Usually when things are rusty, it means something needs oiled or polished or at the minimum, "'fixed." But sometimes a little rust can be a great thing. Case in point: your blood. That's why blood is red, after all. You got that iron in there carrying around oxygen, which is a dandy rusty red color. Very handy when it's leaking out (if it was simply clear, you might not realize you were bleeding nor how much was coming out) but red is that tell-tale color that alarms us when something's amiss.

Unfortunately, just being red isn't good enough. Your blood needs to be really red. I mean it needs to be chock full of iron. If you don't have enough iron, your blood simply can't carry enough oxygen around to your body no matter how hard you pump those lungs. You have wimpy red blood cells. If this is you, you are anemic.

I'm anemic, and lots of people are. My particular version is because my body can't seem to store iron properly. Apparently healthy people stash a quantity of it as it comes in so when red blood cells are produced (you replace about 1% of these every day) it's on hand. I've been told that if I happen to have iron in me when the cells are made I'm fine, but if it's not needed my body flushes it away - then wishes it had it back. Bummer.

Iron is something you simply must have to live. Not having enough leaves you weak, tired, sickly. and without any energy. Since you don't have oxygen in plentiful supply, your cells tend to store up energy (i.e. fat) so they have it on hand when they need it. You end up catching every little cold that comes along because your body is not at full strength to resist. Long term, you can have serious organ damage which can build up to toxic levels and kill you. The consequences can be quite literally deadly.

If you find out you're anemic, don't just throw in the towel. Like most things that you simply must have to live, iron's in large supply. You get it from all kinds of foods and you can even take iron pills. In other words, it's easily treated, and costs next to nothing to get a good supply of it. You just have to make simple changes to the way you eat to include stuff that's iron rich, like spinach (yes, Popeye had the right idea!).

The thing is, you can't just eat a bunch all at once and be "good enough" for, say, a month at a time. You can't undo a lifetimes worth of iron deficiency at the end, either, in other words you can improve your health going forward but if you've trashed that liver by not having enough iron suddenly adding it to your diet is not gonna undo consequences of bad past eating.

People can be very stubborn, too, and simply ignore the danger. They may not like spinach or other iron-rich foods. And that can make them appear very similar to sinners. Sinners can be very stubborn at holding on to their vices. They may not see the good news as “good.” Like the iron. God's grace costs almost nothing (it's a gift, after all.) In fact all it really costs is a change in the way you live, and if you're already a pretty good person (most people are) it may not be as dramatic as you imagine.

Not living with God's word is like being spiritually anemic. You're weak, tired, sickly, and without any energy to do good. Instead of storing up good works, you let opportunity slip by and wish you had it back. Every little trial that comes along trips you up because you aren't ready to deal with it. You can't just "be good" once a month and expect that to carry you along, either. And no matter how much you repent at the end, no matter how obedient you become, living lawlessly will mean consequences.

Yes, being spiritually anemic can be quite literally deadly. We all need to make sure we "iron things out" while we can!

Randy