Midweek: Gaining Some Tonnage

We just returned from an appointment with our vet. Good news! Luci has lost a couple pounds. Maintaining proper weight, in our case, benefits all of us. It's less strain on her joints, I am not being dragged into traffic each time she attempts to chase a squirrel, and my husband won't have to learn to cook for himself while I'm in traction from injuries sustained while wrestling with her tonnage. And it's not just quantity. While an occasional doughnut might be okay for my husband, for Luci, it's a hard No! Her dog food provides the proper nutrients for her canine adventures. Poor nutrition and adiposity even besiege our pets in our culture of excess.

I was just talking to a friend of mine, however. She is looking to gain weight. In fact, she was excitedly telling me she wants to be obese... 

...in her spirit! 

I don't think anyone has to be taught how to add a few inches to their waistline; but do we know what it takes to fatten our spirits? Not just adding flubber, excess; but real weight, the perfect plumpness that feeds the development of the body's systems. Fitness and strength are vital. So, how do we add tonnage to our spiritual weight?

First of all, regular meals. Skipping Bible reading, prayer time, church attendance robs the body of food. Jesus is bread, our sustenance for life. These spiritual practices are not the means by which we reach God; they are the means by which we hold on, in our finitude to the One who is infinite, the One who came to earth to ransom us. Physical beings have a relationship with an eternal, spiritual Being through regular spiritual disciplines --frequently. We engage in praise, pray unceasingly, and give thanks throughout the day (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) The more we praise Him, the more we discover His worth. The more we engage in prayer, the more we find to say up to Him. The more we give thanks, the more things we find to appreciate. We get fat with the fullness and character of His Spirit in our spirit. 

And it's not just frequency, it's volume! The Scriptures are living and active; not that they change, but we can never completely exhaust them. They change us. Every.Time.We.Read.Them.With.Intent. Don't expect real change if you're reading a verse-a-day, skimming through some pithy little lesson about it, and checking a box. You will get exactly that to which you apply yourself in the manner in which you apply yourself. Pithy it is! But if you really want spiritual corpulence, ask the Holy Spirit to lead you as you read. Read as much as you can without your eyes glazing over and the children growing faint with hunger. Look up terms with which you are unfamiliar. Pray some more. Read the study notes. Memorize verses. Meditate on passages throughout the day. Pray again. And wait for God to move. Take your time and read it as many times as you must. Volume matters.

Lastly, content. I'm reading the Bible, what can possibly be unhealthy about that? you ask. Nothing, but the content we consume outside of our times of Bible reading matters. I can eat salads until I'm blue in the face, but if I chase each one with a 2-liter bottle of sweet tea and a party size bag of chips, my "healthy habits" don't stand a chance. Yes, I'll gain a ton, but none of it will sustain me for the race. The bulk of my consumption is at best, empty; at worse, detrimental. Much of what counts for "content" on social media is brain rot. We're not studying things out; we're clicking on thumbnail after thumbnail, allowing content creators to determine what we see. I'm guilty of both falling down the rabbit hole of content I never would have searched out for myself, and finding the short answer (or the answer that most resembles my own) and calling it quits. The truth is, neither of those is sustenance. Neither of those will fatten my spirit in a way that benefits me or brings glory to God. And do I have to mention the things we watch during our "leisure time"? If it doesn't edify the body of Christ (IOW: if you wouldn't show it to your Christian brothers and sisters), it's not going to edify your life in Christ.

For Luci to thrive in her adult years, it's important she remain active and well-nourished; that her intake is carefully monitored. For each of us to thrive in this very short season of eternity, we should strive for good spiritual health; a corpulent spirit, bursting with nourishment, indulged by all of the things that supply it; perpetually growing and gaining some tonnage!