Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. –Hebrews 5:13-14
As I get older and my metabolism slows, I am starting to notice those “empty calories” more. (Empty calories are foods that offer little to no nutritional value.) I try to tell myself that dark chocolate is GOOD for me, and that the egg nog in a Starbucks seasonal latte doesn’t really count against me– since it is after all, seasonal! And, what is a movie without movie popcorn?! The problem is these foods offer almost no nutritional value for maintaining of my body. : (
Empty calories are usually things that sound good, but leave me unhappy afterwards. Then I remind myself I should have eaten something beneficial—and then I feel guilty. Ug.
At times, I am guilty of this in my spiritual life as well. It is easy to go through the motions, not take time to deeply reflect, pray mainly when I need something, or simply sit and wait to be fed. Instead of being proactive in my spiritual walk (small group, Bible study, prayer, ministering to others), I can just take what comes easily my way without paying attention to the details.
The Hebrews passage was written to Jewish Christians who were considered immature believers because they didn’t “eat the proper food” to help them grow spiritually. They kept acting like children. They waited for someone else to do they hard work for them. (“Why should I study, serve, pray, love? There are a lot of other people doing it for me!”)
Part of growing up as a Christian, is reaching the point where you take responsibility for pursuing disciplines that lead to spiritual growth. It is not the church’s responsibility, or another Christian’s, or even someone’s parents. We must start taking steps to feed ourselves and not simply rely on others to do it for us.
Dig deeper, seek truth, and train yourself to distinguish good from evil.
Here’s to eating well.
Blessings,
Thora
Yes! No more empty calories for me!
Great devotional Thora. Your phrase “ dig deeper “ reminds me of Matthew 7:24-26 where the wise man dug deep and built his house on the foundation of rock. This is a good mental picture for me to dig deeper and feed my mind, body & spirit with healthy foods & God’s Word and Spirit. Thanks!
Being fed by and in Spirit does make me feel good! Being proactive and not waiting speaks loudly – thank you.