Care for Some Turkish Delight?

One of the many wonderful spiritual lessons embedded in The Chronicles of Narnia (C.S. Lewis) is found in the first encounter of Edmund with the White Witch (The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe).

The witch magically produces some tasty candy (Turkish Delight) for a hungry Edmund. Later, Edmund finds that he cannot enjoy a normal healthy delicious meal because of his desire for more Turkish Delight. C.S. Lewis then pens these powerful and insightful words into the book: “There’s nothing that spoils the taste of good ordinary food half so much as the memory of bad magic food.”

I’m sure you can see the spiritual application. It is easy for us to damage our physical health and our ability to resist sickness and disease by filling up on things that do not have the nutrients our bodies need to stay healthy. It is even easier to damage our spiritual health by filling up on things that do not supply the spiritual nutrients we desperately need.

Much of what we watch on television, or in movies, or on the Internet is not only devoid of spiritual nutrition, but is the spiritual equivalent to gobbling down “food” filled with deadly carcinogens! And these things can totally spoil our appetite for the true spiritual nourishment and strength we find in serious Bible study.

Last year I uploaded a brief (less than 5 minutes) YouTube devotional video for my Grandkids that touched on this topic. I’ve included a link to it here, in case you would like to watch it.

The point is simple. We must watch what we eat. Both physically and spiritually. Just because there are many physically and spiritually unhealth people all around us doesn’t mean we have to be that way! But be warned! It will take some self-discipline to change our appetites! It means changing priorities. It means rearranging our schedules. It means some self-denial. It might not be easy. But the rewards are fantastic! There is nothing to compare with the spiritual strength that comes from feeding on God’s Word!

Eat healthy!

And Stay in the Battle!


Author

Steve serves as chaplain and teacher at Cross Creek Christian School in Sweetwater, TN. He previously taught math, physics, and ACT prep in public high schools in Tennessee and Texas. He has served churches in Tennessee, Florida, and Texas as minister of education, associate pastor, and senior pastor.