Roger's Remarks
6. Stand with arms raised, making pressure on the scale lighter. (Waving them is optional but occasionally helps)
7. Don't eat or drink in the morning until AFTER you've weighed in, completely naked, of course.
8. Weigh yourself after a haircut; this is good for at least half a pound of hair (hopefully).
9. Exhale with all your might BEFORE stepping onto the scale (air has to weigh something, right?)
10. Start out with just one foot on the scale, then holding onto the towel rack in front of you, slowly edge your other foot on and slowly let off of the rack. Admittedly, this takes time, but it's worth it. You will weigh at least two pounds less than if you'd stepped on normally.
When I read these suggestions, I realized that I practice a few of them (the haircut is no longer as effective). In all seriousness, though, the scales know the truth, and I cannot really lie to them. In a similar way, God knows the truth in our lives, no matter how much we try to "lie" and rationalize our way out of disastrous circumstances.
One of my "life" Scriptures comes from Galatians 6:7-9: "Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest-time, if we do not give up."
When I am in the midst of struggles, this Scripture often comes to mind. I think, "What have I done to get myself in this mess?" I can usually come up with an answer. In addition, I remember the results of "sowing to the Spirit." The Fruit of the Spirit is the harvest I receive: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Back to the scales... When our weight is more than we like, we can usually come up with the reasons for the undesirable results. Better diet and exercise will make a difference, and I suspect other people will notice the results when we make healthy choices (if we do not give up). Likewise, people will notice when you are sharing the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control of the Holy Spirit in your life. However, you must make spiritually-healthy choices to reap the fruits.
This analogy is simple in concept, but difficult in practice. The truth is that we generally know in our hearts what the scales will tell us…and we also know in our hearts what Jesus would tell us about the consequences of our actions. But he also gives us eternal hope and words of comfort for every day, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Indeed, Jesus helps us lose the weight of our sin with spiritually-healthy choices, and he even helps us with our “diet”
I Thessalonians 5:28,
Pastor Roger