Five months ago I was in a funk! I was overweight (by my Dr’s standards), I was always tired, had high blood pressure and my cholesterol was not looking good either. For the past four years I had not looked after myself. Working crazy hours, going to bed late waking up early, a weekly habit of quick lunches in the drive-thru’s of America’s favorite hamburger joints and all this in the name of ministry!
At the beginning of the year I wanted to make some changes. And I did! I did not want to diet because diets do not work, but I wanted to become healthy. To cut a long process short, here I am five months later feeling a whole lot healthier, lighter, fitter and with more energy. I chose to change my lifestyle instead of continue on this path of self-destruction. The great thing was that my wife Raquel joined me on this adventure and it has helped us both, spiritually, mentally and physically.
This past Monday I got home from the office and Raquel was cooking a big fat juicy steak! Oh the smell was enough to make my mouth water. She had cooked two big pieces and asked which one I wanted. I pointed to the biggest piece and said, “that one!”. Raquel then took the other one and started to wrap it up to put in the fridge. I asked her if she wasn’t eating. She looked puzzled and said I thought we were going to share that big piece (normally we share a lot of food). My eyes had become bigger than my mouth and I wanted that whole big fat juicy steak to myself.
I ate the steak, Raquel ate the other piece. After about ten minutes I started to feel very ill. My stomach hurt like crazy and I felt unbelievably tired, so did Raquel. It got me thinking. I use to eat this stuff all the time and it never made me feel like this. Then I realized that was because my body had grown accustomed to foods like this, foods that weren’t that healthy for my body. I thought my body must have been in bad shape, because this one piece made my feel so bad, imagine what four years of steak would have done to my body.
This episode with the steak reminded me of what sin does in our lives. When we have a healthy spiritual life our bodies, minds and souls get sick when exposed to sin and things that are not spiritually healthy. However, if we live a life that is consistently unhealthy spiritually, our bodies, minds and souls become accustomed to t unhealthiness. We don’t even realize when something is unhealthy, and we don’t realize we are on a journey of self destruction.
What things in your life has your body, mind or soul become accustomed to that once would have turned your stomach sick? What things make you feel sick now that at one time you did without a problem?
