I guess it’s inevitable, since every year in January the ads on TV (now that the enrollment period for health plans has passed) turn to dieting. All of a sudden, manufacturers and make-you-feel-guilty-so-we-can-get money-from-you groups tell us we gained too much weight over the holidays, or we need to supplement our nourishment with vitamins or ground-up vegetables and fruits, or we need to sign up for gym memberships. Yes, it’s inevitable.
I for one am not buying it, because like most Americans, we make choices, and many of us choose unwisely. We are blessed to have a huge variety and quantity of foods. Inflation may be cutting into some of those choices. I know it’s affecting mine. And during the holidays, we may have indulged. I know we had King’s Cake yesterday for Twelfth Day, as you know. And, along with Paul and Mary’s family and ours, none of it remains today!
But, and I’m not bragging about this, I have consciously watched and avoided some of the traps others may have acceded to, but I have not gained a pound since before Thanksgiving. At least, that’s what my new scale says. And, I thank God every day for the health my family enjoys because we try to eat a balanced diet.
Here’s my encouragement for today. There’s another kind of nourishment I’m looking for, and if I don’t partake each day, I find my spiritual life flounders and I get even more flabby than the rest of me. Here is a reminder from Colossians 2:7. If you are not involved in active Bible reading, a small group where the Bible is the central focus, frequent church attendance and participation in its programs, and listening to invitations to strengthen your spiritual nourishment, the result will be a lessening of your coping skills in these difficult time.
The ultimate result will be a blemished attitude, decreased consideration for other people, discouragement, faulty decision-making, and difficulty dealing with catastrophes (big, small, imagined, worried about, or actual) which are part of this mortal life. And if you think, as many churches and guidance from Facebook or other loud voices out there, that you’re immune and your life will be a sweet bed or roses and nothing bad will ever touch you, you’re not reading the Bible I am. God is not some sweet grandfather who dotes on His children. He makes a covenant that He will be our God if we will be HIs people. Here’s what’s required: “Let your roots grow down into Him and draw up nourishmnet from Him, so you will grow in faith, strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught. Let your lives overflow with thanksgiving for all He has done.”
All this is saying that for us to be healthy physically, we need to eat a balanced diet of protein, vegetables, fruits, and enough carbohydrates and sweets to act as energy producers, and in our spiritual lives we need to read scripture, pray, listen to Biblical teaching, discuss principles with those whose faith we emulate, and then get out there to bear much fruit for the Kingdom of Almighty God. If that cannot be your focus for the new year, it’s not to change your new year’s resolutions for the better.
Happy Orthodox Church Christmas today.
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