As I get older, the bathroom scale seems to become less and less forgiving.
I used to be able to polish off a ton of food and suffer no repercussions. Junk food didn’t pose much of an issue, eating late at night wasn’t a problem, and eating like I was on vacation was a beautiful thing.
Those days are long gone.
“Weight creep” is a real thing. Not a lot all at once, just a little bit at a time…and the numbers only seem to go up, they hardly ever go down.
Now, feel free to do what you want to do, but I’ve decided that I’d like to avoid putting on excess weight. Not only did Paul say in 1 Corinthians that our bodies are temples for the Holy Spirit, but staying at a healthy weight helps reduce the chances of developing a litany of other medical problems. (And my wife exercises regularly, so come on, I can’t let myself go!)
As I age and my metabolism slows down though, it takes a larger amount of conscious thought to prevent the love handles from getting bigger. I can use a few tricks, like drinking a glass or two of water before a meal, skipping snacks after dinner, and using smaller plates, but the main weapon in that fight involves regularly confronting the uncomfortable truth: I get on the scale almost every day.
Yes, Monday mornings are usually bad. The day after a vacation or trip to see family is often worse. I need to know the truth, though. It’s uncomfortable, and it’s sometimes ugly. Without having that metric, I only have a vague sense of where I am, and I just don’t know how diligent I need to be in getting back to that target weight.
Think of the Bible as your scale. It’s probably not going to help you with your weight, but consulting it regularly is going to be the way you know if you’re heading in the right direction. It’s going to help you know if your habits are healthy or if you need to make some changes in your life. Sometimes we, as Christians, begin to accept things we should not accept. In the same way that the scale can be used to combat weight creep, use the Bible to fight against “compromise creep.”
You’re not going to stay the same person your whole life, and your judgment, tolerance of the things of this world, and ability to recognize pitfalls and half-truths is going to fluctuate over time, just like your weight. Reading the Bible consistently will help you keep your focus where it needs to be, and without it you’ll only have a vague sense of where you are. If it’s not already a part of your daily routine, I challenge you to move toward that goal.
Lord, thank you for giving us the Bible and for the ability to study it at our own pace. Please lead each one of us to the passages You’d have us read and help us be consistent in reading it. Amen.