A young man I have known for several years came to the Emergency Room. A professing Christian, he has a quick, hot temper. I had noted it before but never mentioned it. This night he had received the worst of it in a fight which included a knife in the other fellow's hand. I sewed him up with nylon monofilament. I still did not address the temper. I was acting in faith that my nylon stitches would help the knife cut mend. I introduce the nylon into his flesh but abstain from introducing applicable scripture to his spirit for spiritual healing and the physical health consequences which could result. Thus I practice 1 Tim. 4:8 backwards; it comes out something like this: "For godliness is of some value, but physical treatments -- that is where the real power is!" I certainly believe that the Holy Spirit acting through the Word can mend the young man's quick temper which led to the knife fight. I know that he is under the oversight of a church, but I didn't refer him to them for their help in dealing with the real root of his "medical" problem. When I practice this way, I practice as though I believe medicine is a secular art, isolated from a person's spirit.
Excerpt from "How Would God Have Us Practice Preventive Medicine?"
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