Empty Stomachs

“An empty stomach is not a good political advisor.” Albert Einstein

Have you ever gone to the grocery store when you were hungry? If you have not, let me advise you that this is not a good practice. It has been my experience that when returning home, I would find myself not with healthy vegetables, meats, breads, and fruits from my shopping list, but with cookies, soft drinks, ice cream, and every item that “looks good.” This is not a healthy way to shop, nor is it economical. An empty stomach is not a good decision maker.

Einstein may have been thinking of party choices, economic decisions, governmental policy, or even wise, prudent decisions in general. Regardless of his original meaning, the statement rings true. We will not make good quality decisions when something is missing in our lives.

Each day we are faced with a plethora of decisions such as when to start our day, what to eat, what we do, etc. More importantly, we are faced with decisions about the kind of person that we will be, what we teach our children, the strength of our relationship with our spouse, and the depth of our relationship with God. These decisions are affected by what is in our “stomachs.”

If we are going to make good decisions, we need to fill those empty stomachs. Most of us remember the ads telling us we are what we eat. We understand that eating junk food will hurt our bodies and that failing to eat healthy foods can lead to many health problems. Likewise, when we fail to eat the spiritual food of God’s word, we will be facing all kinds of spiritual health problems. Jesus said, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and finish His work” (John 4:34). Job 23:12 says, “I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.” The message is true for all men. We need to fill our spiritual stomachs with God’s word to bring forth good fruit. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled” (Matt. 5:6). Like the Romans, let us be “full of goodness, filled with all knowledge” (Rom. 15:14). Knowing the love of Christ let us be “filled with all the fullness of God” (Eph. 3:19). Let us have love that abounds, knowledge, discernment, approving what is excellent, being sincere without offense, and be “filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God” (Phil. 1:9-11). With stomachs and lives filled with the goodness of God, we will make good decisions.

The alternative to being filled with God’s will so that we can make good decisions is to live making decisions out of our emptiness as did the lost son. “He would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate” (Luke 15:16). The lost son thought that he had the world figured out. He thought he knew everything he needed to know to be successful in life. What he learned is that when his heart and mind were focused on the wrong things, such as the pleasures of life, money, food, popularity, and having his own way, that his life was empty.

What is sad is that most of our world feels like the lost son. Most people think they can do it their way and will be fine. So did Israel of old. But God made it clear they were wrong. Hosea 4:6 gives us a great warning: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.” To fail to feed on God’s word will leave us in a situation where we will be lost eternally. We must not be spiritually malnourished.

What is your stomach filled with: Godly things or worldly ideals? Fill your stomachs with the word of God and His plan for your life. If I can help you, let me know.

— Denny Wilson