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transformedmind · 3 years

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The Donut Sin

I can often be found on social media sharing healthy recipes, exercise tips, and pieces of my weight loss journey in hopes that it will encourage others. After losing 140 pounds status-post bariatric surgery, I have largely changed my relationship with food. Food is no longer a source of comfort. I found that turning to food for relief in this way actually ended up hurting myself even more. I now follow a strict, low-fat and low-sugar, 3 meals a day, roughly 1200 calorie diet that is mainly protein. I’ve done fairly well with it, results themselves being evident.

However, I am still human. Which means sometimes I mess up.

Coming home from the July 4th fireworks last night, Ethan and I had a sweet craving. “We’ve got halo top ice cream at home,” we told ourselves. But that wasn’t enough. We craved something tastier than “just the stuff we have at home”; something worthy of a holiday. It’s all right to indulge on a holiday, right? It’s America’s birthday, after all!

Fortunately, or unfortunately, busy post-firework traffic kept us from getting to Sonic, one of the only restaurants still open after 10. We considered McDonald’s, but the parking lot was packed. “Let’s try the one by the interstate,” I told myself. But as we drove toward it… drats, it was closed! We had finally resigned ourselves to our already-at-home treat.

But then I saw it on the side of the highway: a gas station. Guess what gas stations have? An ice cream freezer!

I turned my blinker on and pulled in. “I’ll wait in the car,” Ethan said, trusting me to find something he’d like.

The ice cream freezer was right next to the front door. It had multiple delights: ice cream cones, Snickers bars, strawberry shortcake bars, ice cream cookies… I made my selection of two, completely ignoring any nutrition facts labels, and went to pay at the register.

While waiting in line, I saw another devilish delight. Something I haven’t eaten in well over a year, because it has absolutely zero nutritional value, and is literally the antithesis of my diet.

Donuts.

I knew I shouldn’t. I hoped the patron in front of me hurried so I wouldn’t have time to look at the options. But it was too late. I was in too deep. I had seen them all: mini donuts; devil’s food donuts; frosted donuts; cinnamon sugar donuts.

I stepped forward, laid my ice cream on the counter, which was already contraband for me, and quickly grabbed a bag of mini chocolate donuts, too. I paid the man, said I didn’t want a receipt or a bag, scooped up my guilty pleasures and ran out.

Ethan shortly scolded me when he saw the donuts, but then immediately opened them after he had finished off his ice cream. I also indulged in a few - who keeps count when they’re eating mini donuts? - and went to bed.

The next morning, there they sat on the coffee table. The evidence of our poor decision-making late at night. But now it’s the light of day, we’re well rested, and we can now make better, healthier decisions, right?

Right!

So we threw the bag away, right?

(I’m now thinking this would make a great Anakin/Padme meme.) The answer is, nope!

This morning we got up, sat on the couch, and opened that bag up again. Because even though we knew it was wrong… boy, it still tasted just as good as it did last night.

There are a few things I want to pick out from this story.

Why did we get donuts? It started with a desire. We had a desire for something sweet. I think there was some nostalgia for Independence Days when we were kids, linking fireworks to ice cream/tasty treats in our brains. That desire led to a plan. A plan that was initially thwarted by busy traffic, busy parking lots, and closed restaurants. Every avenue we could have taken to get to a restaurant for ice cream was essentially blocked.

We could have stopped there. But once that desire got deep inside of us, it had taken root. It wanted to be fed. It was so hungry, it was even willing to compromise. Gas station ice cream isn’t quite the same thing as a blizzard/McFlurry/Sonic blast… but we were willing to settle. Anything even remotely resembling ice cream would have sufficed.

Once we had made the decision to get ice cream, it could have even stopped there. But once I let go of that boundary that says I won’t eat something against my diet… the possibilities were endless. Nothing was against the rules. My mind (re: not my stomach) wanted sweets, and temptations abounded. The list of attempted justifications my mind set forth were endless:

“It’s America’s birthday! Calories don’t count on holidays.”

