My mom saw it on the internet and called to tell me about it. If I just pour some castor oil in my belly button, I will lose weight overnight. This sounds to me like a couple of guys made a bet to see how many people they could get to stick stuff in their navels. I expect quite a few because we are always looking for easy paths to self-improvement. We will pay thousands for a product that allows us to lose weight without dieting. We dream of building powerful muscles as we sleep. And we expect to become spiritually strong without study and prayer.
In Romans 5:3-5, Paul writes, “We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame.” The way to build strength is through resistance. Muscles are built when we pit them against the force of an opposition such as a barbell. There isn’t an easy way to become physically strong, nor is there an easy way to become spiritually strong.
There are many great men and women of faith whom I admire. Paul, the man who wrote Romans, is one of them, and yet I have never wished to be him. His life was hard, and his suffering was real. It is tempting to wish for an easy life, but easy never produces greatness. How would you prefer to be remembered?
P.S. If you are still hoping to learn how to become spiritually strong in your sleep, I recommend writing Bible verses on small slips of paper and sticking them in your belly button. Let me know if it works.