The Importance of a Balanced Diet

Man cannot live by broccoli alone.

A diet of nothing but broccoli would lead to malnutrition. A healthy body requires a variety of foods to get the vitamins, minerals, proteins, and fats that the body needs to operate properly.

A healthy mind and soul needs variety as well.

Reading nothing but fiction might be compared to a junk food diet; reading nothing but apologetics might be akin to living off spinach. A healthy, well-balanced Christian will feed his mind some theology and apologetics while feeding his heart and soul some “Christian living” or devotional material or biography.

This is a reboot of a post I wrote many years ago. At the time, I’d just spent about a year and a half reading mostly biblical studies. I enjoyed it, and I learned a lot. But I felt kind of spiritually depleted. I needed to read some other things. I did a good job of varying my reading materials for a while, but then I fell into another pattern, this time focusing more on apologetics. Then systematic theology. Then apologetics again, more polemical stuff this time. And it shows.

Rather than going from rut to rut, I’m going to make an effort, again, to mix up what I read. I recently picked up a couple of biblical studies books, and I enjoyed them immensely. Now it’s time to read some discipleship. Then some theology, followed by a biography. And of course, some apologetics. With some fiction scattered throughout.

What about you? When’s the last time you read something outside your usual? Do you mainly consume romance novels or management books? Historical fiction is fun, and philosophy is important, but too much of a good thing can be a bad thing.

Variety is not just the spice of life; it’s good for the soul. If you have a need or special interest, that’s fine, focus on that, but still stick in something else every other book or two.

I’m not advocating being legalistic; I’m advocating being self-aware and attentive to your own soul. If you don’t take care of yourself, who will?

Now, what about students, especially those in seminary? I understand that you can’t always control what you read, and time is short and precious. I’d suggest that you make a serious effort to read some very different material between semesters – maybe even something “light.”

And to those who say, “I’d rather burn out than rust out,” I’d like to offer this: those aren’t the only two choices.


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