Consuming vs Growing: Moving Beyond Spiritual Snacking

Have you ever felt a sudden desire to connect with God, so you open your phone and start scrolling through Christian influencers or 30-second devotional clips—only to feel your motivation vanish seconds later? Maybe you close the app and dive into your current game or social media scroll. 

This, my friends, is what I call “spiritual snacking.” It’s consuming small, easy doses of spiritual content without real depth or lasting growth. Paul describes something similar when he calls the people in Corinth spiritual infants: dependent on being fed, never maturing enough to feed themselves. 

I’ll be honest—this is something I struggle with too. My goal in this post is to help you move from spiritual snacking to lasting spiritual growth, so you’re not dependent on tiny pre-packaged thoughts from others. 

What Is Spiritual Snacking? 

Let’s use a simple analogy: eating. It’s basic, and we all get it. 

Imagine this: 

• You wake up, grab a cup of coffee, and call it breakfast. 

• Mid-morning, you grab a chocolate-covered granola bar. 

• Lunch? Potato chips because, technically, potatoes are healthy. 

• Mid-afternoon? Another cup of coffee. 

• Dinner? Instant noodles. 

• Bedtime snack? Crackers. 

If you eat this way, you’ll feel temporarily satisfied, but your body isn’t nourished. You’ll wake up tired, sluggish, and unhealthy. I'm already cringing thinking about the headache I would have, the swollen joints - and the ever dreaded gut rot!

Now think about spiritual consumption. It’s similar: 

• Listening to short podcasts or clips about Christian life. 

• Watching 1-minute videos with opinions on faith. 

• Reading pre-packaged devotionals in three minutes or less. 

• Watching sermons while doing a million other tasks without reflection or application. 

These “snacks” provide temporary spiritual satisfaction—but they don’t lead to transformation. 

Consuming vs Growing 

Consuming	vs	Growing
Passive intake of spiritual content	vs	Active engagement with God’s Word and prayer
Focused on quantity, not depth	vs	Intentional application to life
Feels good temporarily, leaves you hungry	vs	Leads to transformation, deeper understanding, and spiritual fruit

Signs You’re Spiritually Snacking 

• You know Bible verses and can quote popular teachers, but haven’t experienced life change. 

• You feel “full” after a quick devotional but soon feel stressed or disconnected. 

• You avoid deeper spiritual practices like extended Bible study, disciplined prayer, or serving others. 

I'm not saying that snacks are entirely bad, nor am I saying that this type of content isn't what we should be looking at on our phones - it's wonderful to have so many Christian voices and content creators adding to the voices in the world, and it's great to support them and to hear many different perspectives.

But if I only eat instant noodles, I'll never learn how to actually cook. In spiritual terms, if you're only hearing or watching opinions of others and never learning the scripture yourself, how could you ever identify if a teaching is true or false?

If you're speaking with someone broken hearted and searching for truth, is it more powerful to quote a video you saw once, or the words of the one who loved us enough to die for us?

It is a wonderful thing to hear about Christ in online content, but once you meet him and say you want to know him, you need to go right to him, and not rely only on others telling you about him.

Think of other types of relationships. Imagine back in college someone said to me, “There’s this guy named Josh. I think you two would hit it off! He works hard, loves biking, spends lots of time outdoors, and wants a big family.” and my response was, “Wow, he sounds amazing! I’ll check back with you next week to hear more.”

I could picture him in my mind, imagine conversations with him, and admire all the qualities being described—but if I never actually met him or talked to him, our relationship would never begin. I could “love” him in my imagination, but that love wouldn’t turn into a real connection. A relationship requires presence, interaction, and engagement.

The same principle applies to God. We can learn about Him, imagine His goodness, and admire His works from a distance—but a real, growing relationship requires showing up, engaging with His Word, and responding in prayer and action.

So obviously now we have to talk about moving beyond snacking: How to Grow Spiritually 

1. Set Intentional Goals: Commit to reading, journaling, and reflecting. 
   

2. Practice Active Engagement: Ask questions, pray over Scripture, and journal insights. 
   

3. Apply What You Learn: Take small, consistent actions that put faith into practice. 
   

4. Seek Community: Accountability, mentorship, and study groups strengthen growth. 
   

5. Measure Your Growth: Look for transformation in attitudes, actions, and relationships. 

I know how addicting spiritual snacking can be. I’m the queen of snacks—both the food kind and the scrolling kind! It’s easier to grab quick snippets during a busy day. And I'm not saying that these tiny tidbits are entirely bad - But relying only on snacks leaves your faith weak. When life throws challenges at you, you need strong spiritual legs to stand on. These quick bites cannot sustain you long term.

If you continually dig deeper—reading full Bible books, taking notes, learning context—you build a solid foundation. Spiritual snacking can be enjoyable in moderation, but lasting growth comes from intentional, consistent habits. 

Take the First Step Toward Spiritual Growth 

Remember: it only takes small, intentional steps to start growing spiritually. Don’t feel guilty for the days you “snack.” Treat each day as a new opportunity to feed your faith. 

For a deeper, structured approach, consider a free Bible class at Maritime Christian College. Studying with classmates from around the globe can help you move beyond spiritual snacking into real, transformative growth.