Counter-Balance

(Balance: A Changer's Art part 2, read part 1 first)

So I'm still on this balance kick in my head these days.  After my last post, I've been thinking a lot about putting change into reality.  The real life goes something like this.  Say you're on a new diet.  You do pretty good for a time, you make progress, but the tension of missing out on your favorite food builds, you're suffering through food you don't like and just holding on.  Well, according to the metal spring idea (previous post), you're pulling past the bending point, and you'll balance back out to being someone that eats just a little bit better in the end.  Sounds great right.  Well what happens in life is you can't take it any more, or you forget about it, and let caution go to the wind.  You go on an eating binge, and gain all the weight back from before plus some.  Now you're worse off than you started, you're heading down because you have momentum that way, and you have one more dissappointment discouraging you from trying again.  What gives?

Here's my thoughts on this dilemma, it's all about the boiling water and the frog again.  It has to not only be gradual, but comfortable.  You can't just start eating a totally different diet than before and expect to just like it and keep it up.  You're body is used to the old diet, and will actually need those old foods you used to give it.  You're body is ramping up to have a huge backlash that can be counter-affective.  The solution is easing your way to change.  This is the same way Satan eases us away from the good.  He makes one little justification here and there til we are so far down we don't know how we got there.  Well that's because he's got a great strategy.  It Works!  Just use it for yourself.  Ease your way up, one adjustment at a time.  With the diet, just cut out one type of food; or just cut out one extra snack per day til that becomes the normal balance you have.  Then make another adjustment towards where you want to go.  Enjoy the ascent upwards. 

Another idea I have with this is Perspective.  Your diet in a day has a range of many flavors, from bitter to sweet, to salty and spicy.  You need a bit of every flavor to get the balance you have for the day.  It's good to have each flavor, and check it off your list (in sensible portions).  Well if your balance includes that extremely sweet piece of cheesecake, that becomes a necessary part of your taste list for the day.  On a scale of 1-10 of sweetness, that cheesecake becomes a 10.  If you have a carrot, it's like a 5 on the list.  If you try to cut out everything from 6-10 in sweetness, you'll be totally off balance, and eventually need all of it plus some.  You have to plan for all of it and then you won't eat it with a vendetta, more of a fulfillment of the plan.  Well if you can cut out just that piece of cheesecake from your diet, and make that your push for the week, all of a sudden your sweetest thing for your balance becomes that bowl of cereal or something.  Not quite as sweet.  That's now the 10.  Now that carrot actually bumps up to a level 7 or 8.  If you can slowly adjust your balance to where that carrot is ideally the sweetest thing you eat in a day, now that will become the 10.  It will actually taste better.  You'll be comfortable with what you eat.  Now you eat vegetables and enjoy it, instead of suffering through a huge change.  Now this depends on complete abstinence from the sweetest thing.  Once you have even one bite, now the scale is reset and it's all restarted.  Planning, preparation, and prayer are vital.

Now I'm not the skinniest guy in the world, and I sure love cheesecake, so you may be wondering about taking diet advice from me.  I'm still working on this one.  One thing at a time right...  It's a process. :) But this can apply to our life and the gospel in so many ways.  As we progress toward perfection, we make gradual changes.  It isn't a burden if we depend on Christ and slowly balance our self to our new lifestyle of righteousness.  If we're too drastic, we may bounce back and do even worse than before, with a downward momentum and discouragement to try again.  But, if we push the little changes, one at a time, allowing Christ to shoulder the burden, we can make lasting change.  It takes planning, preparation, discipline and prayer.  Christ will help us if we make the plan for ourselves and make the changes.  He can help us push past the hard times when the temptations seem bigger.  He can help us adapt and make the changes permanent so we can be at a good balance, ready to make the next adjustment.  He makes it all possible.  Allow Him to help you.  I know that as I have made changes in my life, I have enjoyed them.  I know that I am who I am today from putting the burden on Christ, and I'm in His debt.  I enjoy who I am today and look forward to using Christ to make many more changes in the future.  God is happy when we are happy.  If it is a righteous change we desire, he will help us.  I Know He Will.  In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.