AS we approach the end of the love month of February, let me share an inspiring story about the heart. My friend Dan recently got out of the hospital after his heart literally stopped beating for about 21 minutes. Living with the typical challenges of high sugar and cholesterol, Dan was simply keeping his health condition in check by taking the usual maintenance medicine. But, as fate would have it, he suffered a severe heart attack perhaps due to atherosclerosis, which is the hardening of the arteries due to accumulated cholesterol plaques and scarring in the artery walls. There were so many blockages in all of his arteries, which restricted the essential blood circulation. I think everyone would agree that while those with kidney or liver failures or those in a state of coma or brain-dead can still be alive, no one can live without any heartbeat.
Cardiologists and dieticians would prescribe many ways to prevent heart ailments. For instance, eating less fried food and sugary or sweetened juices while eating more vegetables, healthy nuts and fish rich in omega-3 will lower the risk of heart diseases. Of course, strength conditioning of our hearts would include cardiovascular exercises, not necessarily the intense kind. In my case, I either take an early-morning walk with my dog, a mid-afternoon walk up and down the office stairs with my staff or an evening yoga class or 30-minute swim before I go to bed.
But the story of Dan is not about the diseases that can
affect the physical heart. The story of Dan and his sister Maridel is more
about the
ailments of the spiritual heart, which can also harden and suffer from an
“attack.” In the Bible, Proverbs 4:23
tells us, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows
from it.” The daily challenge therefore is how to keep our hearts trained to be
fit and healthy to thwart any kind of attack—both physical and spiritual.
Hardening of the spiritual heart occurs when believers refuse to do good things
in apparent refusal to acknowledge His Word. A famous pastor once said, “If
your heart is full of good things, your life will show that goodness; if your
heart is full of sinful thoughts, your life will show them.”
While Dan recently suffered an attack against his physical heart, his sister Maridel has been constantly repelling spiritual attacks against her heart. Born and raised as a Catholic, Maridel eventually ventured into other religious groups and church communities, such as Jehovah’s Witness, born-again Christian and Baptist.
As she went to school in Manila but practically worked all her life in Japan, the many adversities in her family and professional life would have caused her to rebel against her faith. In particular, her older sibling Dan was giving her a hard time with her love relationships, owing to the fact that she did not complete her college education and that she had a broken marriage. A few months before Dan’s heart attack, the relationship between Dan and Maridel was as sour as the Japanese fruit umeboshi, the most sour fruit from the plum or apricot family.
However, Maridel remained faithful. Her heart was guarded as she kept reading His word, listened to devotional preaching and was surrounded by supportive friends who prayed with her. She fervently prayed for Dan to recover and have a “second” life as doctors and nurses have given up on Dan. When he somehow recovered, these same doctors and nurses endearingly called Dan the “Miracle Boy,” since he practically escaped death. As for Maridel, she counterintuitively shouldered all of Dan’s medical expenses, took him in as her own personal patient at home and continued to pray for Dan’s spiritual health.
Priests and pastors would prescribe many ways to keep our
spiritual heart fit. For instance, avoiding negative “food” such as sinful
friends and worldly movies, books and music while reading the Bible and praying
regularly will increase our immunity against attacks, better known as
temptations. Whatever we put into our minds dictates the state of our heart’s
spiritual health. In the Bible, Philippians 4:8 tells us, “Finally,
brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right,
whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is
excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”
It takes a strong personal commitment and discipline to follow the prescription of our medical and spiritual advisers. I believe that all of us, in our own sphere of influence, can encourage each other to stick with these life-changing prescriptions. Similar to gym buddies who motivate each other to stay fit through regular exercise and diet, all of us can be buddies to influence those around us to keep our hearts fit and able to ward off all kinds of temptations through regular prayer and worship. Just like any other muscle, the heart can be trained to be fit to do all things. All throughout their lives, both Dan and Maridel may be struggling to condition their hearts. Given this “twice in a lifetime” opportunity to enjoy this sibling relationship, I am very optimistic that both of them will exert their best efforts to be physically and spiritually fit to withstand the temptations of unhealthy things.
For questions and comments, please e-mail me at sbmison@gmail.com.