By F. D. Adkins
We have heard time and again that we are what we eat. The CDC reports that a survey by the National Center for Health Statistics revealed that between 2013 and 2016 one-third of Americans ate fast food every day. And an article by Jamie Smith in Medical News Today, “How do processed foods affect your health,” explains that processed foods high in sugar, bad carbs, trans fat, and artificial ingredients make up 25-60% of a person’s daily calories for the majority of the world. Let’s face it. Life is busy and grabbing a quick meal at a fast-food restaurant or buying prepackaged processed food at the grocery store makes our lives easier and saves time. However, what saves time now might cost us time later. In 2018, the CDC reported that 42 percent of Americans were overweight.
In the same way that what we physically eat affects our body and our health, what we feed our mind affects us spiritually. If we never spend time with God and study His word, how can we grow spiritually? Or maybe we do read our Bible, but we read a couple of verses or skim a devotional. As I write this blog, I have to ask myself how much time do I actually spend studying the Word of God compared to the amount of attention that I give to other things. In the book of Matthew, Jesus says that we need the Word of God to live.
- “But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4 KJV
The Bible also tells us to focus on the things above. If we only fill our minds with television and social media and things of the world, how can we keep our eyes on Heaven?
- “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” Colossians 3:1-2 KJV.
If we are what we eat, what are we feeding our minds?
- “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” Matthew 4:8 KJV.
Only “the bread of life” can fill us.
- “And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.” John 6:35 KJV.
Sources
The Holy Bible. King James Version
“Adult Obesity Fact.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html#:~:text=The%20US%20obesity%20prevalence%20was,from%2030.5%25%20to%2042.4%25. Accessed 15 Mar. 2022
“Fast Food Consumption Among Adults in the United States, 2013–2016.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Oct. 2018, https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db322.htm.
Smith, Jamie. “How Do Processed Foods Affect Your Health?” Medical News Today, 14 May 2020, https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318630.
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