Destination Discipline

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” – Jesus

Many of us do not know what true hunger is. We have never felt the ache of a tummy with no hope of being filled. Such are the blessings of living in the land of plenty.

There is true comfort in the rhythm of our meals but many of us could skip one or two meals a day for the rest of our lives and not be adversely affected. It’s true. And, while many of us grew up with parents who encouraged us to “empty our plate” because there are “starving children” in other countries, we had no tangible concept of starvation, so we got into a habit of eating when we weren’t truly hungry because it was required.

When I read that Louis Zamperini survived for 47 days on a life raft with no food and very little water, I was shocked. I wondered if it was even possible. But Lauren Hillenbrand illustrated in her masterful work, “Unbroken”, that not only was it possible—it really happened. Louie’s plane crashed at sea, and he and two other men climbed aboard a yellow life raft. Yes, their bodies were emaciated when the Japanese picked them up and the yellow from the raft had transferred to their skin. They weren’t pretty—but they were alive. I write that to illustrate that people can live for extended periods of time (and in extreme conditions) without food.

Nutrition is not just a label.

Now that we have demonstrated that we are willing to learn, God will help us understand our bodies and their natural responses. Once we learn how to response to our physical cravings, we will discover a sense of empowerment. Early in my journey, I found great joy while reading about nutrition and how it affects the body. The more I understood, the more ammunition I had to resist temptation.

I used to have the attitude, “I know soda, fast food, and candy are bad for me, but I don’t care. I’m going to eat them anyway.” This mindset is poisonous. When we refuse to acknowledge the affect foods have on our bodies, we reject the sanctity of the body itself as a temple of the Holy Spirit.

“Do you not know that youare God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.” 1 Corinthians 3:16-17

Our bodies must process everything we put into it. While many people rant about environmental pollution, they are slow to realize chemical pollution by way of intentional ingestion. We often take our liver and kidneys for granted until the day the doctor tells us they aren’t working properly. These vital organs bear the brunt of our poor choices in food and drink. When we eat foods that do not nourish the body—as food is intended to do—we starve ourselves of nutrients and literally poison the only body we have for our whole lives.

The argument, “What I don’t know won’t hurt me” is wrong. One great example is Diet Coke. The word “diet” hoodwinks many people into believing the “no-calorie” lie that we can consume without affect. (Thanks for nothing, Evil Marketing Geniuses!) With ingredients like caramel color and aspartame, we have become victims of toxins we know practically little about. Worse, we drink them, don’t lose weight, and become frustrated.

So when will we get angry enough to stop giving corporations our hard-earned dollars? When will we acknowledge they have created concoctions that purposely make us addicted? Are we really happy living with bodies that cannot move, and that are sick or diseased?

Hunger is Helpful

Once we determine our brains have been hijacked by toxic products (passed off as food), we can begin the difficult work of detoxing. We can stop ingesting processed sugar. We can stop drinking sordid sodas. We can curse the monster who created donuts (chemicals fried in trans-fat). We can begin our journey by learning what true hunger is and eat smaller portions of real food. We can exercise a muscle we didn’t know existed in our bodies (self-control) and we can light a match to the kindling of hope that—given enough time, oxygen and education—will produce a roaring flame of success.

We can tip our hand to winning once we stop playing the mental game where we choose Oreo cookies over exercise, Cheetos over joy, and Barq’s root beer over good health. I know it sounds simple, but taste buds need not trump common sense. We simply need to make a decision to change our lifestyle and stick to it.

Is this easy? No.

But isn’t every noble goal worth fighting through some discomfort to achieve? I think so. And what can be more noble than saving our bodies so we can use them more effectively?

I do want you to know that the suffering is temporary. If you choose to go on this journey, you will find that while there are difficult stretches, it is mostly a wonderful adventure!

So let’s stop saying, “I can’t stop eating Doritoes. I can’t give up Diet Coke.” As I stated before, “Yes, you can!”

Next time…What Can I Eat?

I like cold turkey. Unless, by cold turkey, you mean quitting a bad habit. I think they call it “quitting cold turkey” because when you give up that thing that you love, you feel like a turkey that has been plucked of all its feathers and left to stand outside in the cold. There is no way to sugar-coat it, learning how to apply discipline to ones mind or body is not comfortable.

And that is where most people give up–before they have even started. They consider the pain and turn back to the thing that is killing them. Now, maybe they don’t want to believe it is killing them. Maybe they consider that food/drug/porn addiction isn’t really a problem. Maybe they consider they can keep it inside a tidy little box where nobody knows about it but them. But on the inside–they hate that thing and the cage they keep it in, and really wish they knew how to drop it over the edge of a bridge.

The reason so many of us struggle to conquer those things that have captured us is that we are afraid to name it. The word “sin” makes people uncomfortable. I was, for many years, unwilling to acknowledge overindulgence as sin because I loved it so much. My life was well-ordered around my proclivity to overeat, over watch television, and live a generally undisciplined life. Still, in God’s Holy law–the ten commandments–his very first “rule” is, “I am the Lord your God. You shall have no other gods before me.” The truth was, I pulled God out when I needed something, but for the most part, when stressed, angry, sad, happy, or any other intense emotion, I worshipped at the altar of food.

