Your words were found, and I ate them. Your words were to me a joy and the rejoicing of my heart, for I am called by your name, the LORD, God of Hosts.
–Jeremiah 15:16
“Der Mensch ist was er ißt,” Ludwig Andreas Feuerbach wrote in 1836.
This translates, “Man is what he eats.”
We truly are what we eat — in every form. In 1923, nutritionist Victor Lindlahr published Feuerbach’s words in English, “Ninety percent of the diseases known to man is caused by cheap foodstuffs. You are what you eat.”
On a microscopic level, the cells in your food break apart and are recycled as the building blocks for new molecules. What you ingest gets integrated into your body to either build you up or literally break you down.
Words are the same.
Our thoughts are built on what we read and hear. Our thoughts, in turn, steer our bodies to behave the way they do. Movies, books, perhaps even that dose of daily news, build our view of life the same way vitamins and chemicals build our bodies.
Are you hungry for a better outlook, for a brighter attitude, for a stronger spirit, for a more obedient body? Spread out a feast for yourself from the Bible! Good, life-giving words are everywhere.
Turn the radio to uplifting music. Keep Bible texts in your pocket. Paint them on your walls. Nibble at them all day long. Revel in some good, quality, eternally sustaining spiritual food.
Prayer
Dear Jesus, You are the Word of God. I hunger for what You have to say. Please fill me, nourish me, and help me to grow spiritually. You alone bring me real joy. Amen.
Reflection
Do I eat more healthy words or toxic words each day? How can I improve this?