Over the years, in God’s Church, two extremes regarding health have often dominated the thinking of God’s ministers and Church members alike. We should not make the mistake of acting at either extreme in our approach to the vital topic of divine healing.
In decades past, many felt that brethren were “weak in the faith”—or possibly even sinning—if they took any physical action above and beyond “fully trusting God.” On the other hand, a growing number of ministers and brethren over the years have noted that God often did not supernaturally “heal” right away—and some people even died prematurely when proper medical care might have prolonged their lives.
Seeing this, many who let their faith be challenged began to forsake the plain biblical instruction given by James: “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven” (James 5:14–15).
Brethren, as we have confirmed again and again in our Council of Elders meetings, the Living Church of God teaches that either extreme is wrong! Doing “our part” and seeking appropriate physical care for an ailment is not mutually exclusive with first and foremost having faith in God and trusting in the anointing we have received.
Even Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong received full medical treatment during the last few years of his life, as has been well documented. But he was also anointed, and he prayed that God—to the full extent of His will—would heal him and prolong his life.
Viewing carefully Mr. Armstrong’s example, and studying carefully the entire Bible on the subject of healing, we see that a “balanced” approach to this topic is both correct and more truly “Christian” than some of the extremes of the past. No, we do not want to “water down” our understanding that God is the only one who can truly “heal.” Only God can supernaturally remove the penalty of broken physical laws that have contributed to our sicknesses, diseases and injuries. We must never forget that! Doctors, drugs and knives may remove or mitigate some of the “symptoms” of whatever illnesses we may be experiencing. But these methods nearly always cause “side effects” that are sometimes more harmful than the original problem.
Also, within a few years, massive disease epidemics will sweep across the Western world—often bringing terrible “new” diseases that will not respond to modern drug therapy! (Matthew 24:7). Where will you look for healing then?
When all this occurs, it will be imperative for God’s true Church to absolutely rely on Him for divine healing and deliverance! But even when medical care is available, Scripture shows that we should always involve the great God who is our Father and our Healer. In all things, we need to heartily follow the Apostle Paul’s instruction that “whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Colossians 3:17).
The Biblical Example
God tells us to call for the elders, and to look to Him, when we are sick. Yet God’s inspired Word also clearly describes Luke as the “beloved physician” (Colossians 4:14). And the Son of God clearly stated: “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance” (Mark 2:17). Additionally, Jesus described the Good Samaritan as “pouring on oil and wine” to assist the healing of the wound suffered by a traveler (Luke 10:34). The wine contained alcohol and other elements to kill the germs and help prevent infection in an open wound. The oil was a natural lubricant to aid in healing. Did Jesus do wrong in describing in a positive manner the use of these natural medicinal properties?
And what about Timothy? Paul writes that the “genuine faith” of his mother and grandmother resided in Timothy (2 Timothy 1:5). Paul also described Timothy as one with “proven character” in the service of Jesus Christ (Philippians 2:22). Yet God allowed Timothy to have a stomach ailment and “frequent infirmities” (1 Timothy 5:23). And though the Apostle Paul certainly must have anointed and prayed for this outstanding young evangelist whom he regarded as a “son in the Lord,” he also prescribed for Timothy “a little wine” for his illness. Red dinner wine contains a natural antibiotic similar to penicillin. It would have helped combat the bacteria Timothy often ingested from drinking the local water in that warm, Mediterranean climate.
So wine was used as a type of “medicine.” Was Paul mistaken in giving Timothy this advice? No indeed! God’s servants were often advised to use certain healing elements in dealing with sickness, injury or disease (Exodus 21:19; Isaiah 38:21). And God had this instruction preserved in the Bible for our learning. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16–17).
In retrospect, we see that ideas that have circulated through the Church and its ministry in decades past have not always been entirely consistent with Scripture. There is a need for better balance and better wisdom on the subject of healing, medicine and health. Absolute faith and trust in God—in every area of life—is a major need (Matthew 9:29). Where we place our trust is also important (2 Chronicles 16:12). Obtaining advice from a doctor who is knowledgeable about the body and disease is not the same as putting blind trust in a medical practitioner. For the Bible says that there is “safety” in a “multitude” of counselors (Proverbs 11:14; 15:22).
