This year I've just gotta start eating healthy...

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 3:1,2)

Fellow Diners,

I'm just not going to go there anymore. But I'm probably not going to go there any less, either.

You know where I'm talking about: The Cultural Diner, of course. My mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical health would certainly be a lot better if I could give up the regular table reserved for me. I want to improve my health, so this should be sufficient motivation to do it. Going cold turkey shouldn't be so bad. I can handle it...

First, I'll just turn off "The Bob and Tom Show" in the car on the way to work. Then I'll make Bible.com my home page, instead of MSN.com. Pass by all those People magazines in the waiting room. Newspaper, in the trash. No more Thursday appointments with "Survivor". No idolizing the "Idol". TV in general, out. The movies, out. Talk radio, out. Gossip, out. Brangelina and the Golden Globe's Best Dressed list, out. (Well, maybe I can make a little room for Angelina!).

Then the healthy stuff: Prayer, Bible study, other spiritual disciplines to fill the pantry and regrigerator. Exercise, plenty of rest, more time with the family, waiting on the cupboard shelf.

Aaah! This year is gonna be so good!
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Probably a good many people in this fair land made sweeping resolutions for the New Year. Maybe even you did. Those resolutions will no doubt cover a broad spectrum of topics: lose some weight, get in shape, find a new job, learn a new subject, spend more time with my family, and so forth.

But there’s one subject I’ll wager very few of us have included in the list of things we resolve to do in the year to come. Repentance. “I resolve to repent of my self-centeredness.” “This year I’m going to stop lying to cover my backside.” “My New Year’s resolution is to give up always trying to be the center of attention and show a little more consideration for the people around me.”

Just doesn’t happen, does it? People simply are not given to repenting. And there are some good reasons for this. The first is that sin is our natural habitat. We are born into this world sinful and self-centered. It’s part of the original factory equipment of every human being. We spend all our childhood basically perfecting the skills of selfishness that, in adulthood, start making us inconsiderate, boorish, and mean. It’s so convenient just to be myself. It feels so right. Why try to go against my very nature?

There is a second reason that repentance is not high on most people’s list of things to do: sin can be downright pleasurable. We enjoy sinning. Delight in it. Try to get away with as much of it as we can, because, doggone it, sin is fun! Who’s going to give up all the fun that comes with those little flirtations, that carefully placed gossip, those indiscretions of this or that kind, that mean spirit that makes everyone cower in our presence, those exaggerations that easily bleed into lies? What’s wrong with a little fun? No harm, no foul. We simply like to sin. Repent? What will you offer me to replace the fun I’ll be giving up?

The third reason repentance is so unpopular today is because to repent means to admit wrong. If I’m going to repent from something then I have to admit I’m doing something wrong. I’ve made a mistake. I may have done a bad thing, or, heaven help me, actually be a bad person. In our “I’m OK, you’re OK” culture, we don’t want anyone to feel bad about himself, no matter what he does. Even in our churches we don’t like to talk about repentance, because we want people to be smothered in “feel-good-about-me-ness” when they’re in our midst, so they’ll be sure to come back next week.

So how’s this for a resolution—New Year’s or any time: Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand. You'll not likely practice the discipline of repentance if you're ignorant of the law of God. You'll not likely practice healthy eating if the health food store doesn't advertise and educate.

Finally, you will be greatly aided in your practice of repentance by maintaining some kind of accountability. Be willing to be confronted, rebuked, and corrected by those who love you, and you’re on your way to a fruitful life of repentance, and a healthy meal at the wedding banquet. Share your needs for repentance with those who love you; seek their prayers and support. Repentance will become more a part of your life in the kingdom of God if you have a diet buddy to help you along the way.

For reflection: How could society be different if our churches were more faithful in teaching about repentance?

Cultural Nurse-in-Training,

~Bill

As John the Baptist said, "Bear fruit in keeping with repentance." Matt.3:8.