Diet

July 22, 2020

He works out for two hours every other day at the gym, runs five miles on the off days, and though quite muscular, he can’t seem to get rid of that roll around his belly. His wife does mild cardio for about 30 minutes three times a week, and since beginning her routine, has lost ten pounds and three dress sizes. What’s the difference? In a word, diet. 

Not the “constantly counting calories” kind of diet, but diet in the sense of simply eating sparingly, with healthy portions of home-cooked vegetables, proper carbs and protein. He gently chides her for her refusal to join him indulging in late-night ice cream or donuts at the drive-through Tim’s, and his nibbling throughout the day.

One of the mottos of the workout trainer I follow on YouTube is, “You can’t out train a bad diet.”  In the above fictional (but quite factual) scenario, the husband is at cross-purposes with his goals. It happens to most of us; we want the end result, but cut so many corners in the process that we lose our way. I know. I’ve kept steadfast to a workout routine, thinking it alone would get me to my goal, but it was only when I got serious about my eating habits that I started seeing the changes I had been looking for. And to be truthful, I backslide more than I like to admit.

I’m really interested however, in how this translates to our spiritual well-being. I know the allure of the latest news, whether it be on TV, in the newspaper, or in a Facebook or email subscription. It’s always tempting to check on these matters first thing in the morning, and is often the last thing we look at before going to sleep. So what makes us think we can get in spiritual shape by simply adding a devotional reading to our junk food diet of media? It’s like expecting an extra helping of carrots or beans is going to negate the ill effects of all that spiritual and psychological junk food. Facebook, television, mindless novels and movies cannot build the spiritual muscle and endurance we need for life. In fact, they prevent the good discipline of Bible reading, prayer, and worship from actually transforming our spiritual bodies. 

It’s not easy; no discipline ever is. Our sick and troubled souls crave the junk food of this world, and protest when we engage in a spiritual diet or fasting. If we’re honest, we like the junk food, even as it is slowly killing us. I’m working on eating right so I’m not wasting my workouts; it’s time I got more serious about doing the same for my soul.