Feed On God's Word

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Your words were found, and I ate them...
Jeremiah 15:16

A woman bought a parrot, took him home, and then returned him to the pet store the next day. 'This bird doesn't talk,' she told the owner. 'Does he have a mirror?' asked the owner. 'Parrots love mirrors. They see themselves and start up a conversation.' So the woman bought the mirror. Next day she returned. The bird still wasn't talking. 'How about a ladder? Parrots love walking up and down a ladder. A happy parrot is more likely to talk.' The woman bought a ladder. Sure enough, she was back the next day; the bird still wasn't talking. 'Does your parrot have a swing? If not, that's the problem. He'll relax and talk up a storm.' The woman reluctantly bought a swing and left. When she walked into the store the next day her countenance had changed. 'The parrot died,' she said. The pet store owner was shocked. 'I'm so sorry. Tell me, did he ever say a word?' he asked. 'Yes, right before he died,' the woman replied. 'He said, 'Don't they sell any food at that pet store?'

The moral of this story is: You can spend your life on mirrors, focusing on appearance; on ladders, focusing on career success; on swings, focusing on entertainment-and starve to death spiritually. Mother Teresa said the most difficult cases she dealt with in Calcutta were those who'd lost their appetite entirely, or were so sickly they couldn't feed themselves or digest food. You'll die spiritually if you don't feed yourself on God's Word each day! Jeremiah said, 'Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart.'

Used with permission from UCB Word for Today. Free issues are available here for the UK and Republic of Ireland.