Spiritual Obesity

Dear Reader,

I recently heard a term for the first time: spiritual obesity. The person who used it said she suffered from spiritual obesity when she was younger. While at church and Bible school, she was being well-fed, but her output was lacking. This was an intriguing concept to me.

We know that obesity occurs when the input far outweighs the output; if you consume many calories but don’t exert anything, you’ll become unhealthy and overweight. I know when my intake offsets my output. I feel sluggish and my attitude has a tendency to be negative. It takes a jumpstart to get me moving again.

We can experience this in our spiritual life: being overfed with knowledge without any exercise of that new understanding. I feel there is a direct link between spiritual obesity and inactivity in the church, community and world. And spiritual inactivity has a way of leading to complaining, gossiping, and indifference. When we have the privilege of breathing in God’s Word, it strengthens us spiritually to share what we have learned with others. What good is it to hear about of Jesus’ life, but not exercise His teachings of humility, mercy, and salvation?

Just as God blessed Abraham in order for him to bring about a blessed nation, we also are blessed in order to serve others. In America, we are blessed with many Gospel centered churches, bible schools and seminaries, and even Bible.com. It is easy for us to be “full” of spiritual knowledge. But it is just as easy not to exercise our spiritual muscles, which is not God’s intention. We, too, have been blessed, not to “sit on” our spiritual riches, but to share them with the world.

I believe God calls us to be spiritually fit. But unlike fad diets or weight-loss pills, this is not a temporary or quick transformation. It’s a lifestyle change. For instance, volunteering and donating money around Christmas time won’t keep you spiritually fit all year round. Physically and spiritually we need to eat and exercise every day.

So start getting active! Start proclaiming the Good News of His glory through service and example. Ask God to show us how to increase our spiritual output – just as we remember to nourish ourselves daily through prayer and Bible study.

~Sara