You Are Exactly What You Eat
Me and all black outfits go together like 5 & 6 lol. Leather Jacket: Bloomingdales Outlet, Shoes: DSW/Jessica Simpson, Bag: Michael Kors, Dress: Old Navy
Early in my Christian walk, I would hear many Christians talk about the importance of not listening to secular music, watching certain programs or even going to certain events all for the sake of guarding one’s heart and mind against sin. At the time, I remember thinking that it was a bit much. After all, not all secular media is sinful andjust because you consume a particular piece of media whether a song, play, movie, book, etc. doesn’t mean you will partake in the activities being praised in said piece of work - or at least that’s what we say to ourselves to make us feel better because we often think we are stronger than we really are. However, what I’ve realized is that as food we consume impacts our body, so do the things we consume with our eyes and ears impact our mind and heart - whether we realize it or not. To put it simply, you are what you eat, even in the spiritual sense.
There are so many scriptures and biblical principles that come to mind as I consider this topic. The first is Proverbs 23:7 which reads “Do not eat the bread of a miser, Nor desire his delicacies; For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. “Eat and drink!” he says to you,
But his heart is not with you.” This scripture teaches us that a person is not defined by their actions but instead, they are defined by what is in their heart that motivates their actions. In the context of this scripture, a wealthy and selfish person appears to be generous because they invite others to eat and drink of their delicacies but in their heart, they do not actually love or care for the wellbeing of anyone else. This person that the bible calls a “miser” or “selfish man” (in AMP translation), is identified in scripture by the position of their heart - not their seemingly generous actions. From this, we can conclude that we are identified in the spirit by what is in our heart. To put it simply, the contents of your heart shape your identity. We can also conclude that sin does not begin as an outward expression nor is it exclusively measured as an outward expression. Sin actually begins in the heart and is considered by God as sin as soon as it takes form in one's heart. This is confirmed when we study 1 Samuel 16:7 and Proverbs 4:23.
“...For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance but the Lord looks at the heart.” - 1 Samuel 16:7
“Keep your heart with all diligence for out of it spring the issues of life.” - Proverbs 4:23
1 Samuel 16:7 teaches us that God is not only concerned with our actions - the outward expressions that are visible to the human eye - but rather, God is most focused on our heart. Why? Well according to Proverbs 4:23, it may be because what is in our heart informs our perception of everything around us which includes our world, relationships, careers, finances and even God. In the example of the selfish man, his heart was full of selfishness which caused him to view his life through a perceived lack and subsequent need to hoard wealth which led to a display of false generosity.
Heart: We can assume that this man had Pride, Selfishness, and Greed in his heart which caused him to think of himself as his own provider rather than God as His provider
→ Perception: Though he is wealthy, he does not feel like he has enough and instead feels the need to hoard wealth - aka obtain and hold more than what he can reasonably consume - because he sees himself as is own provider
→ Action: Display of false generosity to keep up appearances and conceal sinful heart posture
Someone like this likely struggles to perceive God as their provider and instead feels the need to obtain and maintain wealth by any means - even sin. Sin may not be his first resort but because of the state of his heart, it would be easy for the enemy to tempt that man to sin if doing so would result in the wealth he so deeply desired.
Through this example, we see that guarding one’s heart against ungodly characteristics or attitudes is so important. As Matthew 5:8 says, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” There is a level of intimacy with God that can only be obtained with a pure heart. And this level of intimacy with God is necessary for your identity to be shaped by Him.
Knowing all this, how do we protect our minds and maintain the purity of heart that God has given us?One simple and practical step is to watch what you eat - but in the spiritual sense. In the same way that we feed our bodies with balanced meals that support our physical health, we should also be feeding our minds and hearts with things that point us back to Jesus and support our spiritual health as we continue on our journey to become like Him.
There’s much more I can say on this topic but I will save that for my next blog post. In the meantime, comment down below your thoughts on this ongoing conversation. I’m curious to hear!
