Laziness - My Confession

My heart aches.

I look around and I see processed food and additives being fed to our children and our families. We call it normal.  

We call it food.

We call it a treat.

I'm not quite sure God calls it food.

He didn't create it and call it good.

I think He might call it self-sabotage.

Am I harsh?

Am I extreme?

I'm living in a socity where we are so broken we think it's normal for children to have labels and young adults to have cancer or some disease. “it's just asthma”... “it's just eccema” ... “they just can't concentrate”.

We pretend it's not there.

We ignore the escalating childhood diseases.

It's too uncomfortable.

I might have to change something.

That was me several years ago. Until God convicted me of my laziness. Now I see. We are in the middle of an epedimic of sickness and disease and I don't want to lift a finger to change my situation. That's what I see.

For me it was an issue of LOVE. That's where He nailed me.

“You're not loving your children”.

“What!” I screeched. Self denial rearing it's ugly head.

“I love my children. I do.”

“But you could do it better” He said.....

“Everything I do, I do to build you up, not to tear you down. You don't have the same approach to your children. You knowingly give them things that will hurt them and tear them down and then call it a treat. A reward. Don't do it!”

Here followed a period of much soul searching. I wasn't just doing it to them. I was doing it to myself also. I regularly gave myself 'treats' for the everydayness of life. I would 'reward'

myself simply for doing a day's housework. I was showing my family as much love as I was showing myself.... He was right.

I had to swallow my pride.

I didn't love myself the way Christ loved me and it showed in my actions to others. It also showed in my family's health. We were ravaged with depression, anxiety, colds and flues, autoimmune diseases, PMT, quarrelling, unkindness, learning difficulties.... I could go on. I had to admit, I was practically helping the enemy. I was practically aiding evil. That was hard to admit. I didn't like it. I was letting laziness rule and calling it normal. I needed to stop.

“Where do I start?”I thought

“It's all too overwhelming.”

“It's all too expensive.”

“It's all too hard”

Funnily enough I still had lots of excuses, even then, even after He showed me all the damage I was causing, through my LAZINESS. I've written before about how I don't like change. How I don't like to do the simple things of life because they aren't glamorous enough for me.

Ah pride there you are again.

So I started. I started with going back to the basics of food. Refusing to buy anything that came with additives of any kind, even take-away. I was diligent. I went back to making things from scratch. I stuck to foods that didn't require labels to tell you they were healthy, I just intuitively knew it – for they were created by God and called good. We started to eat what we were designed to eat. I acknowledged Him as Lord over what I ate. Our diseases started to disappear. 

So was God loving me when He showed me this? 

When He increased His demands on me? 

A resounding yes! 

So many things changed on this alone that I could write a whole blog just listing them. What I saw initially as a demanding, time consuming request from Him has become a huge blessing to our family. A joy! I see His wisdom and it is good.

2 Cor 7:1 Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence of God. 

Exodus 15:26 If you listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord who heals you.

Exodus 23:25 Worship the Lord your God and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take sickness from among you, and none will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will give you a full life span.

Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected the knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children.

1 Cor 10:23 “I have the right to do anything” you say but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything” but not everything is constructive.