Five years ago I was a spry 72-year-old. I walked 3 miles a day in addition to my 10K steps. I was pastoring and working a second “job.” Some people at the church called me the energizer bunny. I thought I had a good start growing older.
In the space of 2 weeks, everything changed. I could no longer walk even ½ mile, I had pain and fatigue and stiffness throughout my core. It took months for the doctors to diagnose polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR). By the time they did, I had a second auto-immune disease giant cell arteritis (GCA). Both are inflammatory diseases, one in the core muscles, the second in arteries.
Those auto-immune diseases are treated with high steroids, I was on two. They caused all types of changes in blood glucose and pressure and shut down my adrenal system. It was like watching dominos fall, one after another.
Now it is thought that the PMR and GCA are in remission. Steroids are being tapered down. I have eliminated one and am at the lowest dosage of the second. The problem is whether my adrenal system can be jumpstarted. It’s like trying to stand all those dominos back up, one after another.
Medical problems and treatments often have side effects that lead to more problems, you end up with more complications than you began with. James reminds us that this progression is also true of spiritual issues.
“But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desires. Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death. Don’t be deceived, my dearly loved brothers.” [James 1:14-16 HCSB]
Let us not be deceived, dear ones. Entertaining temptation, allowing our own fleshly desires to draw us away, does not have a good outcome. The dominos will fall and the end results is sin and death.
More tomorrow.
