Burning calories is the answer to avoid spiritual obesity
At this festive time of year, we all enjoy a few extra treats. When I was a kid, it was my Grandma’s Christmas eccles cakes. Man, those little morsels were like heaven on a plate! When I met Kathy, I was introduced to her dad’s Danish Christmas baking, which was another source of treats! We developed our own family tradition for our kids with Kathy making her special Marshmallow balls.
Isn’t it dangerous to be partial to sweet treats that can be consumed in excess? Well, that’s only a problem when your intake is far greater than your output.
At the risk of being a little offensive, I’m going to speak directly to an issue I see in the church. I think we have become addicted to sweet treats while becoming lazy in our activity.
I spoke briefly on this concept recently in a message, Fight the Good Fight, which you can access on the ZION YouTube channel here. (We’ve also inserted the video below for you to watch.)
While your spiritual exercise plan wasn’t the main point of the message, it certainly has become a major talking point! It is true, we need the church to be learning biblical truth. But more than that, we need to be a church that is exercising our spiritual muscles by applying what we learn in practical outworking to meet the needs that are around us.
Here we find your opportunity; make an intentional commitment to regular spiritual activity that burns calories. Just in the same way a long walk after your Christmas lunch will help to burn off some of the second helping of steamed pudding, so too will activating your faith through serving others.
For me, as a teacher of God’s Word, I find that teaching others has become integral to my spiritual health. This way, the learning I do does not become stored as fat in my brain, rather it becomes the energy I need to serve others.
What are ways you can put your faith to exercise so that you reduce the risk of spiritual obesity?