I cannot help but think a few things this fair evening.  First, anyone who's tried to live a healthy lifestyle with diet and exercise may still desire all the junk food that they ate before their diet.  However, after the body gets to a point of being healthy in this manner, going back to eating junk food will likely have a powerful adverse effect.  Before, the body was so used to what is essentially poisin that it was not so bad, but after being cleaned out, the next time that junk is put into the body, the body clearly recognizes it as such as honestly wants nothing to do with the foods that once customarily brought pleasure.  Of course, I'm not just talking about diet here, this is a spiritual journal, and I don't care that much about healthy living anyway.  However, there is a powerful spiritual parallel that rings loud right now for me.  When we compromise with the world by enjoying the same kinds of entertainment as they do, or even at best sit around wasting our time and energy on "twinky" entertainment, that is, entertainment that is not necessarily evil but has not good merit to it either.  To use the person exaple that is now on my mind, let us take movies for example.  I used to watch movies just like pretty much anybody else, though I've always had standards of what I would watch.  However, after trying to live a more holy life for a good bit of time, trying to come back to movies, with a few exceptions (LOTR, Star Wars, and The Passion among the main ones), is very difficult.  I would honestly rather read a book, or discuss some weighty matter, or simply gain a new insight into somebody's heart, or lose myself on the guitar, or any number of a thousand other things.  However, it just feels that most movies (and similar T.V. and music) are to my heart and soul now what junk food is to somebody who's been on a long diet.  In stead of finding joy by finally relaxing and tuning out the world, I now cannot help but think of the world, where chaos reigns in our own country, where thousands die every day across the world, where in China alone ther are 50 million believers who desire God's Word but don't have it, and on and on and on.  I am not trying to boast by saying that I am so spiritual that I am above movies and the like.  I just have to wonder, would the apostles have sat down to watch the latest comedy or make sure they caught their favorite sitcom every week?  Somehow, I have to doubt it.  If that's the case, for those of us who call ourselves believers in Christ Jesus, why do we?  Finally, let it be said that I am not alone in my thoughts.  This final quote is from a ancient pagan stoic philosopher. 

 
     "Most of what passes for legitimate entertainment is inferior or foolish and only caters to or exploits people's weaknesses. Avoid being one of the mob who indulges in such pastimes. Your life is too short, and you have important things to do. Be discriminating about what images and ideas you let in your mind. If you yourself don't choose what thoughts and images you expose yourself to, someone else will, and their motives may not be the highest. It is the easiest thing in the world to slide imperceptibly into vulgarity. But there's no need for that to happen if you determine not to waste your time and attention on mindless pap."
—Roman philosopher Epictetus (AD 55-135), in his work The Art of Living
 

Until next time, be revolutionaries!  The world needs so many more of them...see how many ways you can be different or exceptional.  The time is too short to dally...