YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT!

“Finally, brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy – – meditate on these things” (Philippians 4:8)

My title may sound a bit strange to you – – it is! After all, I don’t look like a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich or an apple, neither am I composed of such!

So how do I come to use this oft-familiar phrase? Is it telling me that I need to eat healthier rather than “junk-food?” Is it telling me that I need to change my diet? Will I look better if I eat other food(s)? So, what’s the deal?

If you think about it, you are more than just a physical body. A very vital part of you is what we know to be the mind (not to mention that you also have a spirit). So, let’s focus on these latter compositions rather than the physical.

To put it in simple language, just as your physical, material being needs to be fed, so does your mental and spiritual being have the same need to be fed!

Let’s rephrase our title to “You are what you think!” THINK about it, for a moment or two – – your mind does several operations or functions: argue, believe, calculate, consider, decide, deliberate, evaluate, grasp, meditate, memorize, ponder, reflect, remember, think, etc. In the Book of Proverbs we read: For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.“Eat and drink!” he says to you, But his heart is not with you. (Proverbs 23:7). [The biblical “heart” is composed of the mind, the emotions, and the will – – with emphasis on the mind]! Two Books in the Bible place a major focus on one’s mind – – Proverbs (in the Old Testament), and Philippians (in the New Testament).

Some time ago, a couple of musicians (McSpadden and Hill) put this little song together, entitled “Input/Output (the Computer Song).” It goes something like this:

Chorus

Input output what goes

In is what comes out

Input output that is what

It’s all about

Input output your mind is a computer

Whose input output

Daily you must choose

Verse 1

Let the Bible be your primary feed

It’s got all the data you need

Talk to Jesus all the time

That’s the way that

You can stay on line

Gary McSpadden | Kathie Hill
© 1984 Universal Music – Brentwood Benson Publishing; Ariose Music