Steak and the Bible

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I love to eat a good steak. Honestly, a decent steak often will do. Rather than paying for them in a restaurant, though, I enjoy the savings and the excitement of grilling them myself at home. They seem to taste even better when you have handled them yourself, don't they?

But as much as I enjoy ribeyes, I understand that I must eat more than one meal in a week in order to maintain my health and energy. A steak dinner once a week will taste good for a while and will keep you alive, but you will not have the full nourishment you need. You will shrivel up. And in fact, that one huge dinner will end up sickening you and you will choke on it.

Sadly, this is how many Christians handle the Word of God. They might regularly attend church on Sunday where they receive a nice steak dinner from the Bible, but then they choose to fast the rest of the week, leading to undernourishment. Also, I have heard from some people that the Sunday sermon is just too much for them. If they are a baby Christian, that might be true (so we must mash it up and serve it in a form they can eat it--and make sure they have milk as well). But if they are a little older spiritually, the fact that they are starving themselves the rest of the week makes their "spiritual stomach" unable to handle the meat of the Word on Sundays. A healthy, balanced diet of Bible intake all week, feasting on the Bread of life, will enable you to enjoy that steak dinner more and it won't choke you. A few pieces of popcorn during the week won't cut it either. We must hear the Word, read the Word, study the Word, memorize the Word, meditate on the Word, and apply the Word all week ourselves as the means of transformation--not just relying on someone else to chew it up for me and feed me on Sundays. 

A child has to have someone tell them what to eat since they tend toward junk food (my oldest son told me that he wants to eat tacos, hot dogs, and pizza for dinner in revolving order all week!). But mature adults are able to discipline themselves toward a healthy diet. Hebrews 5:14 says it this way: "But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil." The healthiest people are generally the ones who prioritize their health the most. It works spiritually too.

Now, some may ask, "Is it really worth it?" Think of a cost/benefit analysis. What does it cost? It costs you time and effort. We have 162 hours in a week, so yes, you could be doing other things with that time. That is a cost. But what is the benefit? Knowing God better, hearing truth against the lies of the world, and receiving hope and strength from God in the midst of a world full of despair and without peace. The result of our cost/benefit analysis? Incomparable. Absolutely it is worth it. Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness (1 Timothy 4:7), and one basic piece of that is regular Bible intake all week. In fact, why don't you go grab a bite to eat right now? The Chef has some sweet delicacies waiting for you.