fuel

Since my last post, I have been continuing in my quest for increased fitness through healthier eating and quality, intentional exercise. The truth is...I will never fully satisfy my quest. Like every other aspect of life, it's about continually growing. Today marked another growth spurt in my quest.

After my morning run on the hotel treadmill, I went back to my room. I was hungry, so I decided to order room service. I opted for the multi-grain french toast with berries. In less than 20 minutes, the knock came at the door. The gentleman set my tray down at my desk. I finished my crunches and planks, then sat down to dig in. I looked at the plate before me and the following thought came to mind: "Carbs and proteins...and a good ratio." That's right...not "delicious french toast" or "nice mix of savory and sweet"..."carbs and proteins." Food had regained its true purpose for me again: fuel.

We would never fill our gas tanks with junk, so why would we fill our bodies with it? The truth is that we would be less likely to if we thought of food in terms of fuel...but we usually don't. We get confused about food's true purpose.

I think the purpose of food is one of the easiest things for us to confuse. We so often think of food as a delicious treat or soothing comfort, forgetting that its true purpose is as fuel. Those deceptively false purposes are the things that get us into trouble with our health, fitness and even self-esteem. But when we think of food in terms of its true purpose, we are much better off in those three areas. One purpose is true, the others are lies. And sadly many people don't even realize they have made that trade-off.

The purpose of food is not the only thing about which we confuse the truth though. We can do this with many other things in our lives as well.

Let me use our spiritual lives as an example to help make my point. How many people view the Bible as a book of stories rather than the infallible Word of God? How many people think of God as non-existent or uninvolved instead of a living, compassionate, relational God? How many people view Christianity as a set of rules instead of reconciling our relationship with God? These are all examples of trading the truth for lies. And much like people confusing the purpose of food, people often don't even realize that that have made such a trade-off.

So remembe...whether in food, your spiritual life or any other aspect of life, be careful not to trade the truth for any number of lies. My challenge to you is this: Next time you eat a piece of chicken, think of it as protein. And next time you read a passage from the Bible, think of it as God's word.