The Spirit and the Flesh: Which Do You Feed?

"Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life." - Proverbs 4:23

Hello my friends! Today I wanted to talk about something that affected me and my Christian walk GREATLY. Without a doubt, it is a huge obstacle that ALL Christians face, especially those who are younger (like me!). What is this giant we Christians face today? To simply put it: the things we consume. What on Earth am I talking about??? Well, bear with me as I explain using the example of my cringy younger years (which...  wasn't really all that long ago BUT I digress I digress 🤣).

Like most kids, I was very drawn to video games, cartoons (be it movies or shows) and music, and from a very young age as well. I was always sort of a massive nerd with a love for all things art, so it made sense these things in particular captivated me. My introduction to the internet of course only fed into these passions of mine, and before long I was your average internet-obsessed kid, spending every waking hour I could indulging myself with everything the online world had to offer. Every single day, I talked to my internet friends pretty much nonstop, played a wide variety of video games, scrolled through various different social medias, jammed almost constantly to secular music, watched hours of YouTube, and so on. 
I also grew pretty attached to my reputation as an artist on social media— I remember it got so bad at times that I struggled with a lot of anxiety over how people perceived me, and I got myself into a lot of petty drama! I often cried because I was terrified of people stealing my art, or getting cancelled, and all the other weird things that can happen to you on social media. My online identity had become pretty important to me, and like many others in my generation today I was just lost in its deception...

  So as you can tell, my priorities were SERIOUSLY warped. I could go on forever, really, about will the stupid stuff I did, and all the things I regret, the time I wasted— and looking back at it all now, it's no wonder I struggled so much during those years and was really just a hot mess. I was crippled by fear almost constantly and was riddled with all sorts of problems, with little to no improvement or growth at all. Why? Because I was so sucked into this world and all its shiny little distractions, feeding my flesh more than I was my spirit. And just as Jesus warned us in Matthew 7:24-27, if you build your house on shifting sand instead of the firm rock, your house will have zero chances of standing against the storms. What is the sand? This uncertain and ever-changing world. Who is the sturdy rock foundation? None other than our mighty Lord Jesus Christ. If we are building our lives on anything other than Jesus, we shouldn't expect anything but heartache and disaster, and that really does describe those years of my life in which I was more fixated on the things of this world than Jesus. Yet tragically, it makes sense that I was so focused on this world, because everything I was consuming only fed into my worldly obsessions and lusts, which is exactly what I want to talk about today: What we feed ourselves daily is INSANELY important. What exactly do I mean by that? Well, consider these rather daunting questions:

- What kind of media do we consume? What movies, shows, music, games, and content are we exposing ourselves to daily? What are we feeding off of? Are they things that will build us up and strengthen us in Christ, or are they things that will tear us down? What doctrines are the movies and shows we watch preaching to us? Poison from the secular media that is constantly beating down God and those who follow Him? Media that glorifies sin and immoral behavior? Media that distracts and hinders us from being all that God is calling us to be? What kind of people are we spending all our time with? Whether online or in real life, what kind of influences are these people in our lives? What sort of conversations are we having with them? What is the object of our discussions? If we are spending time with nonbelievers, what worldly wisdom, behaviors and ideas are we adapting from them? The level of influence such things have in our lives is baffling— even if we don’t realize it. We become what we consume, what we spend time with, what we meditate upon.

Here's a verse to think about. “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” - ‭‭Colossians‬ ‭3:2‬ ‭
Are the things we are consuming setting our minds on the things, the goals, the ambitions, the worries, the lusts of this world? Or are they helping us set our minds on the things above— on God, His Word, the things He declares to be good and right? My problem was that I spent the majority of my time watching movies, shows, videos, listening to music, and playing games that all glorified different things in this world (and sometimes sadly even overtly opposed God) and because I engrossed myself so much in these secular things, I found myself desiring and wanting everything the world wanted, chasing after what the world said is important, seeking happiness in the world, because the media influenced me so greatly. The people I listened to in YouTube videos, the friends I spent time talking with, the themes and messages of the music I listened to, the morals of the movies and shows I watched they all glorified this world and its ideas, its morals, its goals, and so on.