“It’s just this once. Just tonight. It won’t happen again.”

“You’ve worked so hard, and you haven’t had it in so long. You deserve this.”

“Look, it’s even on sale! It’s a sign.”

And that’s how my decision to go against my diet for ice cream, also led to my donut purchase.

What were the consequences of my decision? Well, not only did I go against my diet, but I also encouraged Ethan to break his. Sure, he could have refused… but I placed that temptation in front of him.

Okay so what, I broke my diet one - err, two times (last night and this morning). Big deal. So what, right? Well there are other consequences. I’ve likely either gained a pound or stalled in my weight loss (I know what you’re thinking, “boo hoo,” right?). I ate more than a day’s worth of calories, not to mention the fat and sugar content. Another possible consequence could have been falling ill. I could have gotten physically sick as a result of my decision, if my body had rejected it, as is easily possible after bariatric surgery.

But I didn’t get sick. And my clothes still fit. So what’s the harm?

Well, the harm now is that I have to essentially restart my diet. Because diets aren’t about the foods we eat, not really. It’s about our mindset. Our relationship with food and its purpose in our lives. That’s why I typically prefer to call it a “lifestyle” because it’s meant to be permanent, not a temporary fad. And now I have to make it through the next several weeks, knowing in the back of my mind I ate something bad and nothing too bad resulted from it.

What’s to stop me from doing it again? Or doing something even worse next time? Because often times it is like a cascade. Those with food addictions will continue to eat more and more, and can’t even consider quitting until they come face-to-face with serious consequences. And even then, if their addiction is too deep, it may be too late to turn back, at least of their own accord.

So why have I titled this piece, “The Donut Sin?” Well, when we sin, it often starts the same way. It starts with a desire. My and Ethan’s desire to eat something sweet was not in and of itself a bad thing. In fact, I would say it’s God-ordained, because He created us with the taste buds to appreciate sweet foods, and also created our neurologic pathways that lead to dopamine release - meaning, for most of us, we see eating something sweet as a treat, or “reward.”

Desires in and of themselves are not sinful. After all, even the Bible says God will give the desires of our hearts to those who delight in Him (Psalm 37:4). Many desires are universal, meaning all humans experience them. These typically include things like the desire to love and be loved, to feel wanted, to feel satiated/quenched, etc.

God made us to have these desires. He also created a way for us to achieve these desires: He calls on us to trust in Him. God created us with a need to know Him. We were made to be in relationship with Him. He teaches us through His Word that all our needs can be found in Him.

In Matthew 4, we read about Jesus’ experience in the wilderness. He fasted 40 days and nights, and he was hungry (v. 2). Satan used Jesus’ hunger and tempts Him to betray His trust in God by using His power to turn stones into bread (v. 3). But Jesus thwarted the temptation, stating, “Man shall not live on bread alone” (v. 4). Jesus was both man and God. Because He was man, He was tempted, as are we all. But because He was also God, He was able to subdue these temptations, and lived a sin-free life.

Satan is often referred to as the Tempter in Scripture. He also knows what desires we were created to have. And he tries to pervert these desires in ways that cause us to set our hearts on this world, rather than setting our hearts on God. He does this by using temptation. After all, he tempted Eve in the Garden (Genesis 3). “Did God really say…” and “you will not surely die…” he told her, encouraging her to doubt, setting his trap (emphasis added). We all know how that story ends.

When we are faced with temptation, we can do one of three things. First, we can give in. This is what happened to me. I had an innocent desire for something sweet. I was tempted with donuts (which it should be noted, I only saw because I put myself there in the first place) and gave in. Second, we can let it linger. Considering. Day in and day out, we can let it sit there. Looking at it from time to time. Occasionally reaching out for it, but no, deciding against it, pulling away. Friends, let me tell you, if you are in that metaphorical gas station and those donuts are sitting there tempting you, you need to leave. Because this second option always ends up with the same results as the first. If you allow temptation to set itself up in your life, your inaction by not tearing it down, will in fact allow it to grow. Unfortunately, because of the fall, we are all addicts. We’re sin addicts. And like my example of food addiction above, one sin can lead to another, and another. Oftentimes with growing consequences. Sometimes those consequences affect other people. When that temptation takes root, and our initially innocent desire becomes more important than our desire for God, we will let anything satiate it. I initially desired a DQ blizzard, but settled for gas station ice cream… close enough. Although we have a desire to be loved, and that desire can be fulfilled by God’s love, too often we allow Satan to pervert it, by convincing us that someone loving us on this earth is “good enough.” I’ve certainly been guilty of this in my life.

