"Spiritual Malnutrition"

  The appeal for help came as an ad asking for help in those third world countries and their malnutrition. Pictures of children are shown with bloated stomachs and gaunt faces. It pulls at the heart which is exactly what they are trying to do.

  Another ad comes on and it is about the mistreatment of animals and the faces of starving, hurting animals that need our help. Face after face of animals are put in front of our eyes to appeal for help and have some compassion.

  We see shows that show us prisoners of war, especially in Germany in the death camps and we wonder how such men could have ever survived being completely skin and bone. Some look like walking skeletons with skin stretched over their frame. It upsets us to see that man could treat man in this manner allowing people to basically starve to death.

  But then we turn to the malnutrition spiritually. People who each week attend some sort of religious service having no clue why they are there and have nothing to offer. Maybe out of duty or habit but there is little there to feed them and they offer little back. Their lives too are in the state of malnutrition. People seem very unconcerned. "Just as long as you believe, that's all that matters." A host of people march off into eternity believing that lie starving to death.

  The Hebrew writer speaks, "...you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food." (Heb. 5:12) We need teaching what the word of the Lord is really about. We don't need psychology, entertaining stories, fun tidbits, moving testimonies and philosophical approaches. We need the word of the Lord. The church is poorly 'nutritioned' in many places and is slipping more and more into the worlds approach. Teachers teaching that know little about what they speak but they are good at saying a lot of words! Preachers preaching that can hold the attention because they are polished but no sustenance from heaven. The Word of God is not upheld and if it is, many times it is used only as a reference. Without the food from heaven, weakness, misguided lives and skinny spiritual bones will begin to be exposed. Division will occur. There will be no standard but all will look the same and think the same. Yes, it is shocking to see ads for help in the lives of people and animals but what if we could look into a mirror on our spiritual side, what would we see? We have that mirror and it's called the Word of God if we would use it honestly and desire the Lord's truth with all our heart.