Spiritual Malnutrition

Spiritual Malnutrition
By Melissa Cotter

The un-denying sad image flashes across the screen daily. Boney, pale fingers connected to thin, string-like arms. Bare, bruised and cut feet connected to stick-like legs and rickety knees. A bloated potbelly connected to a cage-like set of rib bones cascading across the chest. All these features connected to a beautiful face with the deep brown eyes of a young child.

Yes, we are given a message of physical malnutrition in an area of the world with a desperate need. Those listening are asked to give or do anything that could contribute and help these children.

The Lord has a similar message of His children suffering from spiritual malnutrition. Instead of the quality food of His Scripture filling our bellies, we have junk food such as an unbeliever’s argument to our unknowledgeable Bible skills, or quick snacks here and there to keep us going, such as one verse for the week. We aren’t going to die from skipping a meal or two presented to us by the preaching, but slowly our arms began to wither. Our muscles are too weak to help hold up and encourage our brother or sister in their time of need.

Traveling down the road we are set to secular radio stations, hearing the messages of fornication, alcoholism and temptation. God may not strike us dead, but we miss out on the love He is sharing and His presence just a dial away with inspiring tunes telling of His gospel. We are losing spiritual nutrition, and now our hands and fingers are too weak to be lifted up in praise of His glory.

At home when we are presented with a trail or an unfortunate situation, we talk of all the possibilities our minds can imagine. We skip bending to our knees in prayer and become weaker. Now, our legs and knees no longer function to carry us along God’s path for us in His will.

When Wednesday or Sunday church services approach, we clutch onto our reason to be anywhere but participating in the fellowship of God’s people. Again, we lose spiritual growth and become weaker in our faith. Instead, our feet are no longer grounded on the foundation God has given us and we waver at any sign of outside force caught up in deceit and confusion.

We haven’t been feeding ourselves with the food God is providing. We find ourselves picky eaters and most often times going to bed hungry. We have enough to make us look okay with a potbelly, but connected to that is weak and unfruitful members of the body that can no longer be utilized for God’s work. It truly is a sad image, a spiritual malnutrition child of God.

The Lord is sending out the message that there is a desperate need in this world. As children of God, He wants our cups to be overflowing, for us to have gone from milk to meat. He wants anyone who will listen to give anything or do anything that would make a change and benefit the lives of the spiritual malnutrition of His children.