YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT

I was watching "Simply Ming" on PBS and a guest of his said; "You are what you eat. And if you don't know what you are eating, you don't know who you are" I like that statement! Cathy and I try to eat only healthy foods (except for chocolate!); which means that we take time to research where our foods come from. We’ve come to realize that what we put into our bodies DOES make a difference on our overall health and well being. What can I say; I’m a “health-nut”! We came to realize that we didn’t need to eat bad foods and be overweight. There are good stores and farms and markets FILLED with great healthy foods to feed our bodies. We simply do not have to stay being the people we are today; yes, we can change.   

YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT. This is also true for our souls (mind/will/emotions) and our spirit. It doesn’t take us long to realize how true that is when you look at the overall health of the people in the USA. People are over-weight, sad, depressed, and emotionally unstable. Proverbs 18:21 says; “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it shall eat the fruit of it.” Some of you have had a lifelong steady diet of criticism, negative thoughts and words. “You’re no good!” “You’ll never amount to anything!”  

If I’ve just described you, hang in there, I have some hope. Once you realize that we are the results of what has been put into us, then we can do something about changing who we are.  

So, WHAT ARE YOU EATING? Not physically; but what is feeding your thoughts – your soul?

The Bible tells us; “7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows, that he also will reap. 8 For he sowing to his flesh will reap corruption from the flesh. But he sowing to the Spirit will reap life everlasting from the Spirit” (Galatians 6:7-8). 

What that means is; “Garbage in, garbage out”. This is true physically, spiritually, and emotionally. This comes from people we hang with as well as movies we watch or books we read. I think that is why I like to read the Bible. I have come to learn to turn to the Bible to find out who I am in Christ to replace what I had believed through wrong “messages” poured into me over the years.  

But, I am still amazed at the number of people who “quote” passages they’ve heard from the Bible, but have never actually read the Bible from cover to cover for themselves. And, they wonder why they have no real nourishment for their souls and spirit.

The Bible, God’s Word to us, is FILLED with messages of hope and encouragement to feed our soul and our spirit. We simply do not have to stay being the people we are today; yes, we can change. We can read it for ourselves to find out what God really thinks about us and feed our souls and spirit.

You may say; “But Tom, I’ve tried reading the Bible, but it just doesn’t make sense to me!” I understand. That is because you are trying to discern spiritual things without the Holy Spirit. “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." (1 Corinthians 2:14) 

Ask God to allow His Holy Spirit help make sense of what you are reading; and He will; because He wants you to understand. He loves you and wants you to feed on good things. And when you eat good things, you will be healthy in body, soul, and spirit. “How sweet are Your Words to my taste! More than honey to my mouth!” (Psalm 119:103)