Two Trees

I know, I know. I'm a hypochondriac.

Reading books on diseases had been my favorite past time as a kid that I have nightmares in my sleep of dying from plagues I've read when awake. I used to resolve not to read any of those kind of books anymore, but at the advent of the Internet, I find it hard to resist the temptation to read, and read even more.

Meanwhile, at the slightest pain here, a rash there and a fever, my mind would wander. Though what I'm feeling is far from serious, I'd most likely fulfill my own prophecies of doom by succeeding at one thing - scaring myself to death.

Since I can't stop the urge to keep myself informed, I resolved to focus more on prevention rather than on the ugly part. So, I would inundate myself with health tips and find myself desperately trying to follow every single one of them.

Problem is, I can only follow up to a point. And if ever I could obey everything, most likely, I still won't get the results I really wanted. Hence, the frustration.

Thousands of years have come and gone when the first humans have eaten of the fruit from the forbidden tree, and today, I still find myself doing exactly just the same thing- taking a heavy dose of the pills of knowledge thinking that it would somehow lead me to one thing I so earnestly seek -life.

In this age of information, may we all realize that knowledge of even the good is not enough to give us the lives we so desperately seek. Those 5-step-plan-to-a-better-marriage, or that 3-easy-tips-to-a-younger-you or this book on achieving success or that article on ending an affair won't cut it through when one is face to face with real adversity.

So I say enough eating from that tree. Both it's good and bad fruits all lead to one thing anyways - death.

Now, what about that Other Tree?

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Numbers

I went home today pretty happy that the results of my Annual Physical Exam are normal.

BUN, Creatinine, Total Cholesterol, Uric Acid, Hemoglobin, Hemoticrit and WBC Count all within the normal ranges. My HDL is high and my LDL is low which, by the way, I was told was a good thing.

While I was looking at the pieces of paper handed to me containing the results, I can't help but wonder, "So, is this all there is?"

I mean, is life simply about striking a balance between all these numbers? That's it?

Oftentimes, Christians do the same thing - keep numbers. From the seemingly trivial - number of verses memorized or chapters read every night to the big ones like percentage given as tithes or hours spent in prayer, or number of converts in a religious meeting.

It's funny but really, we have got to stop and ask ourselves the question. And hopefully realize together, that life is not merely about counting as much as living.

Jim Elliot had it nailed when he - in one of his journals in college - asked God not for a LONG life, but a FULL one. I believe we should ask just the same.

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