After strenuous exercises in the gym for a couple of months, with no significant reduction in weight to show for it, a friend humorously remarked: ‘mehn…something is grossly wrong with our diet’. He was making allusions to the cheat days we indulge in once a week to eat the things we are not supposed to eat if we truly intend to keep the weight off. We all laughed nervously as we all knew he was not only right, but if we truly need to see a change in our weights, we would really need to stop the ‘cheat days’. The reality of this conversation is that you can’t truly eat your cake and still want to keep it. We understood that, for there to be a significant show in weight loss, the exercises must be combined with a disciplined diet. The same goes for our spiritual lives! We do so much in service to the Lord but our lives show little or no significant growth in our spiritual lives. So many attend choir practices, prayer meetings, bible studies and many more programs but are unable to leave the world and ‘its way of doing things’ behind to cling solely to the Lord Jesus Christ. No wonder Christ said: “On that day many will say to Me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in Your name, drive out demons in Your name, and do many miracles in Your name?’ Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you! Depart from Me, you lawbreakers!’” (Matthew 7:22-23).
When it comes to our spiritual well-being, there cannot be cheat days. The Word of God encourages us to be diligent in adding to our faith, goodness, knowledge, self control, endurance, godliness, brotherly affection and love, as these will makes us fruitful in our walk with the Lord. It went further to say: “Therefore, brothers, make every effort to confirm your calling and election, because if you do these things you will never stumble” (2Peter 1: 10). What this simply means is that without these qualities (and in increasing measure at that), all our efforts in following and prophesying in the name of the Lord will be a waste, and failure carries dire consequences. In order not to fail or fall into this pit of lack of growth and fruitlessness in our spiritual lives, we are encouraged to: “…Rather, train yourself in godliness, for the training of the body has a limited benefit, but godliness is beneficial in every way since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come” (1Timothy 4:7b-8). The Bible tells us that when this exercise is done faithfully, it benefits our lives on earth and in eternity.
Which then brings us to the question, ‘how fit are you?’ Do you do all the exercises for godliness but have some cheat days where you let loose in order to fit in with friends, colleagues and family? This question is pertinent as the moral compass of the world is not only twisted but broken! Natural laws are being broken daily and no one seems to care much as we have to be politically correct! It is time to take down those cheat days and kick them out of our lives so we can be strong enough to confront the terrible weights of the world and its system as it confronts us on a daily basis. God bless you as you align your heart to the will of God in this end times.
