Faith Venture

Podcasts and newsletters from researchers on health and longevity comprise a substantial chunk of my weekly mind food. Everyone has a list, and I just saw one from Peter Diamandis. I endorse these seven disciplines and have followed them for years.

1. Beliefs. At one end of the spectrum are people who see 75 years old as the end. And at the other end are people who see aging as a disease, and who actively track breakthroughs in biotech that have the potential to slow or even reverse aging. Which are you?

2. Media Diet. The films, books, articles you consume have a deep, direct impact on how you think. Does your media diet reinforce the anti-longevity mindset? Or are you reading books like David Sinclair’s Lifespan, blogs like mine, and newsfeeds like Longevity Insider?

3. Community. The people we spend time with also shape our mindset. Do you spend time with people who constantly worry about death? Or do you hang with a younger, more vital crowd who surround you with optimism and a youthful vision of the future?

4. Sleep Habits. We physiologically need eight hours of sleep per night. Do you burn the candle at both ends? Or do you prioritize this most valuable resource, using the best techniques to help you?

5. Your Diet. You very literally are what you eat. The nutrients (or non-nutrients) you consume become your body, your mind, your spirit. Do you overindulge in good-tasting (sugar-rich) but destructive foods? Or do you craft a sensible diet and practice intermittent fasting to maximize your energy and longevity?

6. Exercise Habits. Exercise—especially that which increases muscle mass—is crucial to longevity. Do you exercise a minimum of three times a week—perhaps taking peptides to maximize growth hormones and increase muscle mass?

7. Mindset. Do you cultivate your Longevity Mindset? Do you see your future as bigger than your past?

My advice adds spiritual disciplines such as meditation, prayer. This added dimension boosts our mindset and attitudes helping to overcome negativity.

We had a typical spring day with light, steady rain. The ground was already saturated as the frozen turf thawed.

As the water level in the turf rose, earthworms escaped drowning by finding dry spots. These were usually hard surfaces such as asphalt and concrete driveways, parking lots, and sidewalks.

We humans know what comes next even if the earthworms don’t. Things will dry. The sun will shine. The earthworms will shrivel and die. On the pavement that saved them yesterday.

Sometimes we humans act just like those earthworms. We find a quick and simple solution to a complex problem. Perhaps one sentence from the entirety of the Hebrew and Christian Bibles.

That sentence may temporarily make us feel good. Saved. But tomorrow, maybe things change and clinging to that one simple solution may cause us to stumble.

Let’s take another look at the earthworm problem. Robins. Those orange-breasted birds called (in North America at least) the harbinger of spring.

They have been scouring the yards relentlessly from dawn to dusk looking for worms.

This morning the sidewalks and streets were a veritable buffet feast for the robins. Earthworms right there in the open just for picking up.

This morning I was out exercising for about an hour. Never saw a robin.

Sometimes God provides a feast for us, and we fail to recognize it. We let an opportunity go by without a thought.

In both cases, we need to open our eyes and minds becoming aware of the traps and the feasts. God’s there. Where are we?

Yesterday I pondered whether I’ve ever been such a bad example of Jesus-follower that I’ve turned people away. Or, as Paul told Jewish people in Rome who received his letter, “You are the reason Gentiles hate our God.”

I’m thinking of a couple of “old guys” who influenced me just by being them.

I have to preface the story with history. Back in the old days when I was in high school and college there was a job called “milk man.” That was one way I earned money to survive in college. I delivered milk and dairy products to people’s homes.

Clarence lived in a big house on a hill out in the countryside. He lived alone. Probably was in his 70s. He was uneducated formally, but actually he was quite educated. He had a observatory in his upstairs. He’d sometimes startle me when I dropped off his order of milk (for his cats, I think). “What’s the morning star today?” We didn’t have long conversations. He presented many thought provoking questions.

Joe still ran marathons in his 70s. Not fast. But he finished. He clued me into some challenging books as we discussed ideas in the steam room after a workout. He also was not “educated”; but he actually was.

I’m the “old guy” now. The challenge is to be like those guys and others I’ve known. What about you? Learning? Teaching?

Paul wrote in his letter to the Roman church a paragraph directed to his Jewish leader brethren. He told them that although they had studied the words of the Law and Prophets assiduously, they had so failed to live up to the spirit of them that it was their fault that people hated their god.

In another place he wrote:

Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decidenever to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.

Paul the Apostle

Jesus likewise had harsh words for those who lead others on the wrong path:

It is better for him if a millstone is hung around his neck and he is thrown into the sea, than that he should cause one of these little ones to stumble.

Jesus of Nazareth

Why have so many popular and influential Christian leaders fallen causing many to lose faith and outsiders to bolster their cynicism?

The question for me, and the question for you, is…what have I done or said that would cause another to lose faith or shun God?

Someone attempts a humble act of service. It doesn’t come off as well as we might have wished. We say, “Their heart was in the right place.”

That is the key.

Having our heart in the right place is exactly what Jesus had in mind for us. He was always concerned with the state of our heart.

We exercise, abstain from smoking, eat “real food”, practice relaxation for our physical heart.

We study, meditate, pray, serve for our spiritual heart.

We start the day with a heart checkup. How are we doing? How will we do today?

Some people make things happen, some watch it happen, and some wonder what happened.

Twisted history of attributions

Have you noticed how many people seem to drift through life. Things happen to them. They may blame others or outside forces. They may pray, but those prayers may be reactions, futile, mere stirring of the air.

Some people do things with intention. The commit in their minds to do something. They may succeed; they may fail. The outcome doesn’t matter. The causation string of desire —>intention (commitment)—>action makes all the difference.

This matters to our own spiritual formation. It matters to the service we provide to others and the world.

When you pray, pray with intention.

When you serve, serve with intention.

At all times check in to make sure your intentions align with the person you wish to become.

My contemplation this morning coalesced around how we respond.

It began with fear. We have so many fears. Mostly of the unknown. Mostly of things that will never happen. Yet, we are affected. Do we respond by lashing out at whoever or whatever is around? Do we respond by freezing or hiding? Or do we respond by facing the fear and its roots and dealing with it?

The Covid pandemic is two years old. In most places of the world, things are getting better. In a few, the virus is still spreading. How did we respond? Did we maintain some stability? Did we work through the changes? As we emerge, how are we coping?

We can respond by allowing our inner drives and emotions take the lead. Often that is dysfunctional.

We can respond through awareness of the situation and ourselves. Then we choose our best response. That takes work. But it is the good work.

When Paul the Apostle wrote a letter to one of his groups, the letter was read aloud at the recipient church by one of the leaders. Straight through. But then, I imagine that the group would discuss the letter. Paul often pointed out shortcomings or things they were doing wrong. I imagine that sparked some strong emotions.

I just read his letter to the Roman church pretty much straight through. It struck me that much of the letter answered questions and addressed problems unique to this group.

That doesn’t mean we can’t learn from his advice.

One thing that strikes me is that Paul did not stop his discussion with “you are saved by grace through faith.” It’s not like that is the end. It is the beginning–the beginning of your new life.

Following his theological discussion of God throughout history and what God has done for us, Paul then describes what a new life living with God through Jesus looks like. We treat others with grace and respect. We become good citizens of our city and country. We hold ourselves holy.

He’s telling us that spiritual formation has a physical component. Putting our bodies to service of others is an integral part of our growth in the spirit. We cannot just sit on our faith.