I love looking at pictures of people before and after major changes. It doesn’t matter if they are weight loss pictures, makeover pictures, or even post plastic surgery pictures, I love them all. I am a sucker for pictures of celebrities or models without makeup, and I could probably sit for hours looking at pictures like the one above that show before and after shots of people who use crystal meth. There is just something fascinating about watching someone’s physical appearance transform so dramatically.
Despite the fact that I have been mistaken on more than one occasion for my grown sister’s mother, I would say that for the most part I look my age. I have some grey hair that could use a little attention and I have noticed the wrinkles on my forehead getting a little deeper over the last few years, but that doesn’t really bother me. I’ve never been one to really be too concerned about the physical affects of aging. But with that being said, I also don’t want to look worse than I have to. I once befriended a woman who had a pretty extensive history of hard living and drug use and it wasn’t until several months into the friendship that it came to my knowledge that she was a year younger than me. I could have easily guessed she was at least ten years my senior.
It’s not just the physical appearance that can be affected by our actions. I know a woman who is in her late fifties who doesn’t look or act a day younger than seventy. She is riddled with health problems, uses a walker, battles depression, and is often highly dramatic and difficult to be around. She has allowed life’s troubles and worries to consume her mind, and it eventually began taking over her body. It is frustrating and difficult to watch when you know that many of her problems were brought on by her own choices.
Sin, in it’s various forms, really will take it’s toll on you. Proverbs 13:15 says that the way of the unfaithful is hard. Not only do I think that applies to spiritual consequences, but it also is true when it comes to practical areas such as our relationships with other people, our finances and yes, even our health. Read the following verses from the book of James:
Despite the fact that I have been mistaken on more than one occasion for my grown sister’s mother, I would say that for the most part I look my age. I have some grey hair that could use a little attention and I have noticed the wrinkles on my forehead getting a little deeper over the last few years, but that doesn’t really bother me. I’ve never been one to really be too concerned about the physical affects of aging. But with that being said, I also don’t want to look worse than I have to. I once befriended a woman who had a pretty extensive history of hard living and drug use and it wasn’t until several months into the friendship that it came to my knowledge that she was a year younger than me. I could have easily guessed she was at least ten years my senior.
It’s not just the physical appearance that can be affected by our actions. I know a woman who is in her late fifties who doesn’t look or act a day younger than seventy. She is riddled with health problems, uses a walker, battles depression, and is often highly dramatic and difficult to be around. She has allowed life’s troubles and worries to consume her mind, and it eventually began taking over her body. It is frustrating and difficult to watch when you know that many of her problems were brought on by her own choices.
Sin, in it’s various forms, really will take it’s toll on you. Proverbs 13:15 says that the way of the unfaithful is hard. Not only do I think that applies to spiritual consequences, but it also is true when it comes to practical areas such as our relationships with other people, our finances and yes, even our health. Read the following verses from the book of James:
“Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”
You can see here that the writer is speaking to people who are sick. He tells them to call for the elders to have them pray - if he has sins, they will be forgiven. Then it goes on right after that to tell us to confess our sins to each other SO THAT YOU MAY BE HEALED. He is still talking to the sick person here. Sin can bring sickness.
In another book of the Bible, the apostle Paul is writing a letter to a church that is filled with all sorts of issues. One of the things that they were doing was taking the Lord’s supper while there were divisions about the members. There hearts were wrong while they were supposed to be doing something to honor Jesus. Paul then says, in 1 Corinthians 11:29-30, “if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body of Christ, you are eating and drinking God’s judgment upon yourself. THAT IS WHY MANY OF YOU ARE WEAK AND SICK AND SOME HAVE EVEN DIED.
Just so I don’t get any e-mails or comments saying “My dear grammy is sick and she‘s not a terrible person”, that is not what I am saying. Is illness always caused by sin or negative thinking? No, I don’t believe so. But it is it possible? If I believe in what the Bible says (which I do), then it can’t really be denied. Your heart and your mind have a great deal to do with your body. If you are constantly having physical or health issues, try purifying not just your physical body but your spiritual body as well.
Oh, and don’t do meth. Because that’ll just make you look gross.
In another book of the Bible, the apostle Paul is writing a letter to a church that is filled with all sorts of issues. One of the things that they were doing was taking the Lord’s supper while there were divisions about the members. There hearts were wrong while they were supposed to be doing something to honor Jesus. Paul then says, in 1 Corinthians 11:29-30, “if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body of Christ, you are eating and drinking God’s judgment upon yourself. THAT IS WHY MANY OF YOU ARE WEAK AND SICK AND SOME HAVE EVEN DIED.
Just so I don’t get any e-mails or comments saying “My dear grammy is sick and she‘s not a terrible person”, that is not what I am saying. Is illness always caused by sin or negative thinking? No, I don’t believe so. But it is it possible? If I believe in what the Bible says (which I do), then it can’t really be denied. Your heart and your mind have a great deal to do with your body. If you are constantly having physical or health issues, try purifying not just your physical body but your spiritual body as well.
Oh, and don’t do meth. Because that’ll just make you look gross.
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