For example, in years past we looked down on consumers of caffeinated beverages but had little or nothing to say about sugar. Even today we pride ourselves on our vegetarianism––while we shovel down desserts as if we expect to soon be stranded on a desert island!

Further, we focus a lot more on diet than on exercise. And rest scarcely gets mention––even though rest is implicit in one of our most visible doctrines.

If I’m just an average couch potato, maybe I should start all over again at Square One. And let’s keep it really, really, simple. Like . . .

1. I’ll focus on improving my own lifestyle, not that of someone else.

2. I’ll resist comparing my achievements with those of others.

3. I’ll make my lifestyle changes in small steps––not body-shocking leaps and bounds.

4. I’ll address only those lifestyle changes I feel I can deal with right now.

5. I’ll seek long-term motivators rather than short-term. (For example, my goal shouldn’t be to lose 20 pounds. It should be to develop an ongoing health regimen that will make me feel better plus slowly get me to and keep me at a better weight for the rest of my life.)

6. I’ll move up to the next level when I’ve mastered this one.

7. I’ll keep it cheap––no money on exercise clothes, equipment, gym membership or fad diets.

Since seven is a perfect Adventist number, let’s stop and look at some specific possibilities.

When I go to the supermarket, mall, hospital––in fact, everywhere I go––I can search for a well-lit, safe parking space that’s as far from my destination as possible yet still in the parking lot. There probably won’t be any competition for the space!

Those few extra feet I’ll have to walk, when multiplied by the number of places I go in a day, will put me into a walking regimen without my even having to set aside a specific time to exercise. When I go inside a building of two or three stories, I can avoid the elevator and always take the stairs. That way I’ll never waste time trying to find close-to-the-store parking, nor will I ever have to wait for an elevator.

This type of lifestyle change isn’t complicated. It simply requires focus and determination. It soon becomes a habit. And habits are hard to break! They become second nature. But best of all, I’ll slowly but surely be getting healthier.

One more illustration: dessert, I don’t have to quit eating it altogether. I can simply choose lower-calorie options. Or I can split a dessert with one or two others. I can eat it slowly and deliberately, relishing each little bite. (Duration is a major factor in the sense of satisfaction we gain from food consumption.)

We can significantly improve our lifestyle in numerous areas while scarcely recognizing what we’re doing. And, best of all, we’ll feel better for it.

For more than four hours we ate and learned lessons from the history of the Hebrew people. As might be expected at a Passover Seder, most of the history surrounded the exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt.

A long list of things impressed me:

First, I was impressed by the hospitality shown to me not only by the host family but also by all the other guests who were there. I was made to feel more than welcome––without having such a fuss made over me that I felt self-conscious.

Second, I was struck by the easy, sudden and frequent transitions from the spiritual to the secular from solemnity to levity, from leader-controlled structure to crowd-controlled chaos. Without such an approach, four hours would be a rather long religious exercise. But with everyone having the chance to participate, either by invitation of the one leading out or by simply interjecting unbidden, the time passed with my scarcely even noting how many minutes and hours had ticked away. Good food never hurts, of course!

Third, Judaism has a rich heritage, and it seems just about every possible eventuality has been thought through and debated extensively. While the great Jewish thinkers may not have arrived at the same conclusions, they certainly have given a lot of thought to a lot of topics. The Seder provides opportunity to pass on those values and viewpoints to others, especially the children.

Fourth, it strikes me that Judaism places a lot of emphasis––appropriately, I’d say––on the enjoyment of life. Oh, I understand that Jewish comedians make a big deal about all the guilt that’s been heaped upon them, especially by their mothers. And, certainly, the history of the Jews has been one of unrelenting oppression, it seems. But slavery in Egypt, the Holocaust and a lot of other setbacks haven’t kept them from seeking joy for themselves and trying to leave the world a better place because they were here.

Of all the things I gained by my time spent in the Sherwin home, one thought from the Seder syllabus stuck with me more than any other: One of the greatest blessings the Hebrews gained by being delivered from physical bondage was that they once again were able to ask questions. They could analyze, think for themselves, discuss and even disagree. The by-product of physical deliverance from slavery was an even greater blessing of mental liberation––because slaves don’t have the privilege to ask questions of their taskmasters, let alone pursue the deep things of the mind.

Clearly, the exodus was the greatest divine intervention in what we Christians refer to as the Old Testament. The exodus symbolizes a great spiritual truth: Not only is God capable of delivering humans from physical bondage, but He likewise intervenes to deliver us from the bondage of sin.

It’s that intervention that we celebrate today from our Christian perspective.

Jim Coffin, Senior Pastor