NorthStar Community Daily Devotional

Day 15 - Spiritual anorexia

Scripture focus: "His father said, 'Son, you don't understand. You're with me all the time, and everything that is mine is yours—but this is a wonderful time, and we had to celebrate. This brother of yours was dead, and he's alive! He was lost, and he's found!'" Luke 15:31-32 (The Message)

Lesson 8

In the book Soul Repair, the authors provide some important indicators that might help us discover if we, too, might be suffering from a serious case of spiritual anorexia. Here are some signs:

• Taking time for spiritual nurture seems dangerous or self-indulgent. Some might see it as self-absorbed or selfish.
• Ministry addiction is another indicator. Serving is sometimes a way to hide from our own inability to receive God's love.
• Frustration in serving. When we try to give away what we have not received, then we really don't have anything to offer someone in need. So our ministry efforts leave us exhausted and resentful. There's no joy in the serving, because it doesn't come from an overflow of gratitude, but is really a misguided attempt to buy God's love or approval.
• When "receiving" is not part of our spiritual experience, something is out of order. God gives good gifts to everyone - even us - this isn't a promise intended for others, but ourselves.
• If we feel like our needs will never be met, this hopelessness results in exhaustion, depression and anger. But remember - God gives good gifts. So maybe the failure to transfer cascading gifts from father to child isn't the result of a father who withholds, but is instead related to a child who refuses to receive.
• Spiritual perfectionism and body dysmorphia. People who are anorexic look in a mirror and see a fatty while the rest of the world looks on in horror at a skeleton. Spiritual anorexia functions similarly. Maybe we think if we get small enough, we won't burden God. If we lose ourselves in service, maybe he'll throw us a bread crumb (reduced-calorie, of course). But Jesus teaches a different message. He is delighted when we show up and return with our broken, damaged, and confused selves. He seeks out and celebrates the lost. He throws a party. We fear being a burden, God rejoices when we are honest enough to express our needs!
• Anorexia demands a perfectionistic control over calories in and calories out. The desire is for a perfect body. Anything less is not good enough. We bring that same desire for perfection into our relationship with God. How funny he must think we are! We, so eager to craft a perfect image, standing before the one who made us in His image.

Do any of these bulleted items remind you of...you? For a much more thorough and better study of this topic, please read the book Soul Repair. (This will be the book of the month at NorthStar Community in September but copies are already available at the NSC book table.) Recommended reading: Luke 22-24

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