Have you tried dieting before? No, not food dieting. I’m talking about dieting what you consume on the TV, social media, what you expose yourself to and the people you surround yourself with. Society today thrives on quick fixes and instant gratification results. This is why so many of us are quick to try food diets. The sad thing is, only a small number of people really stick with their diet or lifestyle plans. We didn’t get that instant gratification, quick fix slim body the diet promised, so we quit. We have the same attitude towards food as we do with what’s exposed to us on TV, social media, the news outlets and the people we surround ourselves with. We consume junk with our mouths, eyes and ears. Interestingly, we are perfectly fine with it. We have convinced ourselves this is perfectly normal.
Diet has a negative connotation, so health professionals have been using the terminology, “lifestyle.” Whatever your cup of tea is in terms of the word choice you prefer, you currently are on a diet/lifestyle. Don’t think so? Well, the definition of diet is, the kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats. Dictionaries will have a variation of meaning that all boil down to the same – diet is what we habitually consume.
What diet are you on? What do you habitually consume? While food diet is important, today I want to talk about the lifestyle we habitually engage in that has made us the way we are, formed how we think and influences our day to day routine. What do you habitually consume on the TV, Social Media, Radio Station and News Outlets. Think on that for a second. Now, what do you consume through your conversations, through the people you surround and engage with? Now stick a pin in that for a minute.
Society is thoroughly focused on the outward appearance. We’ve been marketed on various platforms food dieting regimens that will help us “look better” and “feel better.” There’s CrossFit, Hit Work Outs, Lifting, and Muscle Burn workouts. There’s Paleo, Low Carb, Intermittent Fasting and Keto food dieting plans. All having their unique promises to make us better – on the outside. Yes, I know there are overall health benefits in terms of longterm lifespan health. I am by no means dismissing healthy living. If you know me, you know fitness and clean eating is apart of my language, but what I am getting at is the push society has placed on the importance of outward appearance. As important as that is, isn’t it odd that we are not marketed to watch what we consume through our eyes and ears? Are we not concerned about our internal health?
What we consume through our eyes and ears are just as important as what we consume through our mouths. We consume junk, we will produce junk. Junk often time looks appealing. My mom always told us growing up that sin looks nice. It sure does. It’s enticing and appears to be good, only the result of sin never pans out in your favor. The Bible talks about this in reference to false prophets and teachers. In Matthew chapter 7, Jesus states,
“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn-bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them."
Today, this passage applies in more ways than one. Our false prophets and teachers can be found in the church, at work, on the news, and media outlets and in our circle of friends and family. False prophets and teachers are anyone who deceives, distorts and makes bad appear good. They are those that strive on drama, strife and contention, promote sexual immorality and promiscuity. They are those that encourage in foul and evil thought and languages, dishonesty and unholy living. False prophets and teachers surround us. They look harmless, but really are simply trying to push an agenda outside of who God created you to be.
In 2 Timothy 2, the writer Paul says to run away from anything that gives you evil thoughts. Those evil thoughts come from what we consume. The idea is that what we consume will ultimately be what we produce. The longer we fix our gaze on evil the more we will either become like or start acting like what we see. The more we listen to evil, soon enough we start speaking the evil we consume through our ears. Matthew 12:36, states that we will give an account for every idle word that comes from our lips. The verse right before that provides the analogy of sewing and reaping. If you do good, you reap good, and if you sew otherwise then you will produce from the heart that stores up treasures of evil.
Your diet is important. If we prioritize only outward appearance dieting then the result will be good looking corrupt men and women. On the outside we will be thriving, but once we open our mouths, everyone will hear what we have been feeding our eyes and ears. I want to challenge you to consume good. Consume the things that betters your eyes and ears. If you’re tired of living miserable and grumpy, then maybe just maybe you need to revaluate your diet/lifestyle. Earlier I asked you to think on the things you have as apart of your eyes and ears diet. You stuck your pin on that. Now let’s look at that list. You know what those things are that you’ve allowed to be a part of your habitual consumption. What needs to go? What in your life have you allowed to control your thoughts and ways of living that really isn’t making you a better version of yourself? Now just as a food diet plan/lifestyle goal, take out what needs to be taken out and replace it with something that is healthy and edifying to your internal growth.
Philippians 4:8 states,
whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
What we consume through our ears and eyes are important in human growth and development. We get to choose what we plug ourselves into. Just as any object that requires a source to work, we do too. We are a lamp that emits light once plugged into a source. The strength of light whether dull or luminescent is dependent on the source. A lot of us are dull emitting lackluster light. We speak and live dull lives because we choose to habitually consume through our eyes and ears negativity, lies, drama, sexual immorality, evil and filth. Harsh, I know. But that’s just the nature of it. We’ve failed to realize how harsh these things are and fail to acknowledge the damage consuming these will do to our wellbeing. You get to choose what you consume. You get to create your diet/lifestyle.
What are you going to do about it?