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When I was Superman, I often jumped from tall buildings with a single bound, flew high above the towers of a great metropolis and routinely deflected bullets from my massive chest. Then Mom would call me home for supper and I would return to being an eight year old.
The point of the above illustration is simply this: We are what God made us to be, not what we imagine ourselves to be. He has given us physical limitations; a genetic code that determines everything from our height, to our strength and even our IQ. They are physical fixtures. Jesus said as much in the Sermon on the Mount. “Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?”
The answer? None of us.
But within the parameters of our physical fixtures, God has provided us a measure of flexibility. I call it “the accountability zone.” It is where we are confronted with our desires, appetites and hungers. It is an area of our lives for which we, and we alone, are responsible. Though we will never have an IQ of 1,000, we still can learn more than we know at the present. We may not have the ability to grow additional strands of hair, but we can cut and groom that which we have. And though we may never leap effortlessly from skyscrapers (actually, it was a picnic table), we can hit the treadmill.
In my case, that realization came on January 11th, 2004. My good friend, Rick, was lying in a hospital bed. He was the victim of a stroke. The interesting thing about Rick is we are the same age. What’s more, we have similar physical characteristics. We look so much alike that people often confuse us, one for the other. Chatting with my friend from his bedside gave me a unique perspective on life: It was like I was looking at myself.
The stroke had left him partially paralyzed. I could hardly understand his words. But what I did recognize was this phrase, “Hey, partner. Looks like you put on some pounds, eh?”
Some pounds? Later that night I tipped the scales at 265.
Rick has fully recovered. And I’ve lost 70 pounds.
How did I do it? I applied Proverbs 23:7 which says I am the product of my thoughts. That’s not to say that I can transform myself into a super hero of comic book proportions, add to my stature or grow new hair. But there are things within my accountability zone that I can change. It begins by focusing one’s thoughts, being responsible for one’s own desires; claiming the promise that God will give us the desires of our hearts. New desires; new hungers.
You, too, can do it! Just make up your mind.
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