Why Idleness is a More Dangerous Social Mindset Today

Technology is good but it's been abused to promote a sedentary lifestyle. The TV remote, for one, gave way to the couch potato lifestyle which provided leeway to a host of deadly illnesses. Just recently, I saw overweight kids driving electric ride-on toy cars as they roamed the mall. What little exercise they'd get from walking was forfeited by misusing technology.

Photo above by elizabeth lies on Unsplash.

No wonder the spate of juvenile diabetes today. And the skyrocketing number of folks suffering from heart diseases, diabetes, kidney failure and fatty liver. It's unusual to find someone like me free from taking any maintenance meds because high sugar and BP counts are deemed "normal" today. You'd be the odd one if you have normal counts. And why this new unhealthy normal? Most experts blame idleness second to poor eating.

Deadly Convenience

Another is the electric stand-on scooter. Ever seen it? It helps avoid heavy traffic especially during rush hours while you simply stand on it relaxed, quickly taking you to places. You don't have to sweat it out, unlike pedalled bikes. But that's exactly the point. It keeps you from walking or exerting physically. You just stand there idle as you travel to and from places. It's convenient but it's deadly (not to mention being prone to accidents).

At least commuting makes you walk, run after vehicles, climb up foot bridges or climb up and down buses or jeepneys. That's better than nothing, though never enough. Health experts say we need intentional physical workouts, aside from healthy eating, and commuting isn't really the workout our bodies need. We need healthy breathing environs with workouts. 

Thus, even if you get the hustles of commuting to work, you need to set aside a workout sched regularly which allows you to, well, really workout. 

Why Idleness is More Dangerous Today

Compared to, say, some 60 years ago (the 1960s for instance), our planet is doubly or triply polluted today and foods have more chemicals. GMO products flood the market and everything is flavored with too much sugar. I mean everything. Well, except eggs (thank God) as long as they come from poultry farms free of GMO feeds. 

Because overstress is a pandemic today, more people seek relief from junk foods overladen with sugar, transfats and preservatives (not to mention aspartame and other artificial sweeteners in foods advertised as "zero-sugar")---and online food delivery gives us easier access to them. We get them anytime we want, fast! 

And then you just stay idle there, letting all that kill you softly.

When God Sees You Idle

God knows how bad idleness is, being the Author of our bodies and health. So he gives a stern warning about carelessness with health just to dissuade us from developing unhealthy habits. Remember, his judgments are designed to spare us from further troubles. 

It was good for me to be afflicted

so that I might learn your decrees.. [Psalm 119.71]

And here's the stern warning: our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. Anything we do to destroy God's temple (our physical bodies) will get an equivalent destruction. Simply put, if you live a destructive lifestyle, God will destroy you even more. 

If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.

[1 Corinthians 3]

If we keep on with idleness, we destroy our body, which is God's temple. In which case, God further destroys us. Imagine being so active in church and faithful with your tithes and offering and being prayerful and all that, but then you have an idle and unhealthy lifestyle. You eat all the bad foods and stay inactive all day, everyday. God will destroy you. And it's nonsense to claim a relationship with God when he's in fact destroying you. 😐

Avoid Sedentary

Here are things to watch out for:

1. Make sure you move around each hour, especially if your work confines you to your desk. I jog in place, do some squats and lift dumbbells now and then as I blog. Go out and walk around the block or simply walk around the house.
2. Aside from moving around each hour, schedule regular workouts.
3. Develop fondness for taking the stairs than escalators or elevators for the first 2 or 3 floor levels in malls.
4. Reduce the number of times you eat. Eat less, move more. I eat once or one and a half times a day. Intermittent fasting does a lot of health wonders, like burning fats and declogging your body systems.
5. Greatly minimize your sugar and carbs intake. Better if it's zero sugar and low carbs. 

Independent Thinking on Diets: Eating More to Lose Weight

I never thought it could be possible. I thought losing weight always meant eating less. But now I see lots of videos from fitness experts who say you got to eat more to lose weight. And it's probably what we should do during holidays, especially tonight during Media Noche or the Filipino tradition of having an eating spree during New Year's Eve.

Photo by Niklas Ohlrogge on Unsplash.

The trick is to eat more proteins and a lil bit of fat, say experts, and eating more this way makes you lose weight. They call it keto diet. But I have my own version. This is my treat for you this Season. A Nonjoiner weight loss diet (Nonjoiner keto?) that might help you lose weight as you eat more (disclaimer here--I said it "might" help you lose weight). And it's super simple. All you need to do is cut out on sugars. And I mean zero sugar! Then you can eat other foods all you want.

Just make sure you eat less times a day. No more snacks and try to gradually end up with eating 2 or once a day. Right now, I'm in the 2 and half times a day phase, which means eating less but nutritious breakfast, lunch with 1/8 cup of rice, and then a sandwich or fruit or nothing for dinner before 6 pm. And I always watch out to get rid of sugar.

I know. Zero sugar is hard during holidays which are lavished with sweet and delicious foods but there are more delicious alternatives than sweet foods. Ripe strawberries are a lot better than cakes, at least to me that is. And kiwi fruit. And cherries. And the white, soft, cottony guyabano fruit. 

Fruit cakes are also good. Yeah they have sugars but natural ones, mostly coming from the dried fruits. And in minimal amounts. A slice or two won't make you fat. Wash it down with black coffee. My favorite, actually. You should try it sometime instead of sugary cakes or white bread.

And you don't eat fruit cake everyday anyway during the holidays, at least not in Manila. So, you can cheat these holidays and not feel guilty about a few amounts of sugar. Burn them immediately with 4 sets of squats or 20-minute jogging in place. Or a simple fresh ginger ale will do it.

