One of my fishes in a holding bowl while prepping the aquarium water
Fish must swim in clean uncontaminated water in order to thrive, and so like fish, people must bask in uncontaminated doctrine, like clean water is for the fish in order that we may thrive spiritually. This concept came to me as I was watching the fishes in the aquarium. I always sit around to watch them during the entire duration of feeding time, mostly about 10-30 minutes at most. One time I was so zoned in on the fishes I watched them swim around for almost an hour without being aware of the time. I have been doing that a lot lately and I find it very therapeutic.
In the Bible, fish is a metaphor for a person. I, as the caretaker of the fish, must make sure that the water is clean of fecal matter, ammonia, nitrites and any other invisible contaminants in the water, with levels kept in check just as the Holy Spirit of God illuminates and enlightens us with the truth when erroneous doctrine is knocking at our door. Fishes need clean, uncontaminated water-to live life more fully and abundantly… If what we believe is contaminated with wrong ideas and corrupts Biblical doctrine, it would lead to a slow spiritual death as the toxic doctrine seeps into every crevice of our thinking and reasoning, thereby making one dull to the truth. (Caution: Do not pick up or dream of picking up the book called “The Shack”).
The fishes need a caretaker, and like the fishes, we so desperately need God. One can try to uphold their spirituality but in effect cannot be able to uphold it in the long run. Only God can uphold a person spiritually. John 15:5 supports this,
“I am the vine, and you are the branches. If any remain in me and I remain in them, they produce much fruit. But without me they can do nothing.”
Without God (any person who has not accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior is without God. Refer to 1 John 2:23 which states “Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also.”), anything we do counts for nothing.