The third option when we are faced with temptation, is to turn to the One who was tempted and overcame it. We turn to God. We fill our hearts and desires from knowing and cherishing Him, by being in relationship with our Creator. In so doing, we destroy the temptation. Not only do we prevent it from taking root in our hearts, but we also often have to take physical action. We have to leave that gas station.

For those who may be thinking they are only tempted because God allowed it to happen, let me be clear: God will never tempt you. That’s what Satan does. We see several stories in the Bible where God tests the faith of those who believe in Him. Job comes to mind. But God will never encourage you to fall into sin. That is the complete and utter opposite of who He is. I could have said, “well, God let me walk right into that gas station.” And that would be right, He did. He didn’t strike me down with a lightning bolt to stop me. But do you know what He did do? He made traffic busy so I couldn’t get to Sonic. He made the one McDonald’s parking lot seem unappealing, and the second one closed. He put several obstacles in my way to stop me.

Friends, know this: if you turn to God when you are tempted, and ask that He keep you from falling, He will protect you. But if you keep running toward that sin, despite every obstacle put in front of you, eventually He will let you do it. That’s the beautiful irony of free will. We are free to trust in Jesus to break our chains that bind us to sin, but we are also free to sit there and continue to be trapped. God won’t force us. And unfortunately, many of us will choose to sit there, when the escape from our cage is so readily available.

A lot of times we will try to justify our sins, as I did. Well it’s just this once… I deserve this…

Sin is sin. It is dirty. It is unrighteous. It is an act of rebellion against God (Isaiah 66:24). There is no justification for it, despite our feeble attempts. Our Creator is yes loving, but He is also holy, sovereign, and just. To tell of only one part of Him is to miss how mind-blowing and awe-inspiring He is. Because He is holy, He cannot allow sin, which is unholy, to enter His Kingdom. Because He is just, He is the Judge, therefore the One who will determine our fate. The punishment for our sins? Death (Romans 6:23). An eternity apart from God. But if there is no justification for our sins, and because we are human and therefore can’t help but to keep on sinning, despite our best efforts… what hope do we have?

This is where Jesus comes in. God saw our sin dilemma, and sent His Son to solve it. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John‬ ‭3:16‬). Some might say, well why didn’t He just say sin doesn’t matter anymore, and let everyone go to heaven? Because He is just. There is no justice in pretending our moral failings simply didn’t happen. Imagine a mass murderer on trial, but instead the judge not only stopped the trial, but gave the mass murderer a mansion and a million dollars and a clean record. How would we respond to that? “That’s not fair!” True, it wouldn’t be fair. Because God instilled us with the same sense of fairness, or justice, that He also has.

When we read Scripture, we find that we are that criminal on trial. But God doesn’t just cancel the trial like the judge I described above. The trial still happens. But instead of us being found guilty, God declares His own Son, Jesus, as the guilty party. He stands up and pleads guilty, although He was guilt-free. He does this so we can be found innocent. And similarly to the judge above, God not only doesn’t give us what we do deserve (which is God’s mercy), He also gives us something we don’t deserve (which is God’s grace). But what He gives us is so much sweeter than a mansion and a million dollars… He allows us to live in relationship with Him, having His Spirit inside of us, with the promise we will live with Him in eternity. In effect, He does give us that clean record as the criminal above. Though we were dirty, He can make us purer than snow (Psalm 51:7).

