The Well Palmdale, CA

As I mentioned on Monday, our church has the challenge to eat a meal consisting solely of junk food to remember how it feels to have "empty" and even "bad" things in us.  It was all inspired as a bit of a non-fast fast to draw us into Matthew 5:8.  Jesus makes us pure...what He feeds us with is pure, yet we still attempt to put empty gods upon the throne of our hearts.  I said in the last post, I did the challenge right away on Sunday evening...here's how it went.

It began with my wife suggesting we go for it right away.  I think she, like many, were excited about it.  So we went to the store and decided that we would get not just whatever sounded good, but what sounded good and we knew was terrible for us.  My meal consisted of chips and dip, Doritos, M&M's, Reece's Pieces, buttery popcorn, and root beer.  It was delicious, but as I kept eating, I noticed that the more I ate, I really just wanted to jam more in my mouth because the taste was good but it was really unsatisfying.  Well, I pigged out, and afterward I had a stomach ache (shocker...right?).  I craved vegetables, meat...really anything that actually existed on the food pyramid, but my stomach was so full of junk that I really didn't want to eat anything. 

That night I spent some time in prayer and meditation upon Matthew 5:8.  I also thought back to an article I read once that discussed companies like Frito-Lay.  They invest millions in what is called "mouth feel".  They want you to get a big "rush" from putting that chip in your mouth, but don't really want you to get full on them so that you eat more.  Now, I'll be careful here...I'm not going to call Doritos evil (though I might have after Sunday night).  Doritos are awesome in moderation.  Junk food is cool...in very limited moderation.  We should be stewards of the bodies God gave us.  I'm not calling people out to get smashed, pig out, and be a glutton to the Glory of God here...just one meal where the food won't satisfy and isn't good for you.   

As I sat there eating Tums and contemplating Matthew 5:8, I realized that all the other gods I attempt to put upon the throne of my heart have great "mouth feel".  They taste great at first, but leave me a bit unsatisfied...but unsatisfied in a way that makes me crave more.  The world always seems appetizing, but what it has to offer will always leave us unsatisfied (and probably pretty fat, too...unable to serve).  Whenever we try and put other gods in our heart be they power, looks, money, people, a certain lifestyle, our rights, etc, we are always going to be left empty, because it is only Jesus and His cross that truly satisfies.  That is why He refers to himself as the Bread of Life, not the Doritos of life.  He is our staple, our foundation, our basis, and our nourishment to live our lives, because He is truly good and His Gospel is pure and eternal (and doesn't leave us reaching for Tums).  Our prayer should be that Jesus continues to cleanse out all of the impure gods in our heart, so that only He remains for all eternity. We should always crave His perfect, satisfying, Gospel to nourish us, because we'll never leave hungry (or with a tummy ache).

Luke 6:21

0 Comments | Login to Post Comments