The Bible itself offers several perspectives on healing. Healing is a prerogative of God. It is described as one of the benefits that God makes available to human beings (Psalm 103:1–5). It is also described as a gift from God (1 Corinthians 12:7–11). Healing is the forgiveness of sin (Mark 2:1–12). Man’s medicines and surgeries do not heal. At best, they merely treat symptoms—sometimes successfully, sometimes not. Remember, divine healing is not the same as working with physical means in repairing the body. But it is certainly not wrong to do our part and to try in every way we can to “glorify” God in our bodies (1 Corinthians 6:20).
In the broader scope, God is not only concerned with healing our physical bodies; He also wants us to learn every lesson we need to learn in this physical life to prepare us for eternal life in His Kingdom. If our physical problems are removed or “healed” every time we make a mistake, we may not learn some of the vital lessons about life that we need to learn regarding how to manage our bodies wisely and live in harmony with physical laws. When we are sick, we are not only instructed to be anointed and look to God, but also to examine our lives and behaviors to see what we have done wrong—and to repent of those wrong actions (James 5:16). Healing is not simply a mechanism for automatically “bailing us out” of problems we may have brought upon ourselves. It is important that we try to learn the lessons of life—including the lessons of maintaining good health—so we can teach others in tomorrow’s world.
While prayer and faith in God have an absolutely vital place in restoring health, we are also told that “whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight” (1 John 3:22). Those things “pleasing in His sight” involve much more than living generally good lives and avoiding unclean meats. They involve using our God-given minds to sincerely try to understand and “glorify” God in our physical bodies as He tells us to do.
Work Within the Natural Laws
In decades past, Mr. Armstrong led all of us in trying to live an entire way of life! This way of life was focused on the fact that God and His creation are essentially “good”—that we must learn to work within the natural laws of His creation. So we came to realize that breastfeeding children is normally far better than the artificial means of using a bottle. Many articles have come out, in recent years, from doctors and hospitals documenting this fact. We learned that “natural childbirth” is, in most cases, much better for both the woman and child. Again, many medical doctors and other health authorities now recognize this fact. We learned that eating fresh fruits and vegetables and “natural” foods is much better than getting our nutrition from artificially manufactured “foods” packaged in cans and boxes. Mr. Armstrong told us to eat natural foods that will spoil, but to eat them before they spoil.
Years ago, I wrote a booklet (which some of you older brethren will remember) titled The Seven Laws of Radiant Health. In it, I detailed the basic laws of health, which still apply—and about which health authorities now write far more often than they did “back then.” Those laws are:
- Eat a proper diet.
- Learn to exercise regularly and, when possible, vigorously.
- Get the proper amount of sleep and rest.
- Ensure that you are getting enough sunshine and fresh air.
- Practice cleanliness and wear proper clothing.
- Avoid bodily injury.
- Maintain a positive attitude.
In that booklet, I discussed each of these points in detail. They are obviously very important for maintaining proper health. For instance, you can keep all the other laws—yet become careless, step in front of a truck, and get yourself killed! So—especially you older brethren—be very careful while out walking or traveling, or when going up and down stairs. Being careful when involved in any potentially dangerous activity is vital for maintaining good health.
Also, as the old saying goes: “Your problem is not what you are eating. It is what is eating you!” In other words, you may get enough exercise and have a good diet, but if you allow negative thoughts of envy, resentment, bitterness or hate to dominate your mind, you may end up with ulcers, high blood pressure and even premature death. So, dear brethren, please think on these laws. If we truly want to “learn the lessons” that God wants us to learn, He will honor that. And He will honor us a lot more when we come to Him for healing if we have sincerely tried to do our part!
Remember also the negative effects of “running to the doctor” with every cold and flu, or other problem that comes along. God wants us to “get the facts” and to use wisdom in obtaining proper medical care. A noteworthy issue of the newsletter Public Citizen contained an article by Sidney Wolfe, M.D. A few of the points he brought out may be helpful in giving us the proper perspective:
- “Seventy percent of doctors treating Medicare patients flunked an exam on their knowledge of prescribing to older adults.
- The majority of physicians who were asked to take the exam refused, often giving as their reason that they had a ‘lack of interest in the subject.’
- Between 40 percent and 50 percent of drugs prescribed for older adults outside the hospital were overused.