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1)

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

“For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” (Hebrews 8:12)

It’s true, eating a donut is not in and of itself a sin… but the mindset behind it could be. Let’s examine our hearts and minds today, and remember where our priorities lie.

#Bible #Jesus #Scripture #truth #donuts #sin #God #holy #righteous #weight loss #temptation #transformedmind

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transformedmind · 3 years

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Doctor/Christian

I had a passing thought on my drive to clinic this morning. Being a doctor who practices preventative care is, in a lot of ways, similar to being an evangelical Christian.

You see, it is our job as primary care physicians to assess a patient’s individual risk factors, and then counsel them on healthy lifestyle habits that can help prevent catastrophic health events, like a stroke or heart attack or some types of cancer. We do this for every patient, every time we see them. Sometimes they follow our advice, and sometimes they don’t. But we have to tell them what would happen if they don’t follow our advice. We try to make certain all patients are informed about the risks involved in their current lifestyle habits. No one should have to experience liver cancer just because no one ever told them their Big Mac they ate every day (leading to fatty liver -> liver failure -> liver cancer) put them at risk. No one should have to experience bladder cancer because no one told them the smoking they’ve done their whole life doesn’t just put them at risk for lung cancer.

These risks have been studied over a hundred years and we know them to be true. To not tell patients what could be coming down the line would be negligence. To not tell them would lack compassion. I would never want to face a patient after the fact, crying out, asking why I didn’t warn them? Why didn’t I tell them the dangers involved?

But we also recognize patient autonomy as physicians. We recognize that a patient may understand their smoking is unhealthy for various reasons, but may choose to continue to smoke. This is usually because the idea of letting go of something they’ve clung to for so lung is unbearable. We recognize that a patient can understand that weight loss will be good for their health, but live in a way that does not promote weight loss. This is usually because they’ve tried it before and failed, or don’t believe they are able to live a healthy lifestyle because of family, work, stress, among other things.

There are a lot of different factors involved. And yes, there is a difference between wanting to do something and not doing it (for various reasons), versus not wanting to do it in the first place. We recognize that, too. We know that just because a patient is “non compliant” (not doing what we told them to do) doesn’t mean they set out to “disobey” us. Maybe they couldn’t afford that medication. Maybe they didn’t have a car to get to their colonoscopy appointment.

But now I’m starting to get off topic.

So how is being a primary care doctor, described above, like being an evangelical Christian?

Evangelism is sharing the gospel with others. Everyone - believers and non believers, alike. That is the Great Commission of Matthew 28. There are a lot of different denominations out there, but there are a few key points to a gospel-centered message that are foundational, that cannot be wavered or changed. These include:

1) God is the Creator of the universe and all within it. He loved His creation, and made humans to live in relationship with Him. (Genesis 1 & 2)

2) Adam and Eve, the first of mankind, sinned against God, leading to a separation between us and Him. (Genesis 3)

3) We are all born sinners in a sinful world. (Romans 3:23, Romans 5:12)

4) Because God is just, our sins (i.e., rebellion against God) had to be punished. And because He is holy and sovereign, we could not enter into union with Him while still clinging to our sinful ways. (Psalms 5:4-6)

5) Because we are descended from Adam, and therefore imperfect, we are not able to give up sinning (1 John 1:8). And because we keep on sinning, our punishment was to spend eternity separated from the Almighty God (i.e., hell), never able to know our Creator - the One who made us, the One who knows the very numbers of hairs on our head, the One who loves us and created us for a purpose (2 Thessalonians 1:9, Luke 12:7).

6) But GOD, who is rich in mercy and abounding in love, sent His beloved Son named Jesus, whom had been with Him since the beginning, down to Earth. Jesus, who was both wholly God and wholly man, came to Earth to live a perfect, sin-free life. To proclaim God’s holiness and preach the message of salvation. But that’s not all he did. He also died, and did so willingly. He not only suffered the agonizing death of a crucifixion, but he also suffered the anguish of complete separation from God. He endured the ultimate punishment from God - which was intended for each and every one of us. Because Christ lived a life free of sin, he was the perfect sacrifice. He was pure, he was faultless. And because he was without sin, his punishment was able to substitute for the punishment we deserved (Rom. 5:8, 2 Corinth. 5:21). Christ died, once for all (Rom. 5:18). He did this so that we could be in union with God; we could become God’s children again. We could spend eternity with our Creator and never have to be apart from Him again (John 3:16, Rom. 8:1-2).

