Physical sickness can be traced back to sin

Being employed in the health care field for more than 20 years affords me a unique perspective with respect to others in the gospel ministry. While the experiences of many patrons are limited to hospital visitation or the chaplaincy, my experience has been hands-on at some of the lowest levels. I have worked with those who were there to help people as well as those who were there to line their pockets. And I have been witness to the greedy attitude among many Americans that health care is a right.

While much could be said about this greedy attitude, including the pork that is included in the latest stimulus package for health care, my attention is instead drawn to how this very same attitude is manifested in Christian circles. Put plainly, this is the mistaken belief that it is God’s will for every Christian to enjoy perfect health.

Now, I am not saying that it is wrong to pray for God to heal those who have various infirmities, but there is a vast difference between praying for God to heal those who are sick and buying into the false doctrine that it is God’s will to heal everyone from everything all the time.

To understand this, we need to consider first of all the consequences of sin. In reality, sin is the cause of all sickness and disease. Before Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit, there was no sin or death, but when they did, God’s promise of physical death was set in motion. While for the first 1,650 years people enjoyed a rather lengthy longevity (some more than 900 years) because of body strength and climactic conditions, they eventually succumbed to death.

All the modern hype about average life expectancies pale in comparison to those between 4,000 and 6,000 years ago, and all because of the consequences of sin. And the reason that doctors are identifying more and more diseases is because our bodies are getting weaker with each passing generation, and that because of sin.

Secondly, we need to consider the effects of sin. Certain sins in particular have direct impacts upon the health of those who indulge in them. As Christians, we ought to be aware that of all the sins there are, fornication, as a class of sin, is the only sin identified as being “against the body” (I Corinthians 6:18). That is, to commit such sins will have direct ill effects on your body.

One example of this is incest. One of the most frequently asked questions by those outside of Christianity today is where Cain got his wife. That he married his sister was not only a necessity because they were the only family on Earth, but that human physiology was strong enough to support it meant that God had no problem with it until Ancient Israel left Egypt and God put a stop to it in Leviticus. From that