Three Killer Diseases of Mankind

Many of us have these three diseases attacking and killing us right now. All of them are innocuous to antibiotics or surgeries. They are the number one killers of mankind. They sadly are contagious and only serve to kill you, kill your spirit for making a difference, and kill your appetite for living. The symptoms are nearly undetectable from the inside out and since so many others are inflicted, the killer trio hides among us. You can live an entire and long life and be struck with their consequences throughout it.

You can ultimately die and never have lived. Your life will not be a full life or a life worthwhile and impactful to the world around you. You can see rare examples of people that have beaten these diseases. Yes, they are beatable, but you must be willing to fight that fight for life. The people who have overcome these three killer diseases accomplish what so many see as impossible and nearly magical. Before a cure can be dispensed, you must first confront the signs of infection.

The three diseases are “Contentment”, “Indifference”, and “Super Heroism”. Contentment is an invisible killer. At the age of 43 I wasstruck by a massive heart attack and open heart surgery. My life to that point was infected by contentment. I did not eat right, but I was okay with it. I didn’t eat regularly, but was almost always full. I didn’t work out, but didn’t look unhealthy either. I didn’t spend time reading, but could sound intelligent about most subjects. I didn’t passionately love the blessings around me, and figured they were somehow owed to me. I didn’t panic when four years ago I had two TIA’s. As a matter of fact, once I felt better, I returned to my content and unhealthy lifestyle. I also didn’t panic when the doctors told me my cholesterol was near 400, or my blood pressure was dangerously high at 160/100. Sadly, I didn’t dramatically change my diet, fitness, or lifestyle. See, I was very content, because I was happy. Can happy be unhealthy? Can happy also mean not sad? Of course both are true. It is less the first answer than the second that makes this disease so invisible. Being happy or more accurately not sad is what so many of us become content with. This disease of contentment literally zaps our spirit for winning in life. It renders us unfit to win.

The second disease is Indifference. It is the disease that makes you useless to the game of life. Of course you are out there on the field of life, but you are not a game-changer. So many of us have long given in to the realization that we won’t be President, wealthy, a fireman, doctor, policeman, astronaut, nurse, a philanthropist, or so many of the other great ambitions we all had so many long years ago. We have acquiesced and as a result become indifferent. This disease gains momentum throughout our lives. Unlike contentment that is invisible, we are aware of our indifference. We even rationalize our indifference by comparing it to others indifference. You speak with one person that says “I don’t give to the people on the street corners because they will only go buy drugs or alcohol with the money” and you adopt a lesser giving spirit. We become numbed by those already more deteriorated by indifference. I could go on to provide example after example of this truth; poverty in America, hunger in America, crime in America, elderly in America, and so on. Every one of us knows that this is a killer disease for our country, world and even ourselves. Understandably, there are people who have been hurt by their caring and giving, and now are reserved or negative. Some are totally persuaded that indifference is a righteous camouflage for a lack of caring all together. This disease breaks us of who we were. We all cared at some point and could care again. This disease makes us insignificant.

The third disease is the nail in the coffin. Super heroism is what removes you from the game entirely. Although I gave up on becoming President or an astronaut, for some crazy and impractical reason I held on to the belief I was a super hero. And, not just an average super hero, I was an amalgamation of all of them. Of course I have never believed I could climb the side of a building or fly or stop a bullet or throw fireballs. Instead and worse, is that I have always felt I could survive what others could not. I felt on November 5 th, 2008 that if I ever had a heart attack I would know it, overcome it, conquer it, and send it back to its place in retreat. I felt that I could keep walking even when I was out of breath. I felt like I would not fear anything when my arms, chest, neck, and jaw clinched, ached, and squeezed me in horror. I felt like I was impervious to such things. You are not a super hero. You will not become bullet-proof all the sudden. You will not be able to withstand the amazing and debilitating when it strikes you. You are flesh. You are human. You are fragile.

Now that you have a better understanding of these three killer diseases and can see how they work so skillfully together to end our lives even while we continue to live, let’s dispense the cure. First, give your life to the Lord. He has plans for you. Plans for you to follow, not decide on your own. He will take you through what is required to make you who you will need to be at some moment in life. He will not allow you to be, until you are.

Second, listen and learn what it is He wants you to do with your life. Don’t infect it with your own conditions. Don’t water it down because you feel weak or incapable enough to do what he is asking you to accomplish. Don’t miss it because you were not paying attention. Don’t doubt it because it seems crazy, or impossible, or simply not who you are.

Thirdly, act on it. He will provide. He will oversee also. He will know when, how, what, who, where. You must act though. Don’t wait for a road untraveled to be paved. Don’t wait for the sunnier day to start, or a more comfortable place to be in life before you start, or anything else. It is not your job to wait. It is your job to act. By the way, God is not done building who you are simply because you are doing His work. Don’t think that your submission equals peace. Don’t think that you won’t be sharpened or cured in the fire. Don’t think you have arrived, when you have only begun.

Lastly, stay focused, grateful, and aware. He can always do more with the willing.

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