Selective Eating
Who eats steak without first cutting away the grizzle, fat, and bone? Who eats an apple or peach without spitting out the pits? Do we feel guilty because we haven’t had the full “chicken experience” by not eating the feathers, bone, stomach, intestines, and their contents? No. Not only is it foolish to waste calories on what tastes terrible, but that which tastes terrible is usually not good for us anyway. Our physical health requires that we be selective in what we eat.
Our mental health requires that we do the same with that which we feed our minds. We shouldn’t feel guilty for not consuming that which is bitter or hard to stomach when it comes to the dark side of life. We are not “burying our heads in the sand” or refusing to face the realities of our world because we don’t watch the super-concentrated doses of negativity from the news media. We are simply trying to “eat right.”
In the first place “reality TV” isn’t reality. It is wine with nothing but dregs. It is fruit with nothing but pits and seeds. It is pizza with nothing but crust. The news and reality TV are a warped presentation of our world that strains out all of life’s blessings and highlights only its pain and disappointments. If you apply this practice to your eating habits, then, not only will you include the grizzle, fat, and bone to your “steak-eating.” You will eat nothing but grizzle, fat, and bone. Most people like peanuts and peanut butter. But it’s only enjoyable when the manufacturer first removes the “bitter nib” (the embryo of the peanut). But the news media would have us eating nothing but the bitter nibs.
No, we must be selective in what we feed our minds and souls as well as what we feed our bodies. The Scripture tells us, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (Philippians 4:8).
PRAYER: Dear Father in Heaven, in accordance with Your word, help me to bless You at all times and to forget none of Your benefits (Psalm 103:2). Let me not overlook the realities of Your love, faithfulness, and mercy towards me. Give me the wisdom, discernment, and discipline to only feed my mind and soul that which is healthy and draws me closer to You. Amen.
