Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts. (Romans 13:14)
Ah, the proverbial New Year's resolution to lose weight and 'get in shape' (whatever that means). I lost count how many times I tried that. My spirit was willing, but my flesh was weak... very weak. A year and a half ago, after being fed up with being overweight and really sick, I decided to do something about it. Make no provision for the flesh (Lord knows I had lots of it). And it doesn't just apply to my eating and exercising habits.
By nature, I am a very lazy slob. It comes along with being inherently laid-back. If I had my way, I'd sleep until noon, eat pizza, be horribly unorganized, perpetually late, and never exercise. That's my ugly sin nature, but Ephesians 4:22-24 commands me to put off my old self and to put on Christ. I have to make my flesh do what it doesn't want to do. I have to purposely and daily discipline myself. The more I do it, the easier it becomes.
Eating healthy has become an enjoyment as well as a necessity, since I discovered I can't eat half the foods in the food pyramid due to health reasons -- not too much of a problem (although I do occasionally slide into sin by eating pizza). It's amazing how many forms of food the soy bean can take on. (I would probably die if soy beans suddenly disappeared off the face of the earth.)
Working out is something else entirely. I used to loathe the idea of scraping my lazy derriere off the couch to just take a walk. But after months and months of disciplining myself, I not only enjoy jogging in the neighborhood or jumping on the treadmill, but I actually hate it when I don't work out. Now if only I could feel that way about push-ups and sit-ups...
Over the past eight months, I've also come to apply this discipline to my daily and weekly schedules and am able to accomplish much more. I've discovered that discipline is not just for athletes or OCD people like my mom. Not only does it improve the quality of my life (a lot of my health problems are gone along with 50 pounds), but it is also conforming me to the character of Christ. There are no fast and easy solutions, but slow and determined effort builds character.
"... You have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him." (Colossians 3:9b-10)
