You Are Not a Garbage Disposal

Various types of foods are available to sustain us physically. Whether eaten as part of a healthy diet or binged as escapism to null emotional distress, food satisfies us for a short period of time. When eaten in appropriate intervals, you can maintain a healthy weight and mental clarity.

However, when food is eaten outside of recommended intervals, excessive weight can increase rapidly. As a result, the extra weight is harder to shed than the food that was easily devoured.

There is nothing wrong with enjoying your favorite meals and snacks periodically. However, if what you’re eating lacks little nutritional value, your eating will be in vain. The usual outcome of careless eating is indigestion, heartburn, insomnia, or headaches.

These lingering effects can impact your blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and immune system. You may also experience times when you’re having difficulties recovering from colds and other ailments quickly because of a poor diet.

If you don’t get control of your eating, the damaging effects of a poor diet can shorten your lifespan or contribute to a debilitating lifestyle as you grow older.

Are You Eating Too Much?

You may have seen reality shows documenting the lives of those who have consumed excessive amounts of food that contributed to weight amounts that threaten the life of the documented person. When given an ultimatum to change their eating habits or die, the person realizes that they don’t have much time to waste before their life ends. As a result of the prognosis, he or she decides to make the required changes.

The excessive amount of processed and fast food that is consumed not only contributes to bad health, but your self-confidence is also affected. As a result, self-loathing can become a habit that’s not easy to stop.

Over the centuries, ethnic groups have honed their culinary skills by creating meals that attract visitors from around the world to their vicinity. Notable chefs have won awards for their masterpiece dishes, and those who have not acquired world renown fame draw attention from their family, friends, and others within their region.

Despite the known high calorie content, excessive sugar, and fat that some irresistible food may possess, our palate yearns for what we know we should not have consistently. Commercial advertising does not make our attempts to curb our appetite any better when we see triple pound burgers, ribs, fries laden with cheese, pizza, fried chicken, and other food that summons us to eat it now, but regret it later.

Proverbs 25:28 says …” He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.

Well, what does this mean? It’s means when you’re not fully aware of the long-term consequences of reckless eating, you find yourself defenseless when attacks happen. In other words, eating from every table, any product without researching the content to find out if the ingredients agree with your digestive system, and eating certain foods because others are eating it may cause you to be attacked with health problems you may not want to acknowledge came from the food you ate.

I remember watching a video about centenarians who lived past 100 years. One notable thing that was prominent among them was their diet. What was interesting was not their lack of access to food, it was their consistency in healthy food choices mostly the same food. There was no wide range deviation in their eating patterns opposed to popular fast-food options which may influence people to eat soup and salad one day, and burger and fries the next day.

While centenarians are admired for their longevity and probed for their long-living secrets, most people do not want to commit to doing what these people did to attain their success. Now, I am aware that there are some people who live long and recklessly with smoking and drinking, but I think the mindset of those people have a lot to do with their longevity such as stress reduction and other activities they engage in regularly. However, overall, good diet and lifestyle certainly plays a role in contributing to the centenarian life.

What Are You Receiving?

When you think about a garbage disposal, the purpose is to receive food scraps that can be easily grinded and properly disposed. A garbage disposal can also be thought of figuratively and spiritually as a container that receives negative words and exhibits negative behavior when your spirit gets clogged just like a physical garbage disposal that becomes overloaded.

If you follow diet coaches or read articles that are giving advice about detoxification, you’ll quickly gain knowledge about the benefits of cleansing your system such as improved digestive health, clear skin, better moods, and physical mobility. When was the last time you did a spiritual detox? I don’t just mean fasting from food a few hours to turn around and gorge in the same bad eating habits, gossip, or unethical behavior.

In the same way we have access to a wide range of delicious foods, snacks, and drinks, we also have access to content that entices us to view and listen longer than we should. If the content is sensational enough, all we have to do is share the video, article, picture, or audio clip to help spread the information.

