Intaking Toxins

My family and I went to a friend’s birthday party at a buffet-style restaurant. The food looked great and tasted delicious. I didn’t overindulge as one is apt to do at such an establishment; and I even ate only a very small dessert. Yet despite my precautions, I got sick to my stomach later that evening. Something I ate was not healthy, and my body inevitably rejected it.

I wondered if others got sick from the food that night. My husband and kids had no ill effects, so I concluded it was from one particular item that was toxic to my system (I’ve been noticing more of this as I get older).

I am reminded of our spiritual intake. We digest a lot through God’s Word, various sermons, magazine articles, TV programs, counseling, etc. There’s a lot of good stuff out there; but there is also a lot of junk. Sometimes the junk gets mixed up with the good, like taking a Biblical doctrine and adding a little word or phrase to make it more appealing. The results of the change may not be seen for awhile, but it can eventually tear down our walls of defense (i.e. our discernment), leaving us spiritually sick. We need to constantly check our spiritual health by measuring ourselves against God’s Word, which is the only True test for our spiritual well-being.

Fixing my upset stomach wasn’t too hard; my body did it for me. Fixing our spiritual problem needs God’s attention. We need to confess our error to the Lord (1 John 1:9), we need to pray for His wisdom (James 1:5), we need to test everything by God’s Word (1 John 4:1), and we need to give God glory and honor for all that He’s done and will do for us (Psalm 34:1). This will allow the Great Physician to take us down the road to recovery.