We Are What We Eat
Pastor’s Column
Trinity Sunday
June 7, 2020
Everyone knows that what we eat is eventually expressed in our bodies: how we look, how we function, how healthy we are, and, often how long we will live. For example, if my diet consists mostly of pizza, in a sense I am going to begin to look like a pizza, especially in the waist, hips, heart and arteries!
Well, no matter how much we try, most of us will make unhealthy choices on occasion, no matter how much we may wish to avoid them. Of course, this is not just a column about food, but about unhealthy spiritual choices as well, choices that can poison our minds, our souls, our relationship with God and with other people. The choices we habitually make will invariably be expressed in the external world somehow.
These days it seems that so much of the news we watch is bad news. One can ingest too much of this and our worldview can become distorted or overly negative. In such challenging times as this, it is often helpful to take a break from social media and endless news of riots and the epidemic and the economy and all the rest. The Lord has a plan for this world and for each of our lives. Everything is a test. How will I use this precious day God gave me? Thinking of others instead of negative news, reading the good news of scripture and reflecting on eternity can lead to healthier choices.
If one is in the habit of viewing pornography, explicit movies or videos that have excessive amounts of cursing and violence, don’t be surprised when it begins to change you in a fundamental way. What one spouse may view as “harmless” often is considered “infidelity” by the other, and for good reason. Inappropriate sexual thoughts and behaviors are the inevitable result of this kind of viewing. Sin is therefore always harmful to ourselves in some ways, to our relationship with God, and usually others, although we may not realize the harm that is being done until long after we have begun the destructive behavior.
This is a truism that you can count on: I will become that which I habitually watch, habitually eat, habitually do. What is the content of the media I take in, and is it healthy for me to be “ingesting”? How much time and input does God have in my life? Are the Lord, His Church and His Scriptures invited to my media cornucopia? If not, my outlook and world-view will inevitably take on the characteristics of the world around me. I will also tend to become like the company I keep. How much time do I spend with the Lord, formally (through a designated prayer time and Mass) and informally throughout the day? My thoughts, words and actions will tell me what spiritual food I have been eating, what company I have been keeping, what I am watching, reading, and doing. We are all in the process of “becoming” what we will be forever in eternity. Be careful what you are becoming!
