"Malnutrition"

"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears." 2 Timothy 4:3

The word malnutrition is defined as: "lack of proper nutrition; inadequate or unbalanced nutrition." When we think of malnutrition, a vision of those precious little children overseas that are nothing but skin and bones and bloated bellies pops into our minds. But did you know you can be over weight and still be malnourished? The size of your body or the amount of fat it has on it is not necessary an indication that you are receiving the proper nutrients to keep from being malnourished. You've heard the term "wasted calories". Wasted calories are what you get from eating foods that have no nutritional value-- they're called "junk food".

To maintain a healthy body you must give it a well balanced diet of the proper nutrients. It's true of the spirit man as well. There are many Christians who are malnourished because they are lacking proper spiritual nutrition. These are the ones who don't read their Bibles, pray or spend time in praise and worship. They are not receiving spiritual nutrition, therefore, they are not spiritually healthy.

There is another group who are malnourished because they are not getting the proper balance of spiritual nutrients. They look spiritually fat- but remember fat does not always mean well nourished- even spiritually. They are the ones who go from one seminar to another, one conference to another, one meeting to another always looking for something that will make them feel good for the moment. They are "conference junkies". They don't take what they received back with them and apply it to their lives. They don't have any personal devotion time. They don't pray or read the Bible for themselves. Once the meeting is over, they begin to look for another one so they can "fill up". Let me stop for a moment and say this so that you won't misunderstand. There is nothing wrong with going to meetings and conferences, etc., but when that's all your life consist of, then you are not receiving the proper combination of nutrients you need to be spiritually healthy.

My body has to have Vitamin C in order to be healthy, but at the same time I can't live on Vitamin C only, I have to have other vitamins and minerals along with it. To be spiritually healthy you have to have a well balanced spiritual diet that consist of all the spiritual elements.

Have a great day. Are you spiritually healthy or malnourished?