A Diet of Wisdom
I dipped my toe in the cesspool of negativity last week.
I didn’t mean to. I made the mistake of checking social media responses to something I’d written. A little later, I started listening to a podcast about fitness and health. The format of the podcast is to take a popular book and writer and tear them down. The hosts are witty, caustic, and, it turns out, they also have some beefs with Christianity too.
In both cases, I felt something in me come alive. I get the attraction of engaging in fights and looking down on others. It provides a quick hit of pleasure, but it promises more than it can deliver, and ultimately begins to damage the soul.
It’s perhaps never been easier to feed on a steady diet of scorn and criticism of others. Negativity works. It sells. It feeds the algorithms.
The problem is not just in the world; it’s present among Christians as well. Unless we’re careful, we’ll find ourselves swept away to the detriment of our souls.
A Better Diet
“We need a diet comprised of lasting, reliable sources of wisdom rather than the fleeting, untrustworthy information that bombards us today; a diet heavy on what fosters wisdom and low on what fosters folly,” writes Brett McCracken in his excellent book The Wisdom Pyramid.
Around the time I’d read that nasty comment and listened to those critical podcasts, I listened to an interview with Doug Moo about his new 784-page volume on the Apostle Paul. I also watched The Most Reluctant Convert, a movie that portrays the conversion story of C.S. Lewis. Scorn damaged my soul; the interview and the movie helped to restore some sanity health.
I admire Moo’s scholarship. That someone would dedicate over a decade of one’s life to produce a book for scholars and pastors is stunning to me. I also appreciated that Moo spoke with care and humility. Moo doesn’t speak as a cold intellectual; he speaks as one whose mind and heart have been captured by Christ.
The C.S. Lewis movie made me miss England. Even more than that, it encouraged me. Lewis wasn’t saved by his own initiative. He was clearly saved as a result of God’s gracious pursuit. In both Moo and Lewis, I saw God’s grace and the impact of lives well lived for the glory of God.
In both Moo and Lewis, I found wisdom. When I exposed myself to negativity, I found myself becoming more cynical. When I listened to the interview and watched the movie, I found myself filled with a desire to live for God’s glory and to devote myself to doing hard things that could serve God and others.
When I listened to and read scornful words, I started to become scornful and discouraged. When I listened to and watched Moo and a movie about Lewis, I found myself filled with a desire to love God and others more. The difference is stark.
Paul said as much in Philippians 4:8. “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” As the ESV Study Bible says, fill your mind “with things that will inspire worship of God and service to others.”
Delete and Refocus
I deleted the negative podcasts. I ordered Doug Moo’s book. I determined, again, to spend less time scrolling reactions to social media posts. I listened to a few other good podcasts. I read a good book. I doubled down on my Bible reading routine.
What we consume matters. Feed on a diet of negativity and we will damage our souls. Feed on a diet of what’s true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and praiseworthy, and we will find our souls more ready to worship God and to serve others.
