“I’ve come up with a new weight loss medication!” I said proudly. “It has low side effects, it’s generic, and
it is really cheap.”
“Really?” The lady I
was talking to didn’t seem convinced that a simple family doctor in Brookneal, Virginia
could have solved such a thorny problem.
“Absolutely,” I told her.
“You’ll be shocked when I tell you what it is, but maybe I should just
keep the secret to myself.”
“What is it?” She
asked.
“Tylenol,” I said. “You
know how cheap it is and few people have side effects with it. What could be better?”
The lady made a funny face.
“That doesn’t make any sense,” she told me. “I know lots of people who take lots of Tylenol and
there aren’t any of them that are skinny.”
“They should be,” I said.
“I’m just going based on a medical law I heard recently. It goes something like this: “No pain, no gain.” So, assuming that is true, if we simply
eliminate pain, folks should at a minimum maintain weight, but I’m guessing with
aggressive treatment, they will start to lose weight.”
Of course, this is pure silliness. Tylenol doesn’t help people lose weight, nor
would any other pain medication. I’m not
even sure how true the statement “No pain, no gain,” is.
I think most people use this in terms of things like
exercise or rehab after an injury, indicating that you have to be willing to
suffer some in order to gain endurance and function back. In that sense, it is true that we need to
push ourselves farther than we would normally want to.
James 1:2-4 says, “My brethren, count it all joy when you
fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.
But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete,
lacking nothing.”
I don’t think it is human to enjoy trials of any kind nor do
I think that God sends suffering on people.
I do believe that God is able to use all of the circumstances in our
lives to build our characters, strengthen our faith, and even to give us
patience. As much as we hate the pain,
we can have joy knowing that God is able to bring something good from trials.
I’m like anyone else and don’t pursue suffering. It is still a blessing for me when I can
understand that my Heavenly Father has the right solution for every
situation. His solutions are never as
silly as trying to produce weight loss with Tylenol.