My wife and I have really started trying to take our health seriously. One of my first articles that I submitted for the faith section here, I wrote about the fact that we had joined a gym, and how all of us should not only take our physical health seriously, but more importantly we all need to take our spiritual health seriously.
On top of joining a gym and working out, we have recently tried to nail down our nutrition as well. This means tracking our calorie intake each day and really cutting back on “junk” food. While it is not always easy to stay away from the not so healthy choices around us, we have both been committed to making this change, and are staying faithful to it. I am starting to see a big difference. My body is getting smaller, and the number on the scale is gradually going down. More importantly, I am feeling better, with more energy.
While we track what we eat on a daily basis, we allow ourselves what we call a “cheat” day each week, where we can eat whatever we want, no matter if we go over our desired calorie count for the day. And it seems to be working. That is until this week. We normally have our “cheat” day on Sunday, and we did. Then Monday evening came around, and we were both craving pizza, instead of the healthier option that we had planned.
We caved and ordered pizza. And it tasted so good. In fact, I completely blew my healthy eating for the day, and finished an entire medium pizza on my own. Then I got up for the gym the next morning. I could not figure out for a while why I felt sluggish and just not myself with no energy. All of a sudden, while finishing my workout, it dawned on me. I had eaten junk the night before, and a lot of it. It caused me to have no real energy the next morning. While that pizza tasted good, and satisfied a craving, I felt like junk the next day. It was not because I felt guilty either. I had not missed a calorie count except for a cheat day in over a month, so I did not feel guilty about missing it on just one occasion. I know that is going to happen from time to time. I felt like junk because I did not fuel my body correctly.
This all got me thinking about what our souls consume on a daily basis. We are doing a new series at Central Christian right now titled “Soul Detox: Clean Living in a Contaminated World”. The premise is that our souls become toxic because of the “junk” that is going on around us in the world. Think about it this way. When we eat junk, it changes how we feel. How much more do our souls get affected when we are not conscious about what we allow ourselves to consume spiritually and emotionally?
We all need to make a conscious effort to change what our souls consume, as well as our bodies. What is weighing your soul down? Do you need to cut something out of your life so that your soul can thrive? Just like cutting out junk food, therefore “detoxing” our bodies, we need to cut out the toxins that poison our souls, and detox them. And there is only one thing that can really help detox our souls: Jesus Christ. I Timothy 4:7,8 reads, 7 Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. 8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
Let’s get serious about our spiritual health!
Thoughts From a Crosseyed Jesus Freak
Thoughts from a Crosseyed Jesus Freak 