I have written before that I am on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (see http://breakingtheviciouscycle.info). The principle behind it is that harmful bacteria proliferate in the gut. In order to get well, you have to starve the bad bacteria by cutting out certain carbohydrates and by giving your body plenty of good bacteria in the form of yogurt.
This is a principle for healing in every area of our lives. Do you want to lose weight? You can't just cut out the unhealthy, too big portions. You have to add in nutritious foods in normal portions. You can't break an addiction to alcohol by avoiding bars and ending friendships with drinkers, unless you also add in healthy habits like going to AA and making friends who are supportive of your dry lifestyle.
At some level, I believe we all know it isn't just out with the old or in with the new. It's both! But cutting off and growing are both parts of life that consume enormous energy and attention and sometimes pain, so we try to get by with just doing one. Many people with digestive disorders would like to get well by just eating yogurt or acidophilus supplements. Many people who want to lose weight hope they can just start exercising and keep their old eating habits. But changing halfway never results in full deliverance.
I can think of old habits I am trying to eliminate without replacing them with new ones. I can also think of new habits I am trying to add without eliminating the old. Can you?
There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven...a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build..." Ecclesiastes 3:1-3