7) Three days following his death and burial, Jesus rose from the dead. Claiming victory over death - because death is not the end. And he ascended into heaven, to sit at the right hand of God, and make intercession for us. (John 20, 1 Corinth. 15)

And so, in our evangelism, we share this gospel message with the world. We tell others the Good News - we can be redeemed! We can be justified through faith in Christ, and live eternally in relationship with our Creator. All we need do is confess and repent of our sins, and put our trust in Jesus (1 John 1:9).

But the opposite of this is also true. If we do not put our faith in Christ, if we do not trust in him for salvation, God will not see us as justified (John 3:36, Mark 16:16). He will not see us as His children, because we remain separated from Him. And we will thus experience an eternity apart from Him.

Many will reject this message. They will hate the one who tells them God demands justice (John 15:18-25). They will hate the one who tells them the only way we can approach God is through faith in Jesus (John 14:6). There are many reasons people reject God, but the most common is that they are unable to let go of the ways of this world in order to completely rely on Christ (Mark 10:17-22). We can look to this world for sources of happiness, but no matter what we find, without God it is all meaningless (Ecclesiastes).

Therefore, just as the primary care physician warns the patient of the dangers involved in their current lifestyle, so the evangelist warns the non-believer of the danger involved when they do not put their trust in God. Whereas the physician is focused on the physical body, the evangelist is focused on the spiritual. The physical body will die, but the spirit shall remain.

How does the physician differ from the evangelist? Lots of ways, but the most prominent being that the physician recommends actions to save the physical body. These include: a healthy diet (consisting of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, healthy fats, and low in red meat, added sugar, saturated fats, and salt), aerobic exercise (150 minutes of moderate intensity per week), maintaining a healthy BMI, smoking cessation, restricted alcohol intake, compliance with necessary medications, drink at least 2 liters of water per day, as well as keeping an optimistic outlook on life to stay in good spirits. Oh, and trying to keep as little stress in your life as possible. And always wear sunscreen. And always wear your seatbelt in the car and your helmet on the bike. And don’t forget your routine cancer screenings and recommended vaccinations.

That doesn’t sound difficult at all… right? I have had maybe a handful of patients who have been able to do all of this consistently. For most of us, even the doctors who are giving this advice, living this out is hard.

The Christian does not recommend action. This is because there is nothing we can do to buy our salvation - no matter how many Sundays you go to church, or how much money you donate to charity, or how many people you’re nice to (Matt. 7:21-23, Isaiah 64:6). We can’t buy it because it’s already been bought. Jesus did that. All we need do is accept it. This is true for any person, no matter their “risk factors” (I.e., sins they have committed in the past) (Rom. 10:13, 1 Tim. 2:4). This is the free gift of God’s grace (Rom. 6:23). You could be the most evil, rotten person in the world - mass murderer, child molester, etc. If you confess and repent of your sins, and wholly put your trust in Jesus, God will welcome you with open arms. He will forget your sins and make you into a new creation (Hebrews 10:17, 2 Corinth. 5:17).

So as both a physician and a Christian, I will continue to share with others what I have been taught. I will continue to tell them truth they may not want to hear. For I am not ashamed of the gospel (Rom. 1:16), even if it is offensive according to this world. But as a Christian, I pray I will live my life pointing toward the only one who can save, the Great Physician: Jesus. Because even if we do all the right stuff and are healthy as can be and live to 104 years old - without God, it was all worthless.

#Christianity #christian #Jesus #doctor #physician #transformedmind #gospel #evangelism #preventative care #protect your heart

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