What I do is eat more proteins like eggs (I love fried eggs with my whole grain bread and coffee), soya milk or curd, tofu, Baguio or string beans and meats (chicken and fish especially). There are a lot of delicious holiday foods made of these ingredients, but to me nothing beats fried eggs. It's tops! Ham with real meat (not extenders) are also good.

But everything should be in moderation. Don't eat to much of anything.

Mozzarella and cottage cheeses are good, too, and I tend to eat generous amounts, especially when melted. I love mackerel and sardines in olive oil or cooked in coconut oil, with plenty of onions and garlic. Sinigang na maya-maya in miso with mustard leaves is often in our holiday menu--especially on Christmas or New Year's. Plenty of Omega-3 fatty acids there.

What I do is eat a lot with a variety. Meat, fruits, veggies, fish, nuts and wash them all down with water, coffee or fresh fruit juices. I try a little wine now and then--the resveratrol of red wine is good for you--but not to much because of the sugar. But wine is good when you eat meat, and it has lots of antioxidants.

But here's the one sure thing--I eat food with zero sugar as much as I can. I mean, there are times you can't avoid it, but when I can, sugar is definitely thrown out the window. I've developed a hatred for sugar and anything sweet. That's the secret. You can eat all you want as long as you avoid sugar. I can't say "carbs" because I eat sweet potatoes now and then (and it's carbs), and fibrous foods sometimes have carbs. But unhealthy carbs are definitely out, like rice.

Desserts? Well, to me it's fruits or nothing, especially a bit soury fruits like strawberries and kiwi fruit. But generally I eat any fruit because I love fruits. I don't like anything that looks and tastes like cake made of white flour and with sugar. 

Always remember, the bible says that our bodies individually are temples of the Holy Spirit. Anyone who destroys God's temple will be destroyed by God himself.

“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” [1 Corinthians 6.19-20] 

"If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person." [1 Corinthians 3.17]

Vaccine or Immunity Boost?

Ideally, we should get both the anti-Covid vaccine and immunity boost. But right now, I think the vaccines being peddled around are all manufactured prematurely. I've read lots of medical write-ups how vaccines take 3 to 6 years to develop before they could be safely administered to the public. I believe it pays to wait a little bit longer. Photo above by CDC on Unsplash.

Here's how Vaccines.Gov in the US puts it:

"Every licensed and recommended vaccine goes through years of safety testing...Before a vaccine is ever recommended for use, it’s tested in labs. This process can take several years. FDA uses the information from these tests to decide whether to test the vaccine with people."

The highlighted emphases are mine. I want to stress on how it takes years before a vaccine is safely made available in the market. Years of lab tests. As for me, I won't take any anti-Covid vaccine for now until they are proven safe. I'm not saying the vaccine is unnecessary. It is. But not this early. Anyway, I'm not a virus or pandemic or vaccine expert. So, don't take my word for it. Find out for yourself.

In the meantime, I believe what's needed is immune boost. Exercise daily, eat healthy, sleep and rest well and take natural health supplements, especially those that boost the immune system, like Vitamin C and zinc. Antioxidants also boost your body immunity so take health products rich in them, like MX3. A medical scientist I know recommends his Immuregen, which is an immune system supplement.

The idea is, beef up your immune system for now while the vaccines are still under observation. And most of all, connect with GOD closely to get under his protective covering each moment.

Here's What Would Really Make You Susceptible

You know what really, really weakens your immune system? OVERSTRESS. I highly suspect that even with the vaccine in you, you'd remain susceptible to Covid if you don't give up your lifestyle of overstressing yourself with everything you do in life. Some people are so addicted to getting overstressed that they couldn't imagine life without it. They desperately look for it.

This is why diseases of all types have popped up in this century. It's the century of busyness.

The good news is, God has long been providing a solution for it. REST. Jesus invited tired people to rest in him.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."

And it's quite clear from what he said that HE is that REST. It's not things about him but HE himself. So my wild idea is that Jesus is the best anti-Covid "vaccine," that there is, as it were. It means we avail of the rest that God offers us--and it's God's own rest.

Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. [Hebrews 4] 

Often, it's just a silly figment in our minds that what we do is so important. Even our ministry--I mean, we church ministers. We think that without our ministries God would be at a loss what to do. We think we have to be everywhere. Save yourself that trouble because GOD is everywhere. Only he can do that. And he has churches everywhere--and you are part of those churches, too, regardless of their affiliation--as long as they're HIS. Their victory is your victory, Their efforts are your efforts, too. Their reward is your reward. Because we're one body. 

So just be faithful where you are and with what you're given and relax. This is all designed for our REST in God.

And those not in ministry. You don't have to tire and stress yourself out. Overstress is the Mother of all diseases, did you know that? Adam and Eve sinned in Eden so among their punishments was to sweat out a living. To toil. But in Jesus, we rest. So give your life to Jesus and he will give you rest. Imagine resting and relaxing even as you do your job or beat deadlines. The idea is to turn sorrow into joy, mourning into dancing.

When we learn and adapt to the rested life of God in Christ, it's our most powerful "vaccine" against viruses and diseases. The promise is that if we rest or hide in God's Presence...

You will not fear... the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. 7 A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. [Psalm 91]

It will not come near you.

But this does not mean we forsake all the safety protocols. We observe social distancing, wear face masks and shields properly, and stay home as much as possible. Submitting to the governing authorities makes us humble, protects us from spiritual pride. Non-joiners have no problems with this because they easily understand the times, like the sons of Issachar [1 Chronicles 12.32]

Vaccine or immune boost? We need both. And spiritually, we get both in Jesus Christ.