This quote comes from one of my favorite podcasts, the Peter Attia Drive, a podcast focused on health science and longevity.
In this episode, they were discussing accumulated results regarding insulin and insulin resistance.
Thankfully, I’m not insulin resistant, but I am working on improving my metabolic health and weight. As I’m now in my second month of using a continuous glucose monitor, and having conducted some self-experiments, I can see the effects of the above quote in my own body.
For example: I participated in a coke challenge, where we had a coke after fasting compared to a coke after fasting followed by walking for half an hour or more. Walking improved my glucose response by 5 points on a 10-point scale (from a 2 to a 7). Here’s another way they say it in the podcast episode notes:
I’m continuing to work with a trainer a couple times a week, doing a fun activity at least once a week, and am moving (walking, hiking, biking, etc.) almost every day. I particularly get moving after having a meal that would be a bit higher in carbs. It makes a significant difference on my results.
To explain “to your tolerance”: we are all different in our hormonal setup (insulin, cortisol) as well as our muscle mass/distribution, both of which are major deciders of how much our body will burn glucose (and use glycogen) versus store it as fat (as triglycerides in adipose tissue).
So their point there is that if we are getting good exercise, good muscle but not getting good metabolic results, then we also can limit simple carbs (especially fructose, which has particular effects beyond glucose) to get to where we want to be.
This is really promising for preventing or reversing the issues listed, such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and other metabolic disorders.
Today we’ve got another 3-part quote. All of these arrived in my Readwise review today, and they tell a story.
The third quote here is an important follow-up to the first two.
The reign of Christ does not mean that Christians take Caesar's place in ruling over others. Rather, we are called to embody another way of living together: bound together with love & service rather than power & violence.
This is great advice for many behavior changes, not just procrastination. (Make the healthy food visible, put away distractions, place practice music sheets out, etc.)
Here’s where I’d take a little issue, however:
Environment and habit change ishow we change ourselves.
Willpower is limited, situational, and varying. The way we make lasting change is to exercise willpower when it is strong in order to set ourselves up for success when our willpower is diminished.
When we do that, we keep taking actions we planned to take, building up habits and reinforcing our sense of identity as someone who is the kind of person we’d hoped to be. This is how change endures.
It’s there something you can change in your environment this week?
I'm part of a tradition (Anabaptism) that has a long history of pacifism and has collected the stories of how they were murdered due to their faith (it's a giant book and not a great read, but you can still find copies).
Also, I live a pretty comfortable life. I grew up in a wealthy country, didn't experience serious health conditions, and have not had to worry about if I would be able to find my next meal. I had access to good education. I haven't been harassed, harmed, or neglected due to the color of my skin. And most importantly for this topic, I grew up in Christendom, a part of the world where Christian belief has been a dominant force in public opinion and even in governance.
It's in these areas of Christendom where I am surprised (and frankly, embarrassed) when Christians talk about being "persecuted". Christians in Christendom often read Bible stories and see themselves in the narratives as the Israelites enslaved in Egypt, or the early Christians under Rome. But what we must realize is we are more likely to be on the side of Pharaoh, Herod, or Caesar.
When you dig into it what "persecution" these Christendom-Christians are facing, it usually ends up being one of two things:
Social consequences for conservative ideology and/or for bigotry
An underlying fear that we are moving into a post-Christendom world
Neither of these are persecution. Let's talk about them in order.
Social Consequences
To understand this one, we need to step back a bit.
One of the problems with Christendom is that Christianity syncretizes with the government, with the dominant political beliefs, the dominant economic order, and/or with nationalism. Christians begin to conflate being part of a party, ideology, or nation with being a Christian. We can end up working as hard (or harder) for those beliefs than we do trying to follow the Lamb.
Specifically, far too many Christians in Christendom have an unhealthy (and frankly, heretical) confusion of social conservatism and Christianity. They attempt to wield the power & violence of the state to control non-Christians' personal beliefs and actions, most egregiously and notably in issues of sexuality. This isn't the gospel, and it's not behaving like the one they proclaim to follow (who specifically refused power-over temptations when Satan put them to him!). And when people react to this controlling (and often bigoted) behavior with condemnation, social sanctions, or defensive legislation, it's not "persecuting" the Christian. The Christian was the aggressor, here.
Post-Christendom
It's true, many parts of the world are on the move from Christendom to post-Christendom. (Note: this is partly due to Christians acting as pretty terrible representatives of the good news, as I alluded to earlier...but that's a whole other post). In Post-Christendom, Christianity has a waning influence on public opinion and governance, as a plurality of voices emerges or a new perspective becomes most common.
This is unsettling for Christians who enjoyed (whether they realized it or not) being in the seats of prestige and power. But as the saying goes, "When You're Accustomed to Privilege, Equality Feels Like Oppression" In other words, losing privilege is not the same thing as being persecuted.
Ok, But What About Real Persecution?
If a Christian should suffer real persecution, the gospels and epistles offer us instructions and hope:
Mat 5:44 But I say to you, love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you
Rom 12:14 Bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse.
1Co 4:12 When we are verbally abused, we respond with a blessing, when persecuted, we endure
Heb 10:33 At times you were publicly exposed to abuse and afflictions, and at other times you came to share with others who were treated in that way.
2Co 4:9 we are persecuted, but not abandoned; we are knocked down, but not destroyed
Gal 1:23 They were only hearing, “The one who once persecuted us is now proclaiming the good news of the faith he once tried to destroy.”
...and many more
Jesus and early followers of the Way were very clear about not returning evil for evil. In fact, the church has often grown the most in places and times of persecution!
While we don't desire persecution, the duty of a Christian is to follow the third way when encountering it, to bear witness to shared humanity, to goodness, and to a God who loves all people.
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