A WELL- BALANCED SPIRITUAL DIET

By Dr. M. R. Dowler

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been overseeing America’s food since the agency’s formation in 1862. The My Plate program is the USDA’s most recent dietary guideline for a well-balanced meal. These guidelines have changed through the years (under different titles) since they were first published in 1894. The My Plate program features five parts of a daily well-balanced diet---grains, vegetables, fruits, protein and dairy.  

All born-again believers are commanded to worship God (Psalm 29:2; 95:6; John 4:24). But worship is probably one of the most misunderstood aspects of the modern evangelical church. In some instances, worship has been reduced to a relative term---what worship is to me may not necessarily be what worship is to you. The great theologian A W Tozer called worship the missing jewel of the evangelical church. Today in many instances, worship is either neglected or over-emphasized, thus knocking the church completely out of balance.

But what is worship? The word worship is used 188 times in the Bible. Genesis 22:5 is the first mention of worship and provides us with the best definition of it; it is the Hebrew verb “shachah” meaning to bow down, or prostrate oneself before a superior; to humble yourself before God.

Just as the food parts of the My Plate program, consider the four distinct parts that make a well-balanced church---worship focuses exclusively on the Lord; instruction/edification focuses on the individual believer; fellowship focuses on the collective body of believers; and evangelism focuses our attention on winning the unsaved around us. All of these elements are like a well-balanced meal and essential to the spiritual well-being of the church. Think about it.