Did you hear about the nutty nutrition professor who ate only junk food for eight weeks on a “convenience store diet”? Instead of balanced meals, Mark Haub of Kansas State University consumed Doritos, Little Debbie snacks, and Oreos, but strategically limited his intake to 1,800 calories daily.
The result? He lost 27 pounds.
The long-term health detriments of such a diet would surely be horrific, but the point is that quantity—regardless of quality—of calories is what counts in weight reduction. Bottom line: If you burn up more calories than you swallow, you lose weight whether those calories come from carrots or carrot cake.
Self-discipline is the key to keeping fit physically and also spiritually. It’s good when we decide to make changes on both spiritual and physical planes: to read our Bibles daily, pray more, memorize scripture, make healthier eating choices and increase our exercise regime.
But if we don’t make a specific plan and then diligently work that plan, fitness won’t magically happen.
You don’t simply wish for dinner and then sit back and wait for it to magically appear, do you? No, you must do something to make it happen. Plan your menu, go shopping, prepare the food, and pop it in the oven. Otherwise, you’ll end up with a growling tummy and empty plate.
Likewise, to become spiritually healthier, we must do something to make it happen. Become proactive. Read a daily devotional. Join a Bible study. Set goals for memorizing scripture. Recruit an accountability partner. Take the spiritual cellulite by the horns.
No one ever said discipline is easy, but our divine soul trainer promises to strengthen us as we work toward building spiritual muscles of steel.
“Workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so,” (1 Timothy 4:8, MSG).
