“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21
Do you ever find an interesting word that catches your attention? Pablum is one of those words to me. I don’t even remember when I first heard it, but it always catches my attention and every now and again I find myself caught up with pablum. Pablum is bland or insipid intellectual fare, entertainment, etc. In other words, bland, tasteless, or even maybe devoid of real meaning.
Jesus in the sermon on the mount tells those who are listening to seek treasures in heaven versus treasures on earth. That doesn’t mean that we can’t enjoy a good book or a good movie or a good game. God has given us many things to enjoy on this earth. But if we make a steady diet of earthly things versus heavenly things our walk with God will seem like pablum—bland and insipid.
(Insipid is another fun word it means, tasteless. And yes, I had to look it up so don’t feel bad if you didn’t know it either.)
Psalm 34:8 says, “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!”
Sometimes as I look around me, I realize that regarding the culture my “taste buds” can become weak. I have to ask if what I am taking into my life is helping me to become more like Christ. Is it building up my faith, or is it causing me to drift away?
Much of what the world offers today is a steady diet of pablum. It is without substance and un-filling. It is like the empty calories in our diets that maybe taste good in the moment but later on we regret what we have eaten. Let us continually evaluate all of the sights and sounds around us and make sure we are being fed by that which will last.
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