Don't Eat the Cessna
Michel Lotito had an unusual appetite, diagnosed from an early age with Pica, a rare phsycological disorder, causing him to "compulsively swallow non-food items," everything from metal and wood to plastics and rubber.
Over the course of his life it has been reported that he consumed 11 bicycles, 7 shopping carts, 1 steel safe, 1 cash register, 1 washing machine, 1 television, and hundreds of meters of steel chains, turning his penchant for curious consumption into a lucrative entertainment career.
Lotito admitted that eating his first bicycle was not easy. "I started with the metal parts, and only after that came the rubber tires," Lotito recalled. "The tires were really difficult to eat. Metal has no taste, but rubber is very unpleasant."
However, these meals were nothing compared to his largest meal—a Cessna airplane. Yes, Lotito, over the span of a few years, is said to have consumed an entire airplane made of tons of aluminum, steel, and rubber.
Turns out, the French entertainer had a superhuman digestive system which was incredibly resilient enough to endure consuming just about anything.
After examining his stomach, he was told by doctors he was capable of consuming 2 lbs (907 grams) of metal per day due to his extra thick stomach lining and intestines.
Lotito may have been able to eat practically anything, but he still had to take care of himself in the process. Therefore, he had quite a useful technique to minimise any internal damage.
In 1980, a newspaper reported: 'Lotito must be very careful. He lubricates his system with mineral oil, for one thing. He also stretches the meal over several days. He chops all the metal into pellets, and washes them down with copious amounts of drinking water.'
Lotito's unusual appetite, though his body was uniquely suited to "endure" it, was neither healthy nor genuinely gratifying. Nothing in those nuts and bolts and tires could actually nourish or satisfy his body's physical needs. And no amount of feeding the desires of his mental disorder could satisfy the emptiness of his spirit. Like Lotito, we are self-deceived if we think otherwise.
The Bible teaches about the dangers of excessive or unnatural desires. Human cravings, when not aligned with God's will, can lead to emptiness, dissatisfaction, or even destruction. Just as eating metal is harmful to the body, indulging in desires outside of God's design are damaging to the soul.
“Each one is tempted when, by this own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then after desire has conceived it gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is full grown, gives birth to death" (James 1:14-15).
"And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind" (Ephesians 2:1-3, ESV).
"But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16, ESV).
Bringing Down the Mighty Sequoia
If there was ever a David and Goliath battle, this is it. A pinhead-sized beetle, no more than a couple of millimetres long, versus a giant sequoia tree, taller than a football field and older than the Bible. And the tiny beetle, well, swarming armies of beetles, are winning. — Mark Saunokonoko, Senior Journalist, reporting for 9News.
And now, on the Western slopes of the Rocky Mountains, a giant Sequoia — one of many — lies rotting.
It was a growing sapling when Christ walked the shores of Galilee. When Columbus discovered America, it was reaching maturity, and it looked down from lofty heights during the American Civil War. It seemed destined to live many centuries more.
Then, a few years ago, a tiny beetle started to burrow into its bark and lay eggs that would produce other beetles. It seemed like an unequal battle at first, but the few beetles multiplied into hundreds, then into thousands, and finally into millions. First they attacked the bark, then they worked deeper into the trunk, and finally, they were eating the very heart and strength of that magnificent forest giant.
Then one day, after withstanding the elements for centuries, the rain came, the winds blew, the lightning flashed, and the giant tree fell. Not because of the elements, but because of the weakening effects of those tiny beetles. — Author Unknown
"The beetles," Saunokonoko continues, "Phloeosinus punctatus, bury inside the bark of the sequoias, eating the giants from the inside out, until they topple over and fall to the forest floor."
Click into the article here to watch a video about the plight of the mighty Sequoias.
Bad habits do the same thing to people. They slowly take a toll, eating away at our hearts, our souls, our integrity, from the inside out, until the day comes when a person's life comes crashing down, just like those majestic Sequoia trees.
"But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death" (James 1:14-15, ESV).
"You say, 'I am allowed to do anything'—but not everything is good for you. You say, 'I am allowed to do anything'—but not everything is beneficial" (1 Corinthians 10:23, NLT).
Daddy, Can We Get A Puppy?
If you are a parent, you’ve heard these words before: “Mommy, Daddy, can we get a puppy?” And, if you are smart, you responded with the following: “You know puppies are a lot of trouble. You would have to walk it at least three times a day and make sure it is fed. You would have to bathe it at least twice a week and brush it every day. You would also have to train it and take it outside to use the bathroom. And if it ever poo-poo’s or tee-tee’s in the house, it would be your responsibility to clean it up.”
Although the above lecture is normally used as a doggie deterrent, most children respond by saying, “I don’t care. I wouldn’t mind doing all that as long as I had a puppy!” So we break down and buy the puppy, and a month later we are stuck feeding, walking and cleaning up after it. The exasperated child says, “I just didn’t know how much work it would be!”
In chapter 8 of I Samuel, we find an aging Samuel and a demanding Israelite nation that was much like a child demanding a puppy of his parents. But instead of a puppy, Israel was demanding a king. Samuel attempted to warn them. Paraphrased, he said, “You know kings are a lot of trouble. He will take your sons and turn them into soldiers. He will take your daughters and make them cook for him. And much of the food they will be cooking will be food he has taken from you. Also, if he wants to, he will take your servants and animals and make them his. He will treat you so badly that it will make you cry out in regret.”
Yet just like a child wanting a puppy, they replied, “We don’t care. We wouldn’t mind all that as long as we had a king.” Although Samuel couldn’t have made it any clearer, they could not see through their own selfishness to the negative result that would come from their request. The fact is that when we are being completely selfish, no amount of good reasoning will help us see things differently. We become blinded by our own desires.
The difficult thing about a heart of selfishness is that it is hard to detect. We think we are being reasonable, justified, or even optimistic, when in reality we are blinded by our own wants.