Sin is insidious and resides in all human hearts. In my opinion, the only way to conquer sin is by the redeeming grace of Jesus Christ. To know Christ we must surrender our sinful hearts to Him and as Him to cleanse us of all unrighteousness. Salvation is His free gift to us–a gift that gives us communion and fellowship with God. But that free gift came at the cost of His life and therefore He does not take lightly to our living a life surrendered to sin instead.

“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?” – Romans 6:1-2

So the very first thing we must do is surrender our wills to Jesus and ask Him to cleanse us of all unrighteousness. Then, we must all allow Him to do it.

The prayer of faith is a beautiful thing. The more I ask God to show and heal me of sin, the more He does so. The gift of repentance is wholly freeing. I give to God my shame, regret, and humiliations, and He gives me His peace. This is how I walk as a Christian. I can deny my human passions by relying on His promises to strengthen me while I allow him to conquer that thing which had conquered me.

This is not pie in the sky. This is not a wishful hope. This is a real, practical, way to live joyfully and free.

“For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Romans 6:20-23

I started out this blog entry by talking about the thing we love making us feel like a cold turkey. I would at this point like to remind everyone that God will never leave us standing outside of the warmth of His love. Even in the worst circumstances, we can trust that He is with us and for us.

How do I know this?

Because when I surrendered my will to God and allowed Him to teach me discipline, we began walking towards hope. So yes, you can do this! You can surrender your will and invite Him to change your life. Will it be super comfy? Like your couch and a plate of cookies with your favorite television program? No. Following Jesus looks like torture. It’s like carrying a cross down a path that leads to death. By death–I mean the death of the you, you once were and walking toward life–the life you never dreamed could be possible.

Next time….Prepare to Suffer Well!

I remember the glory days of my blissful ignorance. I consumed what I wanted, lounged in bed, and never considered there might be consequences to my choices. When people talked about losing weight they used words like, “I’m going on a diet.” To me that meant excruciating pain followed by temporary results which made the pain part wholly unnecessary.

I remember a kind woman at a previous employer who was the fitness coordinator for the company. She ran the gym (located in the basement) and taught me how to make healthy meals, count calories and do exercises that would burn fat. Angela was amazing. But everything we did was to no avail. The harder I worked physically, the more I stumbled with food. If I did a hard work-out, I followed it with Taco Bell (because I was hungry!). I dutifully journaled my calories in the book she gave me, but I did not lose weight. I was confused. After a period of a month, I quit. I mean really. Why bother?

The problem was, I did not truly take inventory of my lifestyle and what I wanted to accomplish. I wanted to be more aesthetically pleasing but I had no real long-term plan.

Working out as an overweight individual is awful. One gets out of breath within 30 seconds and everything hurts. The mental aguish is overwhelming and the temptation to stop is potent. The brave few who are able to push through the pain are heroes in my estimation. The problem is, those who are perpetually sedentary have difficulty shifting their mindset to an active persona permanently.

What is your purpose?

Have you ever thought about the reason for your existence? Have you taken inventory of your life and considered what you want to accomplish in the few short years you are alive? Do you think about your future and how your lifestyle impacts those around you? Do you think about the eternal consequences for how you live today?

At Thanksgiving dinner I asked my nieces what they are learning in school. They uniformly said, “Nothing.” One must understand my nieces are smart. They always get straight A’s. Still, they insist school is boring and they aren’t really learning anything. I couldn’t help but think, “Shucks then, what’s the point?”

When I was in school, I really struggled to get C’s and D’s. I didn’t learn much of anything either. I left dinner wondering how my life would be different today if I had a better brain. What if I had tried harder in school? What if my learning disabilities hadn’t frustrated me to the point of giving up? What if I hadn’t thought (and believed) I was stupid?

I didn’t know I was born for a reason and that my life had meaning. When I discovered just how valuable my life was, I started telling everyone–even strangers on the street–just how precious and dearly loved they are. I didn’t want anyone to not know something so transformative.

Are you willing to learn?

The conversation with my nieces reminded me that regardless of ones grades, ones capacity to learn is unlimited. An education isn’t procured only by completing a certain number of courses over a period of years. I don’t have a college education in nutrition or physical fitness but I was able to lose 140 pounds. I knew then one cannot continue to make the same choices and expect a different result. I had been trying that for years! Still, I was willing to learn about those things and–like my hero, Abraham Lincoln–pick up a book and apply what I learned to my life.

I used to exist to sit on the couch and eat cookies. I used to watch television and live vicariously through the dramedies and comedies of the prettier-than-me people. I used to cry in private because my clothes were too tight. Again. I was not willing to do a thorough examination of my life. It was God who gently nudged me when I prayed for help. My prayer was simple, “God I want to lose weight but I don’t know how.” He said, “Margaret, you need to learn discipline.”

Finally, I was ready. Are you?

Next time, “Can you do this? Yes, you can!”