"It's what comes out of a person that makes him unclean. Evil thoughts, sexual sins, stealing, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, cheating, shameless lust, envy, cursing, arrogance, and foolishness come from within a person. All these evils come from within and make a person unclean" - Mar 7:20-23
Somewhere in Kalayaan, Laguna is a restaurant that's fit only for those who have the appetite for the unusual. As its name suggests, the Exotik Restaurant serves food, ranging from dishes prepared from meat of frog, lizard, snake, crocodile and other unusual species.For people like me, the food doesn't go down well. But my reason is more psychological than anything. However, there are those who think that you are what you eat. This is true but only to a certain extent.
Our health depends on proper nutrition. The food we eat is assimilated into our bodies and becomes our nails, skin cells, and blood. Although food may determine who we are physically, Jesus corrected those who think this is also true spiritually (Mark 7:18-19). The food that we eat doesn't spiritually defile us. Instead we are advised to mind more that which comes out of our hearts than what we put in through our food.
But of course there's another matter of how the heart becomes corrupt and later manifests in words and actions. We know now that definitely it's not the food taken through the mouth. Rather, it's the input taken through the senses. People who feed their minds with lots of modern entertainment develop lazy minds. That's why the television and other such medium are called idiot box, fitted only for those who want other people do their thinking for them. Those who feed their minds on a steady diet of celebrity magazines can become superficial, materialistic and shallow. People who feed their minds on pornography become sexually immoral in their thoughts and behavior.
On the other hand those who feed their minds on quality literature, solid educational materials, truly relevant information, and regular Bible study become wise and successful leaders. The bible says, a person like that is "like a tree planted beside streams- a tree that produces fruit in season and whose leaves do not wither. He succeeds in everything he does" (Psalms 1:3).
Yes, let's still watch what we eat because even if we're astute in the mind and heart, we can't be of enough usefulness if our health is messed up. Compared to our spiritual health however, our physical health should only be a secondary concern. We will surely be warned when we have been remiss. When we huff and puff with a little walk, we know we have neglected our physical health. When we keep spewing negativity through false, harsh, dirty and malicious words, we know we have neglected our spiritual health. In either case, there are myriads of interventions that we can do, the most important of which is in using the word of God as our mirror.
(Picture credit: Chez Pierre French Restaurant)
