Dealing with Cholesterol

DAILY BYTE

Some time back a friend of mine suddenly felt a sharp pain in his arm which then moved to his chest. Turned out he was having a heart attack. Fortunately it wasn’t fatal and he survived, but it was certainly a pretty rude wake-up call. The cardiologist told him that he had a cholesterol problem, caused mostly by unlucky genetics but made worse through poor lifestyle choices. He had to start watching what he ate and start seeing regular exercise not as an optional extra to his life, but a vital non-negotiable necessity.

The medics tell us that cholesterol is a steroid alcohol that promotes arteriosclerosis. For the rest of us, it's those naughty little globules of "stuff" that clog up the arteries and can take a lot of the fun out of eating certain foods. The problem of cholesterol is a real one, and if allowed to proceed unchecked, can be life-threatening. There is often a genetic basis to this condition, but it can always be made better or worse by the healthy lifestyle choices we do or do not make.

There is a parallel here with the spiritual life. For there are things that can clog up our spiritual arteries, much like cholesterol, inhibiting the free and steady flow of the life of God within us. What are these things, and how do we cope with them? Much can be said in this regard, especially about the "cholesterol" raising effects of sinful and selfish living. Our sinful human nature is a bit like a genetic predisposition that makes us particularly vulnerable to making choices that can block the life of God flowing through us.

But it is interesting to note that even the good and noble things we do for God carry the danger of being "cholesterol" inducing. Especially when the life of faithful ministry leads to a sense of self-sufficiency, or fatigue, or a loss of perspective or vision. This was a danger which Jesus clearly recognised. And so we see him, right at the start of his ministry, establishing a rhythm between the high, extroverted times of teaching, healing and exorcism, and the private, solitary moments of silence and prayer. As Karl Rahner has written, "Prayer relieves the hardening of the spiritual arteries."

Maybe you have a sense that something is clogging up your spiritual arteries right now, and you're not experiencing the life of God freely coursing through your veins. If there’s some sinful behaviour that you are aware of that is causing this, then I urge you to confess that to God, repent, and by God’s grace start living in a new way.

But if the hardening of your spiritual arteries arises out of a sense of fatigue, disillusionment, cynicism or despair – then get down on your knees, and pray, and pray, and pray.

It’s the best anti-dote to spiritual cholesterol you’ll ever find.

PRAY AS YOU GO

Gracious God, I know that there are so many things that can block your life-giving grace from flowing freely in me and through me. Thank you for the example of Jesus, who recognized the need to keep the channels between himself and you wide open every day, and how he did so through regular times of solitude and prayer. Help me to follow his example more and more. Amen

SCRIPTURE READING

Mark 1:32-35

That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. The whole town gathered at the door, and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.