Spiritual rehab

 This week's verses are Hebrews 12:11-13:

Now all discipline seems painful at the time, not joyful. But later it produces the fruit of peace and righteousness for those trained by it. Therefore, strengthen your listless hands and your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but be healed.

  The apostle Paul is talking here about living a disciplined Christian lifestyle. Discipline can be things that are imposed on us by God for our edification, and it can be the measures we take for ourselves to keep from becoming morally and spiritually weak. He likens it to rehab for out of shape bodies or a kind of splint or brace to help the body heal, "so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but be healed."

We don't often think of our spiritual condition in terms of health, but it is as much a part of our well-being as our physical health. If we never exercise our bodies will deteriorate and become useless. If we eat things we know are unhealthy for us, or engage in harmful activities, or refuse medical advice, we will also destroy our body.

Fitness, eating healthy, and following the advice of doctors is common sense to us. We may not always do it, but at least we understand the wisdom of it. We will often consider doing what is recommended, because we value our bodies. But the same sorts of good practices exist for our spiritual health and we rarely take them into account.

There are things in life that are unhealthy for us that we need to avoid (which can vary from person to person, even as dietary restrictions do.) And there are things which we should supplement our daily activities with, like making time for prayer and contemplation and scripture reading, etc. There may be things we need to endure for a season that are meant to treat specific spiritual injuries or weaknesses, like suffering difficult circumstances without complaining or resisting.

Discipline is rarely fun. Almost nobody wants to get up early and do push-ups or pray in the middle of the night. Sometimes we are asked to give up things like certain foods or experiences, and it is not easy. But if you keep at it, you will see improvements and it will all be worth it.

Paul puts it in the context of the Christian walk. If your hands lack skill or strength, it's common sense that you need practice. If your legs are out of shape, it's common sense that you need exercise. If you find yourself tripping over things, you may also need to get things out of the way that you might trip over. If you don't do it, you could end up with a permanent injury or at least be less able to do the things you need to do.

And on the other hand, if you do have an injury, sometimes you don't have a lot of time to rehabilitate yourself before it becomes permanent. If you have a broken leg, for instance, and you don't splint it in place, it could grow back deformed. Instead, you want to take measures so that it is healed, not destroyed.

But these are hard words for us to accept in our modern mindset. We live in a society where people prefer to take drugs rather than change their lifestyle, or to change the definition of a sickness rather than treating it. We want to be comfortable and happy, and not be challenged or asked to change. "OK I am out of shape. That's just how I am." "I could stop eating unhealthy food, but I'd rather just take pills to keep it from killing me as quickly."

The same lax attitude towards discipline is true for our spiritual condition. We do what we do without thinking much about it. But should we be watching as much violence and sex and sensationalist news as we do, for instance? Should we be living in comfort while other people suffer? Do we do enough praying and fasting? Do we accept our place in life with gratitude? Are we willing to give God choice time slots that we might have preferred to use for sleep, working on our career, preparing meals, relaxing with a movie, and so on?

The Christian life is inseparable from enduring hardship and making difficult choices. We don't want to do it. Society tells us we don't have to do it. But Paul tells us it's the only way we will get better in this world and be ready for the next.

If you find yourself in difficult circumstances, ask God to help you see what you can learn from them and how they might help you to grow. And if you never find yourself in difficult circumstances, maybe it's time to ask God if that's really healthy for you. We don't have a lot of time left, and it's important we reach the end in as good a shape as we can.