Well – we made it. We have survived 2025 and now face the last hurdle of the year – the holidays. And like it or not, food plays a major part of our lives this time of year.
So, with Halloween now in the rear view mirror, Thanksgiving is now within sniffing distance – in a good way. Turkey Tom and cranberry sauce are now on the horizon!
So what is the strangest thing you ever remember eating? My youngest daughter, at age two, tried to eat a worm, and my hubby once ate chocolate covered crickets. But neither of those comes close to what Michel Lotito devoured!
According to funfactz.com, between 1959 and 1997, Michel ate almost nine tons of inedible and dangerous junk. He consumed eleven bicycles, seven shopping carts, a metal coffin, a cash register, a washing machine, a TV, and sixty-six feet of chain.
Then he decided to tackle a big-ticket item; he ate an entire airplane – an old Cessna – which took him two years to consume. Michel died in 2007 at the age of fifty-seven, the official cause of death being a heart attack. I don’t know – fifty-seven is incredibly young these days – could he perhaps have been consuming “junk food” that, in the end, took him out?!
If you are living on this planet, you have no doubt heard the phrase, “You are what you eat.” It dates to 1826 when Antheime Brillat-Savarin wrote: “Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are.” It’s true so it stuck! Our physical health depends on good nutrition! If we eat lousy food then down the road we will pay the price. I mean, who wants to be a walking “candy bar” or an “airplane?” A body can’t function at its best on a diet of junk food, and this same principle holds true for our spiritual health.
Let’s face it – garbage in, garbage out. Just as there’s junk “food” in abundance, there’s junk news, junk gossip, junk TV, and junk media. What are we intentionally putting into ourselves? The Bible reminds us in Matthew 12, “Whatever is in your heart determines what you say,” and really, whatever you put into your heart eventually determines what you think and do.
As someone once observed: “Watch your thoughts; they become words. Your words become actions; your actions become habits; your habits become character, and our character becomes our destiny.”
Albert Einstein said he wanted to know God’s thoughts. I do too – that’s why I read God’s book – a bestseller, by the way! The Bible teaches us in Psalms that, “The fear of the Lord is the foundation of true wisdom.” If we feed on this “bread of life,” we will end up spiritually healthy.
Most of you will remember the 2004 movie “Super-Size me,” featuring Morgan Spurlock. In it, he chronicled a radical experiment on himself that few would be tempted to follow. For an entire month, he ate all his meals at McDonald’s. He pulled up to the Golden Arches three times a day and ordered breakfast, lunch, and dinner, At month’s end, Morgan had gained 30 pounds, his cholesterol was off the charts, and his doctor warned him to immediately change his eating habits if he intended to continue living on this earth. Experiment over!
The good news with all this is that we can choose our influencers! Proverbs 4:23 urges us to “Guard our heart above all else, for it determines the course of our life.”
One translation advises us to “Guard our heart more than any treasure.” That’s how important it is.
I once heard of a man who borrowed a book from a friend, hoping it would prove to be a life-changing read. When the book was returned, the friend found the letters YBH written many times in the margins. Curious, he asked the borrower what YBH meant? His friend replied that the book was a terrific read and could have been life-changing except for one thing – it lacked the “how to’s” – thus the YBH – “Yes, But How?” abbreviation.
The YBH for people seeking spiritual growth and success is easy. In a nutshell – the word of God is the will of God. So please – choose your “food” wisely!
Bob and Susan Beckett pastor The Dwelling Place City Church at 27100 Girard Street in Hemet, CA. For more information, you may contact them at DPCitychurch.org
