reset 06/23/99
Each of us has that a little something physical about themselves they really would like to change. Sometimes it's only something external, such as hair color. Americans spend millions each year adding highlights, touching up the gray, or completely changing their hair color. According to a November, 1996 article in American Demographics, 26% of U.S. households purchased hair color products for women in 1995. In contrast, 3% of U.S. households purchased color treatment products for men in the same year. Are men buying hair color products for women?
Some of the differential can be contributed to a double standard concerning gray between the sexes; however, many men have a more harrowing problem. You've got to have something there in order to treat it! Pharmacia & Upjohn, Inc. reported $96 million in Rogaine sales in 1994 to the U.S. market. The product is now available as an over-the-counter product at full prescription strength. As of early 1997, Pharmacia & Upjohn claimed more than 5 million Rogaine customers. Bald may be beautiful, but a lot of people think the more, the merrier.
On a more permanent note, cosmetic surgery is a multi-billion dollar industry. Reconstructive surgery restores countless victims of accidents and cancer, but the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery logged more than a million elective surgery cases in 1994 -- the face lifts, the tummy tucks, the liposuctions, etc. At that time, the most popular procedures by far were liposuction, chemical peel, and hair transplants. The age group 35-50 accounted for only 34% of those procedures tracked. Breast augmentation topped the list for 19-34 year-olds, but this procedure had dropped from the charts for the over 35 crowd. Are mature women no longer preoccupied with breast size, or is vanity merely diverted elsewhere?
For those not inclined to go under the knife by choice, there is no shortage of cosmetic products claiming to erase or lessen facial wrinkles. According to the February, 1996 issue of Medical Sciences Bulletin, "Nearly 25 million women in the U.S. are between the ages of 30 and 50, and they spend more than $1 billion annually on cosmetics to reduce the ravages of time." In the same report, Johnson & Johnson's Ortho Pharmaceuticals projected $175 million in first year sales for their newest anti-wrinkle cream, Renova. Considering the price of some of these items, I have advised my wife to douse on a little Crisco shortening. So far, she's ignored my suggestion. I suppose, if heeded, she might have smooth skin but a problem with flies.
In this age of science and technology, countless 'defects' can be masked or completely repaired, and Americans are willing to exchange a big chunk of their paychecks for a little self-esteem boost. Still, others are humbled by more deep-rooted problems for which medical science offers no quick-fix cure at any price.
The most prolific of all the Biblical writers, Paul, agonized over some such ailment. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10,
To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.To the world, Paul's discourse is paradoxical. It runs counter to the world view, but isn't so the entire Christian life? We don't know for sure what Paul's "thorn in the flesh" was, but we do know that for Paul, it was something he must have confronted daily. Paul was tormented, not just annoyed or saddened, by his defect which God refused to mend or restore. Paul could heal others of their maladies through the power of the Holy Spirit, but he could do nothing about his own chronic condition.
Unlike many, however, Paul saw beyond his problem to recognize the hand of God in his impairment. Seeing beyond the situation -- isn't that the key to a victorious life no matter what the circumstances? Saul of Tarsus had met the risen Lord face-to-face, was given an evangelistic calling, was the instrument of God's blessing in a miraculous healing ministry, and was spared his own life on countless occasions. If anyone had reason to think himself special, it was Paul. Still, Paul's thorn in the flesh kept his feet on the ground. Paul retained a strong dose of humility because of the weakness so obvious and painful to him.
Do you have a thorn in the flesh -- something which keeps you humble and brings you closer to God in a spirit of weakness? I most certainly do, although my thorn in the flesh may go completely unnoticed by all but those with whom I live. I too have voiced Paul's prayer for restoration, but it hasn't come. I also admit that this chapter was not in my original outline. I though it too personal to share. On vacation with my family, amidst the biological clock confusion which accompanies a major time change, I felt convicted to write of my own thorn in the flesh, even as the unrelenting pain commenced.
When I succumbed to the Popeye manifesto, I sought help from a medical specialist. The Popeye manifesto is when you reach that point where you cry out, "I've had all I can stand, and me can'st stand no more." Men have especially high thresholds for admitting physical weakness. I could stand it no more and was ready to face a bad medical report just to substantiate that my problem was real and not going away on its own. I experienced tremendous headaches, neckaches, chills, and fever on a very frequent basis. A pattern had developed where I knew whether I was going to be sick each day by 8:00 a.m. My doctor scheduled a battery of tests. Life threatening causes were ruled out, but a physiological condition was noted. In his opinion, my condition was controllable through a combination of diet and lifestyle change.
The doctor was right, but it took me nearly two years to learn how to cope with my condition. After extended self-experimentation, I have declared victory, but the battle is still a daily one. The best treatment for my condition is a fixed daily schedule -- a fixed schedule and a gallon of water a day. I drink a megasize glass of water at breakfast before my 45 minute commute to work and another at lunch. Somedays that drive is a formidable challenge to bladder control. Some co-workers may think I'm eager to get to work as I enter the building with a long stride and a serious face, but if they could keep pace, they'd find that I make a beeline for the nearest men's room. After taking care of business, they'd find a different me on the way to my office door -- the serious face given way to a smile and the quickened pace exchanged for a casual gait.
Chronic health problems are no fun, and they demand change. My situation also led me to incorporate a quiet time permanently into my schedule. Rarely will I sleep in. I can't afford it. I rise early in the morning and get with God and my Bible before greeting other members of God's creation. I can relate to Paul's declaration, because when I am weak physically, I am strengthened emotionally and spiritually. I have a thorn in my side, and I can see and relate to God more clearly because of it. Perhaps someday I will be healed. Perhaps I will not. It is not a question of faith, because my God is a god of miracles. Regardless of the outcome, count it all joy.
What is keeping you from fellowship with God? Do you need a spiritual wake-up call? Why must we wait to return to God in times of crisis? Why does a physical crisis get our attention more easily than a spiritual crisis? People are scared to death of a six-letter word, CANCER, because it reminds us of our mortality and the possibility of a painful death. Why are people not scared of a four-letter word, HELL?
Fellow Christian experiencing physical problems, the Lord can heal you, but should he? Perhaps you, like me, can find strength through your weakness. Would your daily walk be stronger or more prone to postponement if you experienced total restoration of your physical impairment?
Non-Christian, the same God that parted the Red Sea performs miracles today. Why should God perform a miracle for you? Jesus had a healing ministry. In Matthew 11:20 we find, "Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent." Why should Jesus perform a miracle for you? Rather, repent, seal your eternal destiny, then bring your petition to God.
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reset 06/23/99