Feathers for worms

“For You formed my inward parts; | will praise You for I am fearfully and
wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works” (Psalm 139:13,14)

In his book Broken Chains, Doug Batchelor tells the story of a swallow who
discovered an easy way to get her daily food: she would give the fox one feather in
exchange for two worms.

Frequently, as she flew, her father would remind her how important flying was,
and that she should value the power of her wings. But the little swallow thought of
something else: how easy it was to obtain food without much effort. After all, what
was the harm in losing only one of your feathers? Every day the swallow traded
one of her feathers for two worms. Then came the time to fly south for the winter,
but the swallow couldn’t make the trip. As her family circled the skies above, she
had to be content making little hops in the snow to get away from the many
predators in the forest. She had sacrificed the power of flight for a few free
breakfast.

But there is no free breakfast in this world. In the end, someone always pays. And
in this case of the swallow, the price she paid was much too high. Let’s put it this
way: the swallow received a wonderful asset (the ability to fly) and lost it because
she didn’t know how to appreciate it. This is similar to what Esau did when he
traded his blessing for a plate of lentils.

You and I have also received a valuable gift: our bodies. Look around and then
answer this question: Is there something that tops our bodies in terms of
complexity, perfection, and beauty? It is with ample reason that David exclaimed,
“For You formed my inward parts…I will praise You, for I am fearfully and
wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:13, 14).

And now the required question: Are we also trading our feathers for worms?” How
are we treating our bodies, the temple of the Holy Spirit? What type of
“nourishment” are we feeding our minds? Anyone who introduces toxic substances
into his body is trading “feathers for worms.” The same happens to someone who
permits morally questionable images to enter his mind.
Feathers for worm? My blessing for a plate of lentils? No sir! That’s not a deal I’ll
take!