Still Water Moments: The Art of the Culinary Staff
Matthew 4:4 Jesus answered, “It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'”
School cafeteria meals have come a long way since I was a child. Over the years, nutritional guidelines have caused schools to provide more healthy balanced meals to students. There has been a push to provide more fresh food options and serve less processed foods. The reason for these improvements over the last century includes children being ill, malnourished, and obese. We’ve come to understand that the types of food we eat affects how we physically feel and our overall health. Additionally, we have deduced that diet directly affects student learning and outcomes.
I’ve always admired people that maintain a healthy diet and lifestyle. To be transparent, I do struggle at times with choosing to eat healthy on a consistent basis. I love carbs and sweets, and I have to fight on a daily basis not to go overboard with them. Since I know I am not, (presently), strong in that area, I have to be careful of the amount of them I buy and bring into my home so that I am not tempted to eat too much of these foods at once. When I eat out, I feel the pain of crucifying the flesh during the instances I order a salad or vegetables for my side as opposed to the french fries I’d rather have. Therefore, I’m in awe of people who seem to do this seamlessly, as a way of life.
We all know the why behind the need to practice self-control when it comes to healthy eating. The benefits typically include: a healthy body and lower risk of illness; a better quality of life as one tends to feel well physically and have more energy; one benefits mentally as healthy eating can improve clarity and focus. Just as we reap physical benefits from eating healthy physical foods, we reap spiritual benefits when we feed our spirit man “healthy spiritual food”. Just as it takes intentionality, restraint and discipline to maintain a healthy physical diet, these same attributes are necessary to maintain a healthy spiritual one. The first and most vital example of feeding the spirit man would be to read the bible on a consistent basis. This is God’s manual for life, a precious guide and gift He has provided to us for encouragement, instruction, and learning about Him and His attributes that we are to embody.
How often do we study scripture, specifically, memorize it, take a deep dive and learn the meaning of it, meditate and reflect on it and apply it to our lives? The scriptures share many benefits that come with these actions, such as Joshua 1:8, "Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” The bible is inexhaustible, meaning no matter how old we get, we will always learn from it. There will never come a point in time where any of us will say, “I’ve learned everything there is to learn from the bible”. Hebrews 4:4 says the bible is living and active! How many times have you gained a new perspective of a scripture you have heard for years? The more we read the bible, the more enlightened we become, and we grow exponentially when we apply it! 1 Peter 2:2 states, “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation“. Newborn babies need milk to survive. They long for it, cry for it, and over time when they visually recognize it, smack their lips and start reaching for it. This is how we should view the word. We need it to survive, and the wonderful benefit is we don’t even have to cry for it, it is at our fingertips in many forms!
Besides church services and bible studies, other examples of healthy spiritual nourishment sources include Christian music, programming, movies, plays, books, podcasts, etc. Furthermore, we also have to be mindful of what we’re feeding more, the spirit man or the flesh. This directly affects the state of health of our beings because whichever we feed more rules our perspectives and actions. When listening to secular music or watching secular movies, are we careful not to allow ourselves to listen and or view things that offend the Spirit or go against the word of God? When talking to friends or a group of coworkers, do we refrain from engaging in gossip or topics that go against the word of God? Just as I have to be intentional about not overdoing it with junk food and ensuring I eat more healthy foods, I have to do the same with feeding my spirit man more than I do my flesh. Over time, as we grow in Christ, we should improve what we lend our ears and eyes to. This grows our spirit man and makes us look more like Christ, an optimal healthy state of living.
Reflection: What are you feeding your spirit man? Is your spirit or flesh being fed more?
