My dad’s side of the family has a tradition of going to an Italian restaurant called Valentino’s. When we all got together for a family reunion or special event, we would often go to this restaurant and enjoy each other’s company—and the food! But this is not your ordinary Italian restaurant. It contains a massive all-you-can-eat buffet of numerous pasta dishes, pizzas, side dishes, and ice cream. It’s an Italian food-lover’s dream!
Valentino’s is not the only place that offers an all-you-can-eat buffet, and our stomachs are not the only things that appreciate them. Both our spirits and our flesh enjoy buffets as well. We may not realize it, but we feed from them daily. But unlike a Valentino’s buffet, they are not physical, but spiritual. Rather than a chef in the kitchen at the back of the restaurant, God provides a buffet for the spirit and the devil provides a buffet for the flesh.
Flesh Vs. Spirit
God is a spiritual being and created us in His spiritual image (Genesis 1:27). Our spirits are the part of us that will live forever. Our flesh, on the other hand, is our physical body containing our minds and emotions. God created it to house our spirits so we could live on this earth with feelings and expression.
Unfortunately, since Adam and Eve sinned, our flesh has been at war with our spirits (Galatians 5:17). Our spirits—once born again—crave God and the life He contains. Our flesh, on the other hand, craves the opposite. It wants only what makes us physically and emotionally feel good, which is often harmful to our spiritual health.
Both our spirits and our flesh need fuel to survive. The difference between the two is that the spirit’s diet requires godly nutrition, while the flesh requires spiritual junk food.
God’s Buffet
God’s buffet is lavish and gourmet! It does not contain foods with spiritual GMOs, artificial colors, or flavors. It is pure organic God ingredients straight from heaven. It includes the blessings obtained at the Cross, God’s power for our daily lives, and wisdom that only He can give.
We feed from this buffet by reading our Bibles, spending time praying and worshipping, listening to Bible teaching, attending church, and fellowshipping with other mature believers. When we do these things, we are eating from God’s vast supply of spiritual nutrition to fuel our walk with God. Like physical food, we could not survive spiritually without it. We become weak and malnourished, susceptible to attacks from the devil (Proverbs 18:14). But with it, our lives produce the fruit of the Spirit.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-25, NKJV).
The beautiful thing about God’s buffet is that it’s free, purchased for us with the life of Jesus. The only tip required is a heart of thanksgiving to the Head Chef!
The Devil’s Buffet
Unfortunately, the devil’s buffet and its cuisine, unlike God’s, is impure and processed with His devilish nature. It includes the lusts of the flesh, sinful habits, and lies from hell that keep us away from God.
We feed from his buffet when we entertain sinful desires, hang out with ungodly friends, listen to carnal voices, and focus on everything that gratifies our bodies and emotions. It takes these “foods” to keep our flesh healthy, but in the end, they lead to death. Their spiritual lack of nutrition destroys our lives, pulls us farther from God, and keeps us in bondage like drugs bought off the street.
Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God (Galatians 5:19-25, NKJV).
The devil’s buffet is free as well, in the sense that we don’t have to dish out any cash to receive it. But like it or not, we are giving the devil the highest price of all—our hearts—every time we nibble at his buffet. The longer we’re his customer, the harder it is to give up the diet. Before long, we’re addicted, craving more. The result is spiritual and sometimes physical death.
For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life (Galatians 6:8, NKJV).
What buffet we choose to eat from decides whether we’re strong or weak in our relationship with God. When we choose God’s buffet over the devil’s, our spirits are strengthened, enabling us to tackle life’s challenges. We can more easily turn down the devil’s temptations to eat his junk food. We can discern what is God-cuisine and what is devil-food, simply because we’ve come to know the flavor so well.
And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:24-25, NKJV).
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts (Romans 13:14, NKJV).
Sadly, we’re imperfect humans that all dabble at one time or another in the devil’s buffet—intentionally or unintentionally. But when we do, we must repent and return to a godly diet (Acts 3:19). We need to choose to steer clear of the devil’s buffet and make God’s buffet our lifestyle. How full we become and how much we enjoy is up to us.
Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby…(1 Peter 2:1-2, NKJV).
Christa Madrid 