Today’s article is another installment in Brother P.’s column, “Lessons From the Nursing Home.”

At the nursing home where I work, we had this man who had a condition where his liver was not working, and his abdomen would fill up with fluid, which would have to be drained. My job was to get the guy up and walking, but as he would get close to his “drainage date,” he would become more reluctant to ambulate.

His excuses were that his knees were bothering him and he had trouble breathing. Funny, he never noticed that the day after he had the fluid drained — once it was 26 pounds! — that he could walk farther, his knees felt better, and he could breathe.

I actually found myself jealous that he could have a needle drain 26 pounds off of him in no time. We started a “Biggest Loser” contest at work where employees are incentivized to lose weight. I endured a week of sheer misery and lost 5 pounds.

I notice that fat and sin are remarkably similar: Three letter words, both ugly, both cause self-consciousness, (it makes me feel uncomfortable when the preacher or trainer is talking about mine), and both require determination to get rid of.

Also, I notice that when I get rid of one measly pound of sin I can walk with the Lord further … and I breathe easier.

This article has undergone ministry review and approval.