“For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” Hebrews 5:12-14
As a year’s end rapidly approaches, I get a little retrospective. I was looking over my 2014 resolutions and was disappointed in the general lack of accomplishment. I was particularly disappointed with the progress toward my body weight goal.
I was 200 pounds at the beginning of 2014. My goal was to be 186 pounds at the close of this year.
I exercised more consistently this year than I have in my entire life. I ran more miles than I have ever run. I pedaled over more asphalt than I have ever cycled before. I followed the black line in my pool lane, lap after lap, for more laps than I thought possible (for me). I did the Jilian Michaels Body Revolution and P90X3. I took a fitness test and it said that I have the fitness level of a 21 year old.
Yet, I was 204 pounds as of November 1st.
I know I have put on muscle but that only explains a portion of my weight gain. My bathroom mirror exposes a lot of things, including the myth behind my rationalizations. The reservoir of fat that accumulates above the dam of my belt has persistently survived through the drought that I sought to subject it to. The reality is that the drought was not as severe as it needed to be. I no longer have the metabolism of a twenty-nothing. I can’t eat whatever I want and just workout a little more to stay lean.
My weight is a frustration because I do not eat excessively. I don’t drink carbonated-sugar colas or snack on junk food. I have only an occasional dessert. My only meal of substance is dinner. Yet, the weight has persisted through a year of consistent exercise.
2014 has conclusively taught me that if I want to be lean then I have to watch both the quantity and quality of what I eat.
Therefore, my wife and I decided to treat ourselves to an early Christmas present – a Vitamix and Dr Oz’s two-week cleanse. My diet has been replaced by fruits and vegetables with a little bit (6 oz.) of protein for dinner. That is not very much.
However, this initial phase has been enlightening as to how much our grocery shopping has had to change. Our refrigerator crisper is now overflowing with produce that is actually eaten before it has a chance to rot; frozen fruit and Greek yogurt has replaced the ice cream.
When we made this concerted effort to refrain from our normal diet, we were able to access how many compromises were being made in what we consumed. They had not been huge compromises, but they all accumulate – right above my belt to be precise.
In general, we have been consuming the better rather than the best.
So far, I am very pleased with the results of our Christmas present. I am down to 196 lbs and 186 lbs seems possible by the time the 2015 triathlon and cycling season starts.
As I stared into my bathroom mirror and giggled in frustration the deposits that I hope will be gone by spring, I wondered about the fitness level of my soul. I live in a world with many very good things, a lot of neutral things, and a whole plethora of bad things. I take into my mind a regular diet that feeds my soul.
I believe that we can be spiritually fit with chunky souls.
We may know the basic principles of God.
We may be secure in the elementary doctrines of Christ.
We may be steadily maturing in our faith.
Yet, we still retain that persistent “baby fat” of an immature follower of Christ.
Is your soul lean? Mature faith is lean faith
What is the diet of your soul?
Are you feeding your soul the solid food of the mature believer or the milk of the immature?
Is your diet filled with the things of the Spirit or the compromises of the flesh?
I believe it is good to do a periodic spiritual cleanse. When we make a concerted effort to refrain from the normal diet of what we allow into our minds, we are able to access how many compromises we make in our soul’s diet. These compromises might be sinful, but they don’t have to be. We may have merely substituted the better for the best. Compromises don’t have to be huge but they can accumulate to pull our eyes off of Christ and make us spiritually fat. I believe that this process of stepping back and assessing what we let into our minds is instrumental in allowing the Spirit to train our souls to discern between good and evil.
Let us not settle for the better. Let us push on to the best. Let us push on to maturity with a diet that will feed a lean soul, fit for the work of our Lord.
PRAYER: Father, you have been so good to me. Thank you for my faith. Thank you for the maturity that you lead me in through your Spirit. Father, teach me discernment. Show me the difference between good and evil, better and best. Lord, give me a desire to have a lean faith. Give me an appetite for the things of you rather than the things of this world. I pray this in the precious name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen
A DEVOTED LIFE 