- Forty-eight percent of patients taking three or more drugs were given drugs with one or more harmful interactions with other drugs.
- The fact is that there are far too many victims of drug-induced illness each and every day.
- Every minute, two people are hospitalized for adverse drug reactions (1,500,000 a year) and there’s a death every five minutes and 15 seconds (100,000 a year). Every three and one-quarter minutes, someone suffers drug-induced or drug-worsened memory loss (163,000 a year). It is fortunately reversible if you know which drug was the cause.”
Errors Add to the Costs
In addition, medical errors are a major cause of death. “According to a 1999 report by the Institute of Medicine, as many as 98,000 Americans were dying every year because of medical mistakes. Today… a reasonable estimate is that medical mistakes now kill around 200,000 Americans every year. That would make them one of the leading causes of death in the United States” (“More Treatment, More Mistakes,” New York Times, July 31, 2012). The annual cost of these mistakes is estimated in the tens of billions of dollars—and that is just the financial cost. The human cost in suffering is even greater.
Worse yet, hospitals actually make more profit when their surgeons make mistakes! Why? “Because insurers pay them for the longer stays and extra care that patients need to treat surgical complications that could have been prevented” (“Hospitals Profit From Surgical Errors, Study Finds,” New York Times, April 16, 2013).
Many, many more quotes and statistics along this line could be included here, but this should begin to give you the idea. You need to be careful—as are many doctors regarding their own families—and not just let any doctor who comes along prescribe some “new” or dramatic treatment for your body!
Brethren, as we have taught for many years, it is up to you to make your decision as to when and how much to seek medical help when you are ill or injured. Frankly, many health professionals realize that the most effective use of their skills involves repairing bodily injury. When you are hit by a truck, or have broken bones or crushed internal organs, medical doctors can often help you in a dramatic way! This must be appreciated, and we must give credit where credit is due. But, overall, you do need to take great care about the type of treatment in which you involve yourself. And you must exercise wisdom even when using “natural” products such as herbs and vitamins in an attempt to “cure” diseases or ailments. Some of these products can help the body heal itself of physical infirmity. Yet, ultimately, only God is the true Healer.
Therefore, as each year goes by, I pray that all of us as a Church will draw closer and closer to God, have our minds more fully aligned with the thoughts expressed in the Bible, and learn to “walk with God” in every area of life—not just in regard to healing. We must show God that we are trying, in every way, to “do those things” which are pleasing to Him. Then, when we have done the best we can, seeking proper counsel—having done our part—we can look to God to go above and beyond what man can do, and to intervene to deliver us or to heal us. He is our Father. He tells us: “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).
We Must Get Our Balance!
Dear brethren, as we draw toward the end of this age let us get our balance in this subject of health and healing! Let us do all we can to “glorify God” in our bodies and in the way that we treat illness and injury. Let us learn to get all the facts and use real wisdom. But let us never leave out the vital approach of trusting God with all of our hearts, and ultimately looking to Him for His help and intervention.
Also, most importantly, we must not judge one another in how each one reacts when stricken by illness or injury. We do not know the exact details of the other person’s body, his “heart,” his approach to God or the way he is thinking. So we cannot properly judge any other individual in this manner. Jesus Christ commanded: “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the same measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:1–3).
Please remember, brethren, that any of us who harshly “judges his brother” (or sister) about a decision regarding whether or not to use medicine, undergo operations, or take any other means of becoming well, is in grave danger of committing an even greater error. For our “judging”—and the attitudes of vanity and arrogance this may engender—may be far worse than a sincere person in God’s Church reaching out for help when he is terribly sick or his very life is in danger! For Jesus Himself said: “But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless” (Matthew 12:7).
If any of you reading this have not already read our booklet on this topic, Does God Heal Today?, I urge you to do so. It explains all of this in much more detail. But even if you have read this important booklet, I want to be sure that all of us are thinking about this important topic, as we continue to pray for more healings throughout the Church. When fellow Church members are ill, they may or may not choose to employ various physical treatments, and we should refrain from “judging” them for their choices. As their brethren, our main duty is to pray fervently that God will help our ailing brethren to do their part properly, and that He will go above and beyond what any doctors can do, to supernaturally heal them in His time and way. This approach of wisdom and mercy should underlie all our thoughts and actions in the matter of health and divine healing.