According to a Tamara Sandberg article that appeared in the Lexington Herald-Leader on May 21, there is a paradox in Kentucky and the rest of the U.S. It appears that people are obese and hungry at the same time.

The simple answer to the problem is two-fold. First, you have to consider the amount and the quality of calories that a person consumes. Second, you have to determine the amount of exercise this person gets. A combination of proper diet and exercise will improve the health of any individual.

This principle can be applied to spiritual health as well. I suppose you could make an argument that many people are both spiritually obese and hungry at the same time. They find themselves too unfit and weak to effectively serve the Lord.

The solution to the problem is similar to the one for those with health concerns. First, you have to consider your intake. Are you feeding on the Bible, or some sugar-coated ideas that might seem spiritual? A lot of people are spiritually fat and weak from a constant diet of Oprah Winfrey or some other new age religious teachings.

Second, you have to ask yourself, “Am I getting any spiritual exercise? Am I doing what the Bible says to do, or am I merely reading about what I am supposed to do?” No exercise program is effective unless you do what it says. You can read the book or watch the video for hours, but you won’t receive any benefit unless you get moving.

“Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.”—1 Peter 2:2-3.

“Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”—Philippians 4:9.