You Are What You Eat

Today's blog is contributed by David Trotta:

“You are what you eat.”  That is a pretty popular phrase that is based on the notion that to be fit and healthy you need to eat good food.  The phrase was reportedly first coined in the early 1800s as “Tell me what you eat and I will tell you what you are.”  The early individuals who coined the phrase, and those who have used it over the years, believed strongly that the food we eat has a bearing on our state of mind and health.

Did you know that God actually first introduced this “you are what you eat” principle in the bible, only it pertained to our inner man instead of our outer man.  In Proverbs 23:7, God said “For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.”  The thoughts you “feed” your mind will have a direct impact on who you are.

If we constantly allow our minds to feed upon the things of this world, our focus will be on satisfying the desires of our flesh, which will hinder our ability to grow strong and mature in the Lord.  We will become spiritually malnourished and remain “spiritual babies.”  1 Corinthians 14:20 says “Brethren, do not be children [immature] in your thinking; continue to be babes in [matters of] evil, but in your minds be mature [men].”

However, if we continually allow our minds to feed on things from above, such as scripture and the presence of God in our lives, our inner man will grow strong and we will find it easier to have victory over the daily struggles in our lives.  Our spiritual walk will cease being so difficult, because it will be His strength that carries us, not ours.

It is no coincidence that God, writing through the apostle Paul, first instructed us to “set your minds on things above, not earthly things” (Colossians 3:2) before he asked us to “put to death whatever belongs to your earthly nature” (Colossians 3:5).  Feeding our minds with things from above will empower us to have victory over our sinful nature.

Let’s take an honest health assessment of our spiritual lives by asking ourselves this question – Am I growing in spiritual maturity or do I continue to struggle with the same weaknesses?  If the latter, consider changing your “spiritual” eating habits.  It will define who you are.