Milk's Making Me Fat

I was at the health food store today, (my kids hate going there because they say it is "stinky") in search of some soy protein that I have purchased before. I asked an employee because I couldn't find the brand that I had used before. I explained to the employee that I liked it because it was both soy protein and whey protein. Then it occurred to me that I did not know a lot about whey protein. The employee explained that whey is only good for people that are serious athletes because it helps them gain weight and add muscle. Okay, so I'd like to think that being a mom and doing an occasional workout video qualifies me as a "serious athlete" but the employee seemed to be saying otherwise. He was steering me away from the stuff. Another employee suggested a couple of other products for energy and others for protein.

Then, after a few minutes of conversation the first employee said to me, "Look, this protein is really just like feeding yourself with baby's milk. Adults don't need milk like babies do. After all, babies basically drink milk to get fat." Well, you couldn't have gotten more straight forward advice. I thanked the employee for his help and shopped on.

As I returned home I began to think about adults and drinking baby's milk. Spiritually, milk is for those who are immature and meat is for those who are mature. So what happens if we try to live on milk as spiritual adults? Do we get fat? Spiritual fatness would seem to me like fatness of any other kind, i.e. NOT GOOD. Filling up on milk spoils our appetites for the heartier things. We miss out on the main course and on my favorite part, dessert. (Go figure. I love health food just about as much as I love sugar!! Balance, my friend. Balance!)

So what do you mean, "getting fat on spiritual milk?" Well, I have thought about this a lot. I think that we get fat when we take in God's word like we would cram for an exam. It just simply goes into our head like formulas, not understood or applied but just ready to be regurgitated when necessary. If we aren't feeding on things and then meditating and applying those things to our lives, then they do no good...they just make us fat.

Sometimes I think that I am a fat christian. Full of knowledge in my head but not a lot penetrates to my heart, the place where it challenges me to change, give, and grow. Maybe this is abstract and doesn't make sense to you. But I just can't help but feel that if we would exercise spiritually on a consistent basis and fill ourselves with spiritual "super food" that is bought only with extra time and searching, we would be radical believers who might just see a little revival in our families and churches. Don't settle for the fluff. I want to dig in and savor the rich meat of God's word!