Dealing with deficiencies …

My most recent regular check-up with my doctor revealed a new diagnosis of a deficiency I didn’t realize I was experiencing.

Apparently, I “suffer” from “pernicious anemia.”

I actually laughed when she said it — “pernicious” sounds mean and aggressive!

So what is this pernicious anemia that now plagues me?

Pernicious anemia is an autoimmune condition that prevents a person’s body from absorbing vitamin B12. Initially, my doctor noted my B12 was low, so she prescribed B12 supplements. When that didn’t improve my deficiency, she ordered further testing which revealed the reason why I wasn’t properly absorbing B12 — the pernicious anemia. So now, for the next few months, we’re trying monthly B12 injections to see if that improves my condition.

The issue with this deficiency is that, left untreated, it can cause more serious issues down the road.

That’s the problem with any kind of deficiency — it means a person is lacking (deficient in) something they need, and without correcting the deficiency, things will get worse (perhaps seriously so).

The challenge of our human experience is that we’re consistently faced with a variety of deficiencies in life, and to remain healthy (in any area of life), we must consistently give attention to correcting deficiencies before they become harmful.

We can have deficiencies in all areas of life …

More Americans are deficient in their nutrition and physical fitness than they are adequate or healthy. Let’s face it, many people are terrible stewards of their bodies!

We can be deficient in the way we provide for our mental and emotional health, resulting in mental health issues from stress and anxiety, to depression and more serious mental health conditions.

We’re often deficient in our relationships — it’s common for people to fail to adequately nurture their relationships, resulting in more distant connections, increased conflict, and even failed relationships.

We can be deficient in skills, whether for our careers or in other areas of life, but those can be corrected by simply learning the needed skills.

In fact, many (most?) of life’s “pernicious” deficiencies can be corrected, sometimes easily. Even as easily as eating citrus, as seen in this story by pastor Mark Adams:

I want to tell you about a weird thing that used to happen a lot to sailors during the 1600s. Vessels were getting more sea worthy, and adventures were taking people farther and farther from home. You might be on the same ship with the same people, with the same person cooking for you for several weeks without touching ground anywhere.

And after several weeks on the ship, one or several of your people would start to develop a particular set of symptoms.

Constant hunger, even if they ate.

Gums would get sore, teeth would fall out.

Their eyes would kind of sink into their heads.

Their hair would start getting curly.

There would be red blotches under their skin.

Constant fatigue.

If you were going to figure out what was causing this condition, you would check: exposure to outsiders (nope), difference in the food (nope), unusual circumstances in life (nope). Where did the illness come from? All circumstances were the same!

The cure for this condition? Eating an orange.

This condition is called scurvy. It isn’t a disease, it is a deficiency of vitamin C. Eventually, ships started carrying more citrus fruits with them, and as long as people got some citrus fruit in their diet, they didn’t get scurvy.

Deficiencies of substances that you need can hurt you just as badly as outside diseases.

You can correct deficiencies in how you care for your body by providing it with the nutrition, exercise, and rest it needs for optimal health.

You can correct deficiencies in relationships by consistent and proper nurturing of them.

You can correct deficiencies in skills by learning new skills.

But there’s one overarching deficiency every human suffers from that no person can treat themselves: a deficiency of holiness due to sin.

This deficiency kills a person spiritually.

There’s a single fix.

It’s a treatment provided only by the Great Physician, the application of the blood of Jesus Christ as Savior so that our spiritual deficiency is corrected:

“Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins,” Ephesians 1:4-7.

“But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed,” Isaiah 53:5.

What deficiencies currently are present in your life? What are you doing to correct them so you can experience the healthy, whole life God intends for you?

Scotty