Health-care reform has been a star player in the news for the past few weeks. We need to change the health-care system. We need to find a solution. It is a desperate plea for a long-awaited solution to be found and embraced.
Like so many other elements in our society — the mentality of “fast and now” have become the priority. Legislation was recently passed with such speed that most of America voiced concern over the fact that not enough time had passed for anyone to actually read and comprehend, some 1,000 pages of information that will have a direct impact on the future of our country for years to come.
Now, the same approach has been taken with regard to the quick and immediate passage of a health-care bill — one that is so controversial that acute disagreement and strong debate from every direction has ensued.
Forget the debate. Forget getting it right. We need something now. That is the argument for process these days. Many are appalled. Others ignore it. It should not come as a surprise.
One of the real problems that fed this health-care crisis has gone largely ignored. The current process of reformation is a testimony to this problem. It is the aforementioned “fast and now.”
“Fast and now” is how we live life. Everything these days must find a way to be instant so that it may fit our lifestyle. We have fast food. I am not simply referring to the cacophony of roadside restaurants that beckon to us as we commute our way through life. I also refer to the inundation of processed, chemically treated and enhanced, scientifically altered and preserved substances that have been slanderously labeled “food.”
Fast applies to the growers, who enhance their crops, their pork, beef and chickens with massive doses of steroids and hormones in order to make them ready for market in record time. Then we ingest those hormones with mustard and hot sauce.
The average American diet has become so polluted that if we are serious about substance abuse, most of us should be scheduled for rehab. We knowingly consume substances that have a direct effect on our metabolism, introduce carcinogens into our system and expand our calorie count beyond all reason.
Consider the cycle. We eat dangerous food. It makes us fat, increases blood pressure and creates all sorts of problems. We go to the doctor, who gives us drugs to counteract the damages. We continue to consume. Those drugs have side effects that create more problems. The doctor then has to prescribe other drugs to counter their effects.
Perhaps health-care reform should step back and be re-formed. Perhaps we should reconsider the source of the problem rather than refining the current solution. If you adjusted your dietary habits now, you could add $100,000 to your retirement without making more money. You’d simply be saving that much on health-care costs during your retirement years.
Even our spiritual food has succumbed to the requirement of being “fast food.” We approach Sunday as: “Give it to me now. Give it to me quick. Get me out of the window. I have places to go and people to see.” Is it any wonder that our nation’s spiritual condition reflects it’s physical one?
We need to pay attention to our diet — physically and spiritually. If we do, we will eventually return to real health. The constant need for the next new solution will lose its prominence. God designed us to live a balanced life. We must consider His word — His bread of life. We must consider the temple He gave us — our bodies. If we learn to balance our life, we will no longer be slaves to “fast and now.” We will experience true health-care reform.
Byler is the senior pastor of The Amazing Life at Bethesda Church in Hinesville.
Like so many other elements in our society — the mentality of “fast and now” have become the priority. Legislation was recently passed with such speed that most of America voiced concern over the fact that not enough time had passed for anyone to actually read and comprehend, some 1,000 pages of information that will have a direct impact on the future of our country for years to come.
Now, the same approach has been taken with regard to the quick and immediate passage of a health-care bill — one that is so controversial that acute disagreement and strong debate from every direction has ensued.
Forget the debate. Forget getting it right. We need something now. That is the argument for process these days. Many are appalled. Others ignore it. It should not come as a surprise.
One of the real problems that fed this health-care crisis has gone largely ignored. The current process of reformation is a testimony to this problem. It is the aforementioned “fast and now.”
“Fast and now” is how we live life. Everything these days must find a way to be instant so that it may fit our lifestyle. We have fast food. I am not simply referring to the cacophony of roadside restaurants that beckon to us as we commute our way through life. I also refer to the inundation of processed, chemically treated and enhanced, scientifically altered and preserved substances that have been slanderously labeled “food.”
Fast applies to the growers, who enhance their crops, their pork, beef and chickens with massive doses of steroids and hormones in order to make them ready for market in record time. Then we ingest those hormones with mustard and hot sauce.
The average American diet has become so polluted that if we are serious about substance abuse, most of us should be scheduled for rehab. We knowingly consume substances that have a direct effect on our metabolism, introduce carcinogens into our system and expand our calorie count beyond all reason.
Consider the cycle. We eat dangerous food. It makes us fat, increases blood pressure and creates all sorts of problems. We go to the doctor, who gives us drugs to counteract the damages. We continue to consume. Those drugs have side effects that create more problems. The doctor then has to prescribe other drugs to counter their effects.
Perhaps health-care reform should step back and be re-formed. Perhaps we should reconsider the source of the problem rather than refining the current solution. If you adjusted your dietary habits now, you could add $100,000 to your retirement without making more money. You’d simply be saving that much on health-care costs during your retirement years.
Even our spiritual food has succumbed to the requirement of being “fast food.” We approach Sunday as: “Give it to me now. Give it to me quick. Get me out of the window. I have places to go and people to see.” Is it any wonder that our nation’s spiritual condition reflects it’s physical one?
We need to pay attention to our diet — physically and spiritually. If we do, we will eventually return to real health. The constant need for the next new solution will lose its prominence. God designed us to live a balanced life. We must consider His word — His bread of life. We must consider the temple He gave us — our bodies. If we learn to balance our life, we will no longer be slaves to “fast and now.” We will experience true health-care reform.
Byler is the senior pastor of The Amazing Life at Bethesda Church in Hinesville.