Proverbs 15:14 Amplified Version

The mind of him who has understanding seeks knowledge and inquires after and craves it, but the mouth of the [self confident] fool feeds on folly.

There is an old saying that goes 'You are what you eat' 

I know we have all heard that at least a zillion times in our life.  I always disliked that saying, especially when I was dieting.  Ya know, I believe there is a lot of truth to that saying though.

Spiritually speaking, what are you eating?

This proverb says that the mind of him who has understanding seeks knowledge and inquires after and CRAVES it have you ever craved something?  Im sure you have!  When you crave something, you have a strong desire for it your mind is just constantly thinking of it and of ways to get it.  According to the word, the mind of him who has understanding craves knowledge.  This person not only craves it, but also seeks after it and inquires after it. 

That reminds me a lot of a movie I saw a long time ago about a robot.  This robot could read books extremely fast and when it had gotten loose one day it went into a bookstore and it so craved knowledge that it read every book it could get its hands on.

That is how a Christian should feel about the Word of God.

A Christian should not only desire to read the Word for guidance and such but should CRAVE the knowledge of the Holy Word of God.  Its kind of funny how when a woman is pregnant, she can wake up in the middle of the night with an overwhelming craving for ice cream or something.  The same thing can happen with a hungry Christian.  I mean I could draw an illustration for you by saying that  we are all pregnant with a purpose and a plan from God, and that in being pregnant with that purpose and plan, we should SPIRITUALLY Wake up to an overwhelming Craving for the Word!  Glory Hallelujah that is awesome! 

Okay, now that you have realized that you are pregnant (waiting to birth) this awesome purpose and plan that God has for you, it is important to analyze what kind of nutrients you are taking in spiritually. 

Going back to this proverb, it also says . '..but the mouth of the [self-confident] fool feeds on folly'.  It is important for us all to check our walk from time to time.  Would you think of yourself as a fool?  This says that a fool feeds on folly.   Some of the words used to describe the word folly in Websters Dictionary are evil, wickedness, a foolish act or idea.  Think about this, anything that you watch on television you are feeding yourself with.  Now, I dont know what you watch on television or what you read, but I do know this much, what goes in, will eventually come out. So, if you are taking in things that are good and healthy for your spirit, then eventually they will come back out of you and reflect off of you. 

Think about this, if you are around someone all the time that does nothing but say negative things, all the time, constantly, there is always something bad coming out of this persons mouth, and you have to hear it, eventually, you will begin to speak negative things and have a negative attitude.   In this case, thats not a good thing.  If you are taking in something that does not strengthen your spirit, then it will only weaken it.  We must not feed our spirits junk food. 

In Isaiah 32:6 it says 'For the fool speaks folly and his mind plans iniquity; practicing profane ungodliness and speaking error concerning the Lord, leaving the craving of the hungry unsatisfied and causing drink of the thirsty to fail'.   The way I see this verse is that it is talking about false teachers or teachers and preachers who arent doing the job that they were supposed to do. '..Leaving the craving of the hungry unsatisfied and causing the drink of the thirsty to fail'.  That means that the people who go to Church hungry, desiring and CRAVING the Word of God go away unsatisfied, still hungry.  It also says that those who show up thirsty their drink will be caused to fail.  That doesn't sound very promising does it?  The Word has a few things to say about thirst.

Matthew 5:6 New King James

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness; for they shall be filled.

John 4:14

Jesus said but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."

John 6:35

And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst

Okay, the bottom line here is this:  Jesus is the bread of life

John 6:33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."

John 6:35

And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He mes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.

John 6:48

I am the bread of life.

John 6:51

I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world."

So, as Christians, we strive to be more and more like Christ, right?

I know I do.  So lets go back to that old saying again, 'You are what you eat'. Jesus says He is the bread of life, the Word is the bread of life, if we take in the Word of God regularly we will start to become more and more like Christ. 

The next time someone rattles off that line of 'You are what you eat' ,  be sure and tell them, 'Thank you!' because if you are eating your recommended daily amount of Gods word, the bread of life, then I would definitely take that as a compliment!  Praise God!

Okay so now its time to evaluate your Christian walk, to check yourself.  Ask yourself these questions:

1.     What am I watching on T.V. and listening to?

2.      Does it strengthen my spirit or weaken it?

3.     What am I getting fed at the Church I attend? 

4.     Do I leave Church feeling satisfied that I have been taught the Word of God?

5.     When I speak, are the Words that come out of my mouth something that will show that I am feeding on knowledge or foolishness?

I hope you answered those questions honestly, because they are very important.  You know what your answers were, and if there is something that is not what it should be, it is up to you with the help of God to fix it. 

I will admit, I like to eat junk food from time to time, because it is enjoyable and its nice to be able to just splurge sometimes, but I also know there are consequences to splurging, such as gaining weight.  Its not so different with splurging on junk food for your spirit.  Some may feel that it is okay to splurge spiritually, such as maybe watching that certain movie because you think that its okay every now and then, or to listen to a certain type of music because you might need a break from all that spiritual stuff, or maybe even partaking in a conversation that includes a joke or two that you normally wouldnt listen to.  There are consequences and the weight you gain while feeding on spiritual junk food will weigh heavily as a burden on you until you give it to God and allow Him to make the changes in you.

Now, dont feel as if you're on a diet when you are living for God because God wants us to live life and live it abundantly.  God doesn't ask us to give things up out of our OWN strength.  The Lord wants us to submit to Him and allow HIM, our Father and our creator, to make the changes in our hearts and our lives.  That's all it takes, total submission to God and living by His word. He wants for us to love Him with all of our hearts, our minds, bodies and our souls.  He wants us to revere Him, acknowledging in our daily lives that He is Lord, the one and ONLY Great I AM!   He will do the rest. The Bible is our spiritual gym, that's where you go to strengthen your spirit and your faith.   Submit to Him and read the Word and apply it to your life and  you will be in spiritual shape in no time!

May God Bless and Strengthen You Continually!

7/17/02