2 Timothy 4:3-5 MSG
You’re going to find that there will be times when people will have no stomach for solid teaching, but will fill up on spiritual junk food—catchy opinions that tickle their fancy. They’ll turn their backs on truth and chase mirages. But you —keep your eye on what you’re doing; accept the hard times along with the good; keep the Message alive; do a thorough job as God’s servant.”
“Spiritual junk food” is still tasty today. One of the catchy opinions trending at the moment is around the word “brokenness”. People are proudly and transparently talking about their brokenness. But the Bible seldom describes us as broken. In fact the only one described as broken is Jesus—He was broken for our mistakes/sins. On the other hand, the word we find more frequently used to describe us, is the word weak. This is significant because something that’s weak can be strengthened through exercise. However, something that is broken can only be set right through the miraculous and transformational power of Jesus.
So How Can We Be Different To Those Junk Food Feeders?
This scripture lays that out so clearly:
1. Keep An Eye On What You Are Doing
We live in a social media bubble where we are so preoccupied with what other people are doing, how they’re looking, where they’re going, that we forget to keep an eye on “me.” And when we do keep an eye on “me,” we tend not to like what we see, compared to everyone else. But other people’s lives are not always what they appear to be. They might only post highlights, or from those who are looking for sympathy, we might only see the low moments of their life.
It’s refreshing and maybe a little scary to look at what I’m doing. What does it mean to look at me or focus on what I’m doing? It means to contemplate and consider everything I need to be, and see clearly what God has for me. It means I can focus on the big picture—the long-term and the short-term. It means I can think deeply about my life, and how I want my life to look in the future. God is inviting me to Dream. However, big dreams require some sacrifice and a disciplined lifestyle.
What kind of lifestyle? The kind where I’m a good role model. For me that means getting enough sleep, (watching out for games, Netflix, podcasts, and social media late at night), and waking up refreshed to establish a foundation for a great day.
2. Accept Hard Times Along With The Good
However, there are hard times that we bring on ourselves through our own bad choices. Rather than accepting these bad choices we need to have a strategy to reduce them, and hopefully eliminates them.
3. Keep The Good News Alive!
Lifehouse mission is to see the lost saved and to help the wounded and weak find strength in Christ. Oh what a joy it is to see lives changed!
Be the bearer of good news! It starts with you!
4.Thoroughly Do The Work God Has Called You To Do
Serve God and others! Work well and hard!
On a final note, my priority is not make people feel better, but rather to help guide them to Jesus who has the power to change lives.
Others in this series:
originally posted on: https://mylifehouse.com/tokyo/blog/how-to-wean-yourself-of-junk-food/