To Treat or Not To Treat

Genesis 42:1-2

The Voice (VOICE)

Now when Jacob found out there was grain to be had in Egypt, he talked to his sons about it.

Jacob: Why do you just keep sitting here looking at each other? ² Listen! I’ve heard they have grain for sale in Egypt! Go down there, and buy grain for us so that we have enough to live and won’t die of hunger.

Mom used to tell of a neighbor they had in Oklahoma, whom I’ll call Joe. He had the reputation of being the laziest man in the county. One day during harvest time another farmer took pity on Joe. The farmer drove up to Joe’s home on a wagon stacked high with corn and drawn by a couple horses. Joe’s field was filled with corn and overgrown with weeds. His family was destitute and wearing mere rags. Joe was sitting in a rocker on his front porch and staring vacantly at his fields. The farmer called to Joe, “I’ve got a good load of corn here. Can you use it?”

Joe queried, “Is it husked?”

“No, you’ll have to do that yourself.”

After a minute’s reflection Joe drawled, “Drive on! The Lord will provide.”

Dick, a colleague of mine, had a grapefruit size tumor on his lower abdomen. I asked him how he was treating it. He replied that he wouldn’t use chemotherapy because of the harmful side effects it had on the body. He obtained a natural remedy from Mexico and used it faithfully. Esmé developed a brain tumor. She told me of the pain it caused her and how she was not going to have surgery and radiation. She was afraid of the effects this treatment would have on her memory. She, too, found a natural remedy that she could rely on. Then there was Robin who had prostate cancer.

There are two things that Dick, Esmé, and Robin had in common. For one thing, they all had a deep and abiding faith in God and His healing power. The other is that they all died from their cancers. Did God forget His promise to heal all our diseases (Psalm 103;3)?

One cannot help but query; since God had promised to make a great nation of his descendants, did Jacob deny his faith by sending to Egypt for food rather than waiting for God to provide it in Canaan for him? Was Joe showing more faith than Jacob? Are we denying our faith when we use modern medicine? Are we showing less faith if we combine modern medical treatments with natural treatments?

Dear God, whenever a crisis arises, You have an ideal solution. Help us to see and follow Your solution.

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