Are you what you consume?

I like to eat, no really, I like to eat! There are certain things that I truly enjoy to eat. My wife for example, makes the best home made hummus. All I have to do is put in the petition with her and she will make it from scratch in our kitchen. I usually let it sit for one day in the refrigerator so that the flavors mix and then the next day for dinner,…yummy. I think we all have food items that we truly enjoy and just like to eat over and over again. The good thing is, that over the years of our marriage, my wife and I have learned to eat good and healthy food. This means that we mostly do not purchase or consume food that comes out of a box or is pre-processed. Yes, I could go to the supermarket and purchase hummus there. I have seen a great selection of all different kinds and flavors. But when I check on the ingredient list I ask myself: why are there so many ingredients? The one my wife makes at home has only a hand full and it tastes so much better. I think for many, making things at home has become a thing of the past or something that they might do for special occasions. What and how we eat has greatly changed over the past decades. Did you know that the average consumer today eats a lot more food with corn-derived sweeteners, eats the equivalent of 1.2 gallons of yogurt a year but then also consumes 36 pounds of cooking oils. 58% of the population says that they probably should be eating healthier than they are doing now. I think we can say that the food choices we make today have to do with convenience and time. At least when it comes to food, most make some sort of an effort to somehow look at what they eat and make their decisions about food based on the benefit for their bodies, their health and well being.

When it comes to our consumption of information, that is another story all together. Consuming information has also gone through a drastic change. Back in the old days, the time without television, radio, internet and telephones/cellphones, information was harder to come by. With the emergence of the newspapers, we can see the beginning of the “trust relationship” people would have with corporations that bring information to them. When radio and television came into the picture, people were then able to listen or watch certain news programs at certain hours that would bring information about relevant events right to them in their homes. This form of media went through another transformation when CNN started in 1980 as the first 24-hour news service on television. Now we are in the cable TV, internet age, and with the daily use of our cellphones and apps, we have basically become a society that is addicted to constant consumption of information. People “trust” certain information outlets of their choice and take what is presented by them as fact or truth. To get this information, there is really no effort needed on our part. Just pick up your smart phone, click on your most favorite app and there is goes: a feed of endless information in our hands. This has become a habit for many and today, everywhere you go you see people with their eyes glued to their smart phones. In restaurants I have seen couples, friends or families all sitting at their table together, but no conversation between them was going on. Each one of them had their focus on their smart phone. This information consumption addiction is transforming society and it is transforming us. Just as many have addictions to certain foods and substances like sugar, caffein and others, many today now live with an active “information consumption addiction”, and simply cannot go through one day, one moment without checking their smart phone “to see whats going on”. 

Is this constant consumption of unfiltered information really good for us? How does this impact our state of mind, or emotions, and most importantly our perspective on life and things happening around us. I think we all understand that if we only consume junk food with no real nutritional value, at the end it will negatively affect our bodies and healthy. Does the mass consumption of all the information that is put before us have the same negative effect on our minds, emotions, feelings, perspective and in the end, on our health?

I think it might be important to remember that in the end we are still in control. We decide to turn on our smart phone to go on social media, just as we are the one’s making the decision to eat something that we know we should not. The decision is ours. We decide what we let enter into our bodies, be it through food and drink or through our eyes and ears. How about changing your information diet, and once again make the decision every day to leave your smart phone on the table and pick up your Bible:

And that thou hast known the holy Scriptures of a child, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation, through the faith which is in Christ Jesus. For the whole Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable to teach, to convince, to correct, and to instruct in righteousness,.. 2 Timothy 3:15-16 (GNV) 

Shut off your smart phone, computer and television and dedicate time every day to reading and studying the word of God. Doing that will greatly benefit not only your spirit but your mind and your emotions. Here you will have access to divine, healthy information, not man made information, information that will greatly impact you in your daily walk of life and guide you through every circumstance and situation that you may face. Within it you can find rest, restoration, hope and most importantly salvation. We spend time in the worldly information stream because we can do so without any personal effort and just sit and fill ourselves with all kinds of information that really has not benefit for us. Or, we can decide to open our Bible again and read, study and meditate to receive benefit, something that is good for us personally and will greatly improve our perspective and outlook on life.

In the end can we say then: Just how it is with food (you are what you eat), so it has become with information: you are what you consume!