We also contribute to each other’s weight gain, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and other ailments by sharing or recommending food we know is bad for us, but because of the taste, we promote it anyway.

Matthew 7:13 says … “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

During the pandemic, I found myself eating more than I should have. When I notice the weight I gained, I became discouraged, and began to loathe within myself about how I allowed myself to get out of control with my eating habits. Unfortunately, our coping skills as humans are not always the best.

While we may not know how to articulate our feelings while dealing with stress, our ability to reach for food is easier than disciplining ourselves during a crisis. It takes a lot of discipline to avoid fried foods and sugary drinks.

It also takes a lot of discipline to avoid the latest gossip headline, trending non-beneficial behavior, and anger-filled messages that may validate our current mindsets for revenge or mediocrity. You may also be struggling with trauma from your childhood or during adulthood which has impacted your self-confidence and ability to function in life at an optimal level. You may have been told that you were not good enough, you’ll never become anything significant, or nobody wants you.

Although you may not have said anything to your spiritual or emotional attacker, your mind may be playing their words repeatedly causing you to be stagnant. When you dispose of garbage into a garbage disposal, you don’t see where the waste goes. With advanced technology, the waste is broken down and grinded into fine particles and is channeled into the wastewater pipe and funnels to the local wastewater treatment plant or your septic system.

However, unlike this type of water waste technology system, our minds and spirits absorb words, projected negative attitudes, verbal and physical attacks, negative visual and audio content for years without a natural way to dispose of the spiritual waste properly unless intervention is implemented rigorously. What I mean by this is you have to make a concerted effort to pray, read the Word of God, avoid toxic relationships, and live ethically.

You Are Not a Garbage Disposal

I Corinthians 15:33 says … “Be not deceived: evil communication corrupt good manners.

Psalm 139:14 says: I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

What Does Your Soul Know?

Research reveals that unprocessed trauma affects us physically. While we may have honed our skills at hiding our feelings about the traumatic events we have experienced, our bodies are sending signals that we’re not okay. Our memory is not only affected, but our brains can change as a result.

According to Andrea Roberts, a research scientist at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, many chronic illnesses emerge as a result of traumatic events. These events can range from … “A rocky childhood, a violent assault, a car accident.” (Harvard Health Publishing, 2021). Some of the chronic medical conditions include …” heart attack, stroke, obesity, diabetes, and cancer.”

Trauma can also lead to post-traumatic stress disorder. While often associated with war veterans, PTSD is a common reaction due to daily living situations. Research also reveals the more traumatic events you experienced, the more your health and mental problems will increase. (Care Counseling, 2019).

Lamentations 3:19-24 says … “19 Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall.

20 My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me.

21 This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.

22 It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.

23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

24 The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.

You Are Not a Garbage Disposal

You Are Not a Punching Bag,

You Are Not a Door Mat

You Are Not a Toxic Emotional Landfill

You Are Worthy

You Are Beautiful

You Will Be Successful

You Will be What God Created You to Be

You Are Loved

While the Bible is useful in helping you to stay spiritually strong, you may also need assistance with your mental and emotional challenges. I encourage you to seek professional counseling if you think you cannot cope with your trauma alone.

I also encourage you to listen to and read content that can aid in your healing process along with avoiding environments that trigger fear, anger, or hostility. If you’re not able to change environments immediately, create YouTube playlists such as music with nature scenery, and inspiring messages that can help calm your mind and emotions.

Remember don’t eat from every table when it comes to food or negative communication. If you find yourself unable to sleep, think clearly, or act reasonably, it’s time to review the contents of what you are digesting visually and audibly, and change your spiritual and emotional diet.

Hold your head up and stay strong. God loves you, and so do I!

References

Harvard Health Publishing. (2021). Past trauma may haunt your future health. https://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/past-trauma-may-haunt-your-future-health

Care Counseling. (2019). Past trauma may haunt your future health. https://care-clinics.com/past-trauma-may-haunt-your-future-health/