Because of this indulgence, my flesh had become very strong while my spirit became weak, and as a result I was stunted in my growth as a Christian, and I fell hard to many atrocious temptations and sins. I allowed a lot of unhealthy things and people into my life, and I am still feeling the negative repercussions from them today. Sin brings forth death (James 1:15), be that the death of a relationship, the death of a job, the death of opportunities, the death of peace, the death of joy, etc. As Christians, we are immune to the ultimate and eternal consequence of sin (hell), BUT we are NOT immune to the temporary consequences sin brings here on Earth. So you see, when we are not feeding our spirit, we are just by default feeding our flesh, and that opens the door to all sorts of nasty problems and heartaches. As God warned Cain in Genesis 4:7 before he murdered his own brother, "Watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you." Satan is no fool. He attacks us when we're down, when we're weak. And if we've been catering to our flesh, and have left our spirit malnourished, you better believe he's going to strike, and he's going to strike hard! Sin truly is crouching at the door, and boy oh boy is the devil and his gang just waiting for that perfect opportunity. In Matthew 26:41, Jesus told His disciples to "Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."  And how true that is. Don't give Satan a foothold. Feed your spirit, and fight the flesh. If there is something in your life that is keeping you from God, that is filling your flesh rather than your spirit, keeping your mind on this temporary world rather than the eternal God, it's time to just rip it out. Life is far too short to waste it on things that in the end, really don't matter at all. We get one life, one chance, and that's it. The devil would love nothing more than for us to be totally absorbed in this world and all its shiny little distractions, letting our spirits starve as we instead indulge on all the things this Earth has to offer. Oh, but how empty it always leaves us, how broken, how lost! There is no hope in this world. There is hope only in Jesus Christ. He alone can save us, and He alone can satisfy us, and give our lives a true lasting and fulfilling purpose. In reality, this world isn't worth dirt. But Jesus is worth everything and more. 

I heard pastor Matt Chandler describe trying to find satisfaction in the things of this world like trying to drink dirt, because this world can't satisfy our thirsty hearts. In fact it only leaves us even thirstier! The only solution of course, is Jesus, and He alone offers living water that truly satisfies our hearts. I certainly know this to be true from personal experience. I spent so very long chasing after so many different things for satisfaction and fulfillment, but I always just ended up more miserable than before. It was only when I REALLY truly began seeking Jesus first that I began to realize He really is the only One who can satisfy our thirsty hearts. If we would just simply take the time to feed our spirit, to really fix our eyes on Jesus, truly taking the time to know Him more through reading and prayer everyday, allowing God to transform our hearts, I think we would be surprised by the changes we would start to see. All the struggles and things we fret and obsess over so much would be straightened out if we would just set aside all this junk and seek Jesus first. "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." Matthew 6:33. 

Looking back at it all now, it really was appalling how I used to use my time... I regret how many opportunities I had squandered, the people I could have helped, the dumb things I did. So that's why I wanted to write this, to encourage you all not to waste your time, or to get sucked into all these things that just simply don't really matter in the long-run. What will we be doing when Jesus returns? Will He find us wasting our lives? Or will He find us being faithful to the very end? I sure hope so, because as we look around at the world around us, it is very evident that He is coming back sooner than we could ever imagine.

I pray this devo encourages you all to get serious about your walk with Jesus, to take an honest look at your life, at the things and people you are being influenced by. Are they pointing you back to Christ, or pulling you away from Him? We certainly shouldn't expect to grow if we are filling up our flesh more than we are our spirit. No, in fact if that's the case, we should expect more trouble and heartache than anything! We should not be building our house on the shaky foundation of this temporary world. We should not be investing in this temporary life. We should be investing in eternity. "Only one life, soon to pass, only what's done for Christ will last." This is the second time I've used that quote in a devotional, but no shame, it's a wonderful quote and a reminder I think we need every single day of our lives.

May 2022 be the year we get serious about Jesus, and sharing the Good News of His salvation to all we can. May we rip out every hindrance and distraction, and be wise with the short time we have left. And if perhaps we haven't yet accepted Jesus' free gift of salvation, today is the day to make that vitally important decision. "Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near; let the wicked forsake His way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that He may have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon." - Isaiah 55:6-7. God bless you friends in this new year!!!