Dear Convention members,
I greet you in the Precious Name of Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Savior. My primary objective as Surgeon General of South Carolina E&M Convention is to encourage you to be as healthy as you want to be, yet healthy enough to do God’s will. It’s hard to do His will when you’re sick. Most sicknesses can be avoided by stricter attention to nutrition and exercise. Stricter attention to nutrition and exercise requires discipline. Let’s get discipline in our lives.
Overweight? Get discipline. Got diabetes? Get discipline. High cholesterol? High blood pressure? Get discipline. Heart disease? Kidney disease? Get discipline. Got a sexually transmitted disease? Get discipline. Got an addiction? Get discipline. You don’t have any of these problems? Then, keep discipline and encourage those without it to get it.
There’s no need in kidding yourselves. If you don’t do what’s required to get these conditions under control, they probably will send you to an early grave, while making miserable the days you spend getting to that early grave. Lacking discipline robs you of the ability to do God’s work the way that He intended you to do it. You won’t have the energy nor the good health and stamina to do the things assigned to your hands.
Some of you might be battling mental and emotional stresses. Just know that they require other solutions in addition to discipline. These kinds of problems can impede you from doing God’s work, sometimes more so than physical ailments. Don’t be ashamed to seek professional counseling if you need it. Although you love your family to death, the majority of them are not trained, professional counselors. Bear this in mind when you decide to seek help, and decide to seek it sooner than later.
We all battle spiritual demons. They are like the venomous snakes the Israelites encountered in the desert (21stChapter of Numbers). Just as Moses lifted up the brass snake in the desert, so too must we lift the Son of man up (John 3:14). To be victorious over the death and destruction we encounter in our spiritual battles, all we have to do is lift Jesus up. He is the Spiritual weapon you need in that fight. As you go from day to day, lift Him up.
The “take home” message is to eat healthy, exercise regularly, pay attention to emotional and mental health, and lift Jesus up.
Please respond to me through the email provided with feedback on this and the upcoming correspondences from the desk of the Surgeon General. Also send your questions, concerns and topics you would like covered.
God’s best to you,
Rev. Monnie Singleton, M.D.