Monday, April 18, 2011

Chasing Methuselah?

I'm terribly behind in my magazine reading.  I just finished reading the December 2010 and January 2011 issues of Christianity Today.  (Guess it's Christianity Yesterday by the time I get to them!)  But the January cover story for CT is relevant today - even if it was printed three months ago.  It's titled "Chasing Methuselah" and the hook is this:

Exercise, technology and diet help us live longer than ever.  Should those who look to eternal life care?  Nearly 100 million Americans currently use anti-aging products and practices.  Among these practices are special diets, such as the "120 Year Diet" from Roy Walford (who died of Lou Gehrig's disease two months before his 80th birthday), plastic surgery, vitamins, mineral supplements, human growth hormones, and other hormones like melatonin, testosterone, pregnonolone, and estrogen.

Most gerontologists assert that such remedies don't really slow the aging process.  But what if we found a way to stay healthy and active well into our hundreds?  What if it were possible to actually reverse the effects of aging - to heal arthritis, regain bone and muscle mass, and cure dementia by replenishing brain cells?  Over the past decade, the search for the fountain of youth has moved from legend to laboratory.

Extending life past current biological limits would have enormous social, political, economical and ecological ramifications.  [But] the more fundamental question is whether human aging is a malady in need of a cure.  Should we treat aging as a disease?  Is there anything wrong with hoping to live to  age 150? And, particularly for Christians, is it wrong to want to live past three score years and ten? (Psalm 90:10 KJV)

So far, science has been able to prolong existence, but it has not been able to really prolong life.  I've faced multiple end-of-life situations as a pastor where I had to counsel the family on what to do and what not to do when it comes the the care of their critically ill loved one.  Most of the time, I counsel letting the loved one go - because I don't believe God wants us prolonging our existence here when there is so much more to experience on the other side.

But what about before one gets to that end of life moment where the choice is either death or living in a vegetative state?  Should we engage in healthy living practices, using all that science makes available to us, in order to keep living for as long as possible?  I think the answer has to be "conditionally yes." 

What are the conditions?  I can think of at least three.  There may be more.
  • My choices for healthy living cannot take away the choices for healthy living for someone else.  In other words, I cannot think only of myself, but I must also think about how my decisions and lifestyle impacts others - those near, and those on the other side of the planet.
  • My choices for healthy living should not become an expression of fearing death.  Paul expressed this point in 1 Corinthians 15, quoting from Isaiah and Hosea:  "'Death has been swallowed up in victory.  Where O death, is your victory?  Where, O death, is your sting?' The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God!  He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
  • My choices for healthy living should reflect my faith in Jesus Christ, and help others respond in faith, too.  Everything about my lifestyle should indicate my dependence on God rather than self or science.  "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." said Jesus in John 10:10.  My full life is a product of Jesus Christ, never of myself. 
So I've made the effort in 2011 to live a more healthy, and sustainable life.  One result of that effort is getting rid of more than 40 pounds of excess weight.  But it's not been me doing it alone, but Christ doing it through me.

Thor Ramsey, a popular stand-up comedian, built a routine on the Christian response to this question.  Take a look:



Why is this funny?  Because we know not to take it seriously or literally.  Looking at Thor, one can discern that he isn't really consuming "Twinkies for Jesus" or advocating that we should do so. 

So what are your thoughts on this topic?

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Shaping Up Without Selling Out

Last weekend, my wife bought a pair of Shape-ups from Sketchers.  You may have seen them; they look like normal athletic shoes on top, but abnormal on the bottom.  In fact, they rock on the bottom - literally!  According to their literature, Shape-ups are designed to help burn more calories, tone muscles and improve posture.  The tag line is "Get in shape without setting foot in a gym."

That tag line is unfortunate.  It comes across as saying one only needs to wear Shape-ups to get one's body into shape.  I disagree.  These shoes might help, but they are not a magic solution or a silver bullet to the problem of obesity.  Reading the pamphlet that came with the shoes, there's lots of good information - which makes the tag line even more sad.  Since they know so much of the right info, why put a marketing jingle ahead of the real problem?

With around 130 million Americans either overweight or obese, there is tremendous potential for people to not only wear these shoes, but to wear them to the gym!!  The US Department of Health and Human Services suggests 40 minutes of daily physical activity for adults ages 18 and over.  Children need even more - 60 minutes of activity daily.  Wearing these shoes should be considered the add-on - not the be all - to make the most of that activity.  Exercise is half of the issue to being overweight.  Eating too much is the other half.  Sketchers ought to describe how their Shape-up shoes boost the exercise - giving the one who wears the shoes a 20% gain in calories burned, for example. (And of course, they ought to commission a study on that to determine just what these shoes actually do).  Without that, they're simply selling out to the idea that Americans want to stay as lazy as possible.  That might work from a marketing standpoint, but not from a healthy lifestyle one.

I haven't bought any Shape-ups for myself - although they make them for guys, too.  So far, I've done pretty well without them.  I joke about missing my goal weight target.  I wanted to weigh 220 pounds by the time my daughter gets married on June 11, but that's not likely to happen.  By March 26, I was down to 217!  My weight as of April 9 is 214.

How have I lost more than 40 pounds since January 1?  By eating less and exercising more.  It's that simple; and it's that hard!  I've taken sodas off my consumption list - and I previously was a hard-core Dr. Pepper drinker.  I've eaten pizza twice in 3 months, when it used to be a weekly staple.  I cut back on the portion sizes and stopped going back for seconds.  I work out at the YMCA twice a week, try to walk at least 3 times a week, and have started doing nightly sit-ups and push-ups.  All that effort is paying off!  Now, my goal is to be as close to 200 pounds by June 11 as possible.  That means I need to keep losing an average of 1.5 pounds per week over the next 9 weeks.  That's doable as long as I keep up the effort to make it happen.

Actually, as I've said in previous postings, it's not just me doing this.  God's doing this with me.  So I gotta keep my thoughts and attitude focused on Christ, then the rest will continue to fall into place. 

Lord, give me strength!!