things.  They sniff, they bark, they strut, and they do their personal business.  Sometimes that business is a physical requirement, but often, it is far more significant than the relieving of a bladder: it is an intentional effort to mark a certain spot as their own--to claim it as a territory.  I suppose it is a dog's way of sticking a flag into the ground.

Jack, as the boy, is funny to watch because he just walks around and lifts his leg on things that apparently do not smell as if they belong to him.  Then, after he walks away, Sophie approaches the same spot that Jack has just marked.  With a deliberate squat, she erases Jack's ownership and puts her own seal in place.  Then she moves on.  Who knows how long it will be before the next canine comes by and relieves Jack and Sophie of all their real estate claims? 

It is interesting to note that my dogs never actually own any land.  It doesn't matter how many times they sprinkle on any particular patch of grass or dirt, they will never own it.  I give Jack and Sophie a yard to run in.  And I take them to parks to play in.  They like what they see and say, "This is mine.  I claim it with the magic of my pee."  But the spot never actually becomes theirs, no matter how strongly they might believe otherwise.  The yard and the park are only beautiful places that I have given them, or taken them to, for their enjoyment.  My sharing beautiful things with them does not create possession.  In a minute, an hour, a day, or a few years, they will have to leave their claim behind.  It has served its purpose of bringing them enjoyment. 

This world is not our home.  God gave it to us to find enjoyment in, but also so that we might see how wonderful a gift-giver He is.  I can put a flag in it, throw money at it, and even pee on it--but it won't matter: I can never own the world or the things in it.  I can only enjoy them for a little while, in the process learning to love the actual owner and the giver of all things.  Then I will move in.

I hope that Jack and Sophie do not like the places that I take them better than they like me.  And I hope that they will learn to love me more because of the joy I find in blessing them.

I think God hopes we do not like this world more than we like Him.  And I think that He hopes we learn to love Him more richly because we are fully aware that He is the giver of all good things.