Are You Starving Your Soul?

Have you ever seen what a person looks like who doesn't get the right nutrition?  What a person looks like when they are malnourished and starving?  I have actually.  I don't just mean in pictures that show starving people in Africa.  I mean I have seen in real life a girl who was suffering, somewhat silently, from starvation.  If you know me at all, you have seen it, too.  Maybe not in person as I have, but in pictures online, though some did see it in person and it is disturbing.  Don't remember the picture? Well, here's a reminder:

This is my Sophie at a critical time her life.  She was literally starving, even though she was eating just as much as any other average toddler.  The problem?  She was not eating the right things that she needed to grow and thrive.  Her body saw what she was eating as harmful.

Have you ever thought about what you're feeding your soul?  Are you feeding it the TV shows or movies about sex, hatred, scandals, or vanity?  Are you listening to music that makes you personally think thoughts not in line with God's Word, whatever type of music it is that does that to you?  Or, in contrast, are you feeding it words, thoughts, and actions that line up with God's Word?  Better yet, are you feeding your soul God's Word itself?  The things that you put into your mind are what feed your soul.  You can fill it with things that are only there to entertain you, but are they really the food your soul needs?  Is it going to grow and thrive with these thoughts?  If you are feeding it the wrong things, then no matter how much you put into it, it will not turn out well.  It will be like my Sophie when she was malnourished and starving right before our eyes, despite all we were doing to help her.  We were feeding her breads, crackers, cheeses - all things that her body was reacting badly to - so she was still starving.  It is especially important for her to eat the right foods, but it applies to us all in some way.

Taking it a step further (and possibly stepping on some toes), are you feeding your soul the truth in regards to God's Word?  The Bible was not given to us to make us feel all warm and fuzzy.  It was not given to us to make us think that it doesn't matter what we do because God loves us, therefore giving us the right to disobey Him.  Don't get me wrong, God does love us, but He is also a jealous, just God who chastises His children as needed for not obeying.  The Bible is like an instruction manual in order to know what God says about how to be saved by His Grace and how to live our lives.  Church is a place for those like-minded Christians to gather to exhalt one another and lift each other up in praise of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Is your church feeding you this as nourishment or is it lacking in real meat and sticking to junk food (which only satisfies for a short time without any real value)?  Let me get right down to it with these two questions: is your church feeding your soul the right things or is it playing to your entertainment side and emotional side (neither of which are helping you to thrive or grow once you leave there)?  Is your Bible giving you the right message or a watered-down version of it? 

There's a reason the scriptures say to study them.  It is so we can make sure that the things around us are lining up with what God says we should be paying attention to and so that by studying them we can feed our souls what God intended us to.  If you are feeding your soul nothing but junk food, then it will be lacking in Godly nutrition.  What we need is to know that we are getting the right Godly nutrients and making a conscious effort to fill our minds and souls with those nutrients and calories.  Otherwise, we'll end up as a starving child, despite all we're eating.

I have a goal to never see my little girl starving anymore.  Not only does this apply to her eating physical food, but spiritual food as well.  I hope to grow a healthy girl into a healthy adult, and I need not only gluten-free foods to do it, but also God's Word and His Truths He has laid out for us.  Will you join me in this goal?