Do you struggle to consistently read the word? Are church sermons or Sunday school lessons stale to you? Do you simply feel no motivation to go above and beyond in this life in your work, your family life, your friendships, relationships, and your passions, to the glory of God?

Today’s reflection and quotes from A Call to Die may be part of the answer to solving these problems.

Sometimes we have so many other things that we feed off of for satisfaction daily – Netflix, social media, video games, our friends, sex, fitness, negative thoughts, fast food, music, our jobs, the love of a guy or girl, etc.

The pursuit and consumption of these things can leave us with a temporary satisfaction that leaves us dissatisfied or unconcerned with the pursuit of God and His truth.

Just like junk food, the experience is so great, but it leaves us sluggish, more addicted, unproductive in the things that matter, and many other negative side effects.

Notice that the things listed above are not all bad, many of them are morally neutral, but the overconsumption of these things leads to poisonous consequences. If we seek these things for satisfaction whether in desperation to feel (or not feel) something or through many, many hours a week while we are “too busy” for God, this pursuit has become an idol that won’t live up to your expectations in the end. 

Idolatry is poison whether the idol is ourselves, other people, or some material thing.

David Nasser gives a good analogy for this,

He describes a guy who goes to work with Mother Theresa in Calcutta at a place called The House of the Dying. 

This place takes in many people without homes who have a few days or hours. This is a daunting task as 70% of the homeless population has terminal tuberculosis, many children are infected with AIDS because of a sect of the Hindu religion’s beliefs, and there are also many with leprosy. 

The House of the Dying gives these individuals a place to die with dignity. They shave their heads, dispense their old clothes, give them new clothes, feed them a meal, and share the gospel. 

To take care of those with leprosy, they take syringes and extract pus from sores, these syringes go into a trash bag once they are too dull to use. 

To take care of those with tuberculosis, they have the individuals cough into jars until those are full and those go into trash bags too.

The man who went to work here begged the staff not to ask him to take the trash full of syringes, lepers’ clothes, jars, hair, and leftover food to the alley where they are thrown out, not only because of the stench but what he would see there.

When he would throw out the bags, children would come out, tear open the bags, and eat the leftovers from the dying individuals inside.  

He would yell, “Don’t eat this garbage! It’s full of disease and death!”

The children were so hungry they ate it anyway because that was all they could find.

Nasser wraps up this story with a paragraph I must quote because he puts it more eloquently than I can.

“Disturbing image, isn’t it? But in all honesty. how far are we from this spiritually? 

Can you see yourself feasting at the dumpster of this world? 

Many of us are like those kids scrambling for garbage. 

We elbow each other at the mall, at the theater, in the back seat, at home, at work, on the net, and at school in our hunger for food, but the food we lunge and fight for is rotten and diseased — and we eat it. 

We eat it every time we fill our minds and hearts with sexually suggestive movies or music, every time we make fun of people for whom Christ died, every time we value the praise of people more than the praise of God, every time we live to get revenge on someone who has hurt us, and every time we try to put things in God’s place in our hearts. 

We are so full of this junk that we aren’t hungry for the food that really satisfies and nourishes. Sure, we may listen to a message or song about God, and that message has as much appeal as another bite of pizza when we are so full we’re about to explode. 

Our souls are full of so much garbage that we don’t even recognize our need for God’s food.”

The things of God bring about good satisfaction, and at the same time lead us to thirst for more.

What is the difference from the other food then? This thirst is not driven by discontent and desperation. You will know if you are seeking the good things of God when they lead you to righteous actions not increasing selfishness. 

That is important to keep in mind because even our pursuit of God can be contaminated by our selfish ambitions.

So, are you feasting on garbage? Have even some good things become idolatry to you?

You will know by looking at the quality of the things you consume (what does scripture say about it? what behaviors does it draw out of you?).

You will also know by looking at how much time you spend in pursuit of it (Does it cause you to ignore responsibilities because it takes up so much of your time? Does it make you too busy to spend time with God? Do you ignore the needs of others?).

A practical way to build up a thirst for God is by going on what is called a “Dopamine Detox.” This term is flawed, but basically, you are cutting off many forms of instant gratification – social media, TV, Youtube, music, etc.

This not only forces you to fill your time with rewarding and fruitful activities such as spending time with God, spending time with others, learning a new hobby, and exercising to better your health.

I recommend looking into it. Other benefits include the increased ability to focus, increased discipline and self-control, and an overall feeling of well-being.

Some of you may only need to find a proper balance or limitations on morally neutral things. 

But again, have you been feasting on anything that is making the things of God seem irrelevant, boring, or unsatisfactory? 

Pray and ask God for wisdom on identifying any poison in your life and for the strength to get rid of it.