A diet that actually matters

Diets are used for a vast array of purposes. Some are designed to lose weight while others are intended to gain muscle or overall fitness, but each has an intended result. The reasons we often choose a diet is due to our standard eating habits not accomplishing the desired goal. One diet that is often talked about but easily misunderstood is our spiritual diet.

The spiritual diet is comprised of Scripture, prayer and for lack of a better term “good works”. Now these three aspects of our lives have been discussed and re-discussed so often we generally read over or glaze over any time they are brought up. But a good spiritual diet is not just about doing but just like a physical diet you need to digest in order to gain the benefits, so it is in our spiritual diets.

Digesting our spiritual food takes time and some effort. After reading Scripture taking time to ponder what was meant is essential, reading and running just as in physical food prevents the proper work of the food eaten. Taking time in your reading is very important, just as it is in prayer. Not every prayer has to be an hour long, or even half that but they do need to be deliberate. It is easy to forget that we are actually talking to God and not just talking; habits can get in the way.

As for the “good works” if they are based on proper nourishment and communication we will find then to be much more rewarding and much less ponderous. There are reasons we were taught not to eat and swim or eat and run but to take time to digest. There are vast illustrations about listening to the instructions before entering into the work. These also apply to our spiritual lives and diet.

It is not about how much we eat, a lot of our gain is based on what we do with what we eat.

Blessings!