I enjoy eating (who doesn’t), but over the past few years I have made some changes.  Those include what I eat and how much I eat. The results have been most beneficial for me physically.

People concerned about eating healthy abandon their previous not so healthy eating habits to actively pursue healthier choices. Many replace a diet of a lot of junk food with an abundance of healthier foods. People who make that kind of transition look better, have more energy, and in some cases, are prolonging their life.

But what about our mental diet.  Does it matter?  Do mental thoughts we ingest and digest every day have an effect on our mental and spiritual life?

It is both interesting and enlightening that in a number of places, the Bible figuratively refers to God’s Word as food. The prophet Jeremiah stated he found God’s Word and ate it. Of course he didn’t physically chew and swallow the scrolls, but rather he read and mentally processed God’s Word in his mind.

Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone (physical food), but by every word which proceeds out of the mouth of God.” In other words, we need both physical food and spiritual food.

In a letter to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul, in speaking about the basics of the good news of the Gospel he was preaching, referred to it as the milk of the word for newborn babes. In another epistle he used the phrase, “strong meat,” referring to a deeper understanding of the Word of God, for those who were more spiritually mature.

If we read, think and believe something about God that is not true, that kind of thinking could be called spiritual junk food. The results of spiritual junk food can be just as devastating mentally and spiritually as physical junk food is to the human body.

What we choose to put into our mouths to feed our physical bodies directly affects our physical bodies.  Likewise, what we choose to put into our minds directly affects our mental and spiritual life. Therefore, it make very logical sense to make sure the thoughts we think about God and His Word are true thoughts based on a right understanding of the truth found in God’s Word.

For the most part, physical weakness and inability are directly related to physical diet. The same is true with mental and spiritual weakness and inability; it’s directly related to our mental diet.

I can eat something and feel full, but it just might not be the best thing for my physical body. I can entertain certain spiritual thoughts that might seem enlightening, but just may not be true. Jesus said God’s Word is truth.  It is most beneficial to actively pursue an accurate understanding of God’s Word.