The eCrozier

In every new year, we tend to make resolutions, often around living a healthier life, eating better, exercising more, and generally taking better care of the body with which God has blessed us. This desire for self-improvement, however, can get mixed up with our tendency to lie to ourselves (and to others) about ourselves. To wit: “I’ve been to the gym five times this week!” Or, “I no longer eat sweets.” Or, “I’ve given up all bad carbs!” I’ve heard many people say such things knowing they’re simply not being truthful.

Our penchant for both self-improvement and self-deception came together for me when I read a news report last week about a Frenchwoman, Jeanne Calment, who died in 1997. She allegedly was 122 years old when she passed away in her home town. Her age at death was certified by the Guinness World Records. At the time of her death, she was allegedly the oldest documented person to have lived. I write “allegedly” because recently a Russian researcher, Nikolay Zak, contends she was actually not Jeanne Calment, but her daughter, Yvonne. Zak alleges that Yvonne assumed her mother’s identity, way back in the 1930s, in order to avoid paying inheritance taxes. If Zak’s allegation is true, then Calment would’ve been (only) 99 years-old when she died.

Most people lie about their age in order to appear to others as younger, not older. If what Zak alleges is true, then Madam Calment lied to appear to be older by 23 years! Apart from the tax benefits she apparently wanted to receive, what could’ve prompted her to want others to think she was so much older than she truly was? Was it all for the fame of being known as the oldest person alive? If Zak is correct, then she must have decided it was more important to herself to lie and be famous than to be truthful and (just) be another 99-year-old person in the world (humans are so complicated).

Even our desire for self-improvement has baked into it a need for us to engage in self-deception. We need to believe that if we do all the right things by our health, then we’ll live long and healthy lives. To be sure, health professionals have warned us that obesity is hard on the body as is over-indulging in certain foods and under-indulging in regular exercise. But Madame Calment lived long, whether it was to 122 or 99 we can’t be sure, and regularly enjoyed chocolate, cigarettes, and cheap red wine. Other centenarians, such as Susannah Mushatt Jones of Brooklyn (born in 1899), believe eating bacon is the secret to a long life. She eats it every day, sometimes at every meal. And 109-year-old Jessie Gallan of Scotland has said the secret to a long life is staying away from men (the data show this is possibly good advice, but I’ll let you add your own commentary here).

I’m certainly not advocating an unhealthy lifestyle, but neither should we fool ourselves into believing that we’ll somehow avoid bad things in life simply by eating right and exercising appropriately. You’ll recall Jim Fixx, who helped (along with Forrest Gump – you can look that up) start the jogging/running craze in the late 70s, died at age 52 of a heart attack right after he had finished his daily run. So, yes, we should take care of our bodies and steward this gift with which God has so blessed us. But in doing so, we must confess that nothing is guaranteed us in this life but the grace of a merciful God.

+Scott