Remedies

 It’s often been said that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Although it can’t be proven true every time, it has an overall ring of truth. Don’t wait around to get sick and then scramble to do something about it. Rather, take preemptive measures to ensure that you’ve done what you can to keep yourself from doing the things you know will have repercussions down the road. It’s an easy thing to say; it’s a bit more challenging to do, but the older I get, and I hear the bones popping and cracking, the more inclined I am to follow through and be conscious of the things I once took for granted.

That we spend more time obsessing over our physical health than our spiritual health is telling in itself. Spiritual health deteriorates just as readily as physical health if it is not constantly cared for and matured in an environment of righteousness and holiness. What you consume spiritually matters as readily as what you consume physically, if not more so. If your diet consists of donuts, Twinkies, cookies, and pies, and you wash it all down with a sugar coffee that has no coffee in it but lots of sugar, your overall physical health will suffer eventually. Your sugar high will fall off a cliff at some point, your body will likely develop insulin resistance, and the more you keep going down that path, the worse it becomes.

When the spiritual food we consume lacks the building blocks necessary to mature our spiritual man, we are on a similar diet as we would be if all we were eating were fun cakes and cotton candy. It tastes good in the moment; it feels good as you're eating it, but fifteen minutes later, your stomach is growling, you’re still hungry, and now you’re battling a sugar coma.

It’s not hyperbole to say that we have an entire generation being raised on the spiritual version of Peeps, dragging, lethargic, unfocused, unmotivated, getting a sugar rush once in a while, then going back to sleep for a year. While we’re eating dyed marshmallows, the enemy has been refining his attacks and his ability to mimic truth to such an extent that before they know it, you have entire congregations imploding because it doesn’t take a lot of poison to kill you, a drop or two will do.

Just as one can get back into shape one day at a time if they are consistent in their endeavor, one can digress, degenerate, and grow distant one day at a time as well. What matters is the direction you’re headed in. To know which direction you’re headed in you must be honest in your self-assessment, and if change is required, do not put off until tomorrow what you should start today. Some people know they’re not where they’re supposed to be in their relationship with God; they acknowledge the reality of their situation as well as the need to change, but they get caught up in the snare of tomorrow.

It’s a brilliant last-ditch effort when you think about it. The enemy knows he’s about to lose control, that a soul is about to slip through his fingers, so he goes along. Yes, you’re right you need to change. You need to read the Bible more, pray more, fast more, and learn to hear the voice of God more, but not today. You had plans for today. You have those concert tickets or that date, or that test you were planning to have a crib sheet for. Wait until tomorrow. Tomorrow, you can start fresh. Then tomorrow comes, and it’s a repeat of today. There will always be some reason the enemy will bring up for you to delay repentance and getting serious with God. Recognize it for what it is, and don’t fall for the trap. 

There is a misconception in the Christian world that once you’ve gotten saved, as the kids like to call it, that’s all you need to do. That it isn’t the beginning of a journey but the end, replete with tinker tape and swooning spectators. You’ve reached your destination, and that’s that. No more needs to be said, no more needs to be done, and you can return to your previously scheduled program without missing a beat.

Never mind that Jesus said you must deny yourself and pick up your cross daily. Nowadays, it’s a one-and-done, in and out; raise your hand and commit to tithing to our church, and you’re saved forever! It’s not even that those people climbed halfway up the mountain then stopped; they just discovered there was a mountain to climb, stood at its base, then turned around and went back to their lives. One day, God will call every pastor, teacher, evangelist, and preacher to account for omitting the truth that salvation is a lifelong journey, not a one-time experience.

After almost forty years in ministry, I’ve encountered all kinds of people. Among them are those who got distracted, sidelined, or detoured, and what was once an individual on fire for God became barely burning embers, at risk of being put out altogether by a soft wind. It was never a sudden thing. It was always gradual, a bit here and a bit there, one compromise leading to another, and the more control the flesh asserted, the easier it became to compel the compromise. It’s the reason people say doing something you’re not supposed to do a second or third time is easier than the first time you do it. The flesh grows stronger, the spirit grows weaker, and the things the flesh leads you to do become increasingly egregious until, to your surprise and everyone else around you, you are empty, hollow, broken, and chained.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.