Cravings That Kill

Cravings That Kill

Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven. James 5:15

Ramon stood five feet six inches tall but weighed more than 300 pounds.

“I can’t lose weight,” he told me at his annual checkup, “because of my job. I’m a night watchman, and it’s so boring. All I do is sit and watch the monitors all night. There’s a doughnut shop on one side and a pizza place on the other, and they both deliver.”

A year later, when Ramon returned, he was proud to tell me about the “extreme” changes he’d made to his diet. “I started ordering the whole-wheat crust, and now I order a dozen doughnut holes instead of the regular glazed doughnuts. That’s healthier, isn’t it?”

“That’s fine, if your goal is to go from 6,000 calories a day to 5,000 calories a day,” I said. “But that’s not going to get you healthy. If you want to get healthy, you have to change your habits and not justify your addiction by saying that you’re overeating less.”

The Bible warns that gluttony is a sin, and in Ramon’s case, his physical illness was a direct result of giving in to temptation. “I’m going to suggest that you completely eliminate doughnuts, pizza, and any other white foods, such as bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, sugar, and any form of flour.”

“But, Dr. Anderson, if I do that, what will I eat?”

I recommended that he replace those foods with fruits, vegetables, and lean meats like fish and poultry. But he wasn’t having any of it. So I wasn’t surprised when he showed up in my office a year later having once again gained weight.

“Ramon, you’re over 350 pounds. That’s just too much for someone your size.”

A few months later, Ramon had a heart attack, resulting in a four-vessel bypass. By the grace of God, he survived and began a major overhaul of his life.

The next time I saw him, he had lost fifty pounds and was continuing to lose a pound a week.

“So I assume you’ve cut back on pizza and doughnuts?”

His response was telling: “Now, if I take even a bite of them, it’s like poison, and I spit it out.”

TODAY’S RX

Don’t try to justify an addiction. Surrender your will to God, and get help to get well.

God, help me to make good choices when it comes to diet and exercise. Give me the strength to avoid unhealthy foods and to treat my body well, supplying it with the nutrients it needs to function as you’ve designed.