“Truth springs from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven.”
—Psalm 85:11 NLT
Have you ever learned of a fairly pricey new product or service from a friend, or maybe it was an ad on television, radio or a social media platform – a podcast, YouTube etc., and thought to yourself “oh I want that!” You make the decision that this is exactly what you want to spend your hard-earned dollars on, and you go out and buy it. Only to realize after you have received it that it was not at all what you were expecting? Or it didn’t fulfill your need at all like you thought it would? You probably felt a bit misled. Maybe not intentionally by your friend, but perhaps by the “wizard behind the curtain” – the one who filled your head with all kinds of deceptive promises. You probably even feel a bit angry because you had been had, you had been duped. How frustrating!
Or maybe because you spent your hard-earned dollars on something and it wasn’t what you thought, but because you did, you start utilizing it for what it does do, even if it isn’t what you thought it was. You may as well make the best of it and at least receive your monies worth – especially if you couldn’t return it for a refund. But eventually, the novelty wears off and you are miserable.
How about accepting a job position thinking it was one thing, when in reality, once you’ve quit your previous job, maybe even moved to a new town away from everyone you knew to accept this new position, you realize that it wasn’t at all what you had bargained for. This happened to me many years ago. I was duped. I was leaning my ladder against a wall of promise that was clearly not ever going to be fulfilled. I was fooled by the empty promises of the owner; by the twisted semantics, leading me to believe one thing, when in fact the opposite was the truth.
Deception can come through semantics. And when these deceptive semantics are used against us under the guise of promises for health, when in fact all we are receiving is disease management, they can truly send us to an early grave if we are not aware of them.
The Truth About What Wellness is NOT
Over the past 20 years or so when I have been invited to speak or teach about wholistic health and wellness, I have tried skipping over the information about misleading semantics simply for the sake of time that I have usually been given to present. But I found that it would be like asking the Tin Man to love or have compassion without a heart. These deceptive semantics are at the root of people misunderstanding what wholistic health and wellness truly is and therefore setting themselves up for failure when they try to pursue the truth about real health.
I have also learned that this is what trips people up far too often when they so desire health but are actually leaning their ladder of truth and the desire for health against the disease management wall.
Here are 3 deceptions that I will cover over the coming weeks:
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Weight Loss is NOT about a magic diet
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Wellness is NOT achieved through a magic pill
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Wellness is NOT too expensive
In Summary
The bottom line is this: What does the Bible say about not being deceived? Here is what Colossians 2:8 says:
“See to it that there is no one who takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception in accordance with human tradition, in accordance with the elementary principles of the world, rather than in accordance with Christ.”
In addition, wisdom and discernment are also vital gifts from God that should be exercised when making health care decisions. I love what the book of James in the Bible says about wisdom:
“If any of you lacks wisdom [to guide him through a decision or circumstance], he is to ask of [our benevolent] God, who gives to everyone generously and without rebuke or blame, and it will be given to him.” (James 1:5)
And Romans 12:2 regarding discernment says:
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
In closing, one of the foundational principles of wholistic health is to have clarity and a true understanding of what wellness is NOT and what wellness IS – semantics truly are vital to your health. And knowing how to discern these truths through wisdom from God and His Word is the place to start.
Did You Miss These Most Recent Blog Posts?
“Should Christians Take Care of Their Health?”
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“It’s a New Season, It’s a New Day!”
I give a whole presentation to show you how you can restore your body back to good health using natural approaches, wholistically.
go to : https://jackiemckool.com/schedule-jackie/
Want to Learn More About the Semantics that Can Deceive?
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