Heart Condition

I have a heart condition. It is a very minor, very boring heart condition. Most of the time I don’t even think about it, it’s that boring. Every day I take a pill. As long as I take that pill every day, the heart condition is all good. But, I have another condition. I’m not sure if it’s laziness or hard headedness or what but it is a much scarier condition than the heart condition.
This other condition causes me to not do the very simple things I have to do to keep the heart condition under control. I’m talking simple things like dropping the prescription off at the pharmacy and then picking it up later. I really don’t like to do that.
So, I started feeling funny yesterday. I realized I was out of the medicine I needed. I ignored that first warning. I mean maybe this month would be different than all the other months. See, about once every three months or so my second condition pops up and I decide I don’t need the medicine. Yeah, that doesn’t work so well. It is a little unnerving to feel your heart beating at 130 beats a minute. It is unnerving and it interferes with drinking coffee. (Coffee will speed up your heart beat. I like coffee. I do not like interference with my coffee which is why I usually just take the medicine.)
The most exciting thing about this heart condition is that it is a great metaphor for my relationship with Jesus. Most days I get up and open my Bible. I love to read it. I even love reading it when its all numbers and lineages. But there are days when I get up and that other condition hits. I guess we could call it my “sin” condition. I don’t want to read the Bible. I want my coffee without wisdom (sounds pretty goofy like that but…) Maybe I have to be somewhere or maybe I’m just mad at God.
How foolish is that? I’m mad at God so I don’t read His word. Works out about as well as it does when I decide I’m mad at Michael and don’t talk to him. I stay all grumpy for a few hours and then have to admit I was wrong. Same thing happens when I chose not to read my Bible. When I chose to read it, I make much better decisions. My anxiety level goes way down when I take a few minutes and read and pray. That lurking depression is easier to battle when I’ve taken my “medicine”. But that sin condition comes in every so often and gets me off track. The result, like the result of not taking my heart pill, is that I feel awful. All I have to do to feel better is take the medicine. There is a residual icky feeling but we always have to deal with the consequences of our actions. Once the pill is swallowed, or once I’ve asked forgiveness, I know it will all be better.
Our God wants us to do the simple things that bring us closer to him. The closer we are to him, the less powerful the sin condition is. Simple things like reading the Bible, praying, and telling others about him bring us such joy and comfort. To live life to its fullest we have to do these things but the trick is they are enjoyable. Unlike my medicine with its funny side effects, doing what the Spirit tells us to leads to side effects like love, joy, peace, and patience. These are very good things.
I ran to the store this morning and got my heart pills. I’m feeling much better now. On my way there, I talked to God about why I still have this sin issue. He listened. He’s good like that.  I’m pretty sure his answer is something along the lines of “because you aren’t home yet. I’m here with you though and I love you. Now get back to work.”