What is prostrate cancer? It is the worst disease known to man and is the only one that can kill him forever. It is gender-neutral, attacking both male and female. Everyone is born with it and it shows up very early in life. Prostrate, not prostate, is the hearts bent of trust, hope, refuge, and self-worth.

My battle with prostrate cancer will be different this year. Not because I’ve got this thing whipped, but because this kind of cancer never stays put – it’s always changing, morphing, restructuring its strategy to do me harm. I can’t rely on past victories because this enemy does not accept past defeats; this battle will last as long as I live.

Diagnosis: Everyone worships something. Everyone turns to something for hope, for comfort, for pleasure, for safety. Everyone comes into this world wanting a savior of some sort, even if it has to be yourself.

Prognosis: Not so good. Left to yourself, you will move from the latest source of hope to the next –  the next president, the latest acne cream, the new app, the new boyfriend, or a “better you” religion sold direct from Oprah, Phil, Joel, a Fitness Program and Diet, ect. Left to yourself, you will bow down to the latest promise of success, more money, better sex tips from Cosmopolitan, better housewives tips from other Better Housewives, or the new euphoria that comes with changing jobs, ex-changing spouses, getting the latest and hottest “gotta have it” novelty. Many of these things are mostly innocent on their own platform. But when the heart of man goes for it with salvific desires, that’s when prostrate cancer picks up momentum.

There are three main categories where Prostrate Cancer attacks:

1. Immediate, every day, tangible needs. Where do you go when there’s not enough money to pay the bills? The lottery machine down at the corner market? Stealing? Lying? Another credit card to max out? Chapter 13? What do you turn to when you don’t get the sex that you need? Porn? When someone or something derails your plans for the day, do you turn to blame-shifting, fits of rage, revenge and manipulation tactics?If so, you might be worshiping a Sense of Self-Entitlement – this is prostrate cancer spreading through your heart and mind.
2. Short and long-term safety nets of assurance and security. Do live your life believing that you need a back-up plan for every possible acute need? Do you feel insecure, out-of-control, vulnerable, if you are not in control? How do you respond to people who let you down? Are you dismissive? Do you punish? When something breaks your finely tuned budget, do you lower the thermostat to 45 degrees in the winter, at night? Do you scan the money market several times a day to see how your retirement is doing? Do you throw coins in a fountain, check the horoscope calendar, keep the promissory note from the fortune cookie on your fridge – just in case? If so, you might be worshiping a Sense of Self-Sovereignty – this is prostrate cancer spreading through your heart and mind?
3. Self-Worth and Status. How much respect, praise, and admiration from others does it take to make you feel important? How many selfies do your fb friends have to “like” to make you feel good? How many arguments do you have to win to feel valuable and ahead of others? How good does it feel to be right all the time? What item must be on or around you that gives you a sense of self-worth? – the car; the blue-tooth that never leaves your ear; the trophy girl-friend; your shoes; your education; the size of your family, your church, your house, your bank account(s), your biceps or boobs? When you fail at something, what do you do, say, or run to, to get your mojo back on track? Do you find it nearly impossible to say, “I’m sorry”? Do you struggle to own your own contribution to the mess? If so, you might be worshiping a Sense of Self-Enthronement. 

Antidote for killing what is killing you?

Jesus faced all three of the above categories and victoriously defeated prostrate cancer (Matthew 4:1-11). But Jesus is not my role-model, he is my Savior. In his own flesh he did what I cannot do. But with Christ “in me”, I can and will do in 2017, continue to put this disease to death. If Jesus is the person of whom my heart and mind prostrates, then this will be a successful year. The heart of man is a worshiping heart – it will bow down to something. Making sure that Jesus is the object of my affection, hope, trust, self-worth, and security, is the means by which this battle will be fought. I hope you’ll join me this year in putting Prostrate Cancer to death in your own heart.