A BETTER DIET

Church family,

In my reading of God’s Word this morning, I read through 1 Timothy 4 & 5. Several things caught my attention and caused reflection. Let me share one with you.

1 Timothy 4:7-10 (NLT) Do not waste time arguing over godless ideas and old wives’ tales. Instead, train yourself to be godly. “Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.” This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it. This is why we work hard and continue to struggle, for our hope is in the living God, who is the Savior of all people and particularly of all believers.

Paul is writing to a young pastor, Timothy. In these verses, I see two concerns that Paul is bringing up: the value of godless arguments and the value of physical upkeep. Have you ever gotten sidetracked? In the church, people can often get focused on things that don’t really matter. It could be anything from false teaching seen or heard that is contrary to God’s Word or worldviews that are trending in culture. Our enemy, Satan, loves it when Christians get sidetracked with pointless, godless issues. He loves it when our focus shifts to issues that are meaningless and harmful.

Paul also mentions physical training here. Is physical training beneficial? Yes. We are to take care of the physical body that God has given us. After all, neglect of care will seriously limit how we function and live the life we are given. But hear this point: physical care is temporal. It has no eternal value. Too often people are so consumed with physical care that they neglect what has eternal value – godliness. Paul says, “training for godliness is better.” Our focus ought to be on what matters more.

So how is your spiritual diet? Are you prioritizing your spiritual health? How are you pursing a better relationship with Jesus? Are the effects of your spiritual diet impacting how you live and love? Or are your priorities all messed up? Are you settling for ‘junk food?’

Take some time for honest reflection. Ask the Lord to make the change in you!

Walking with you,

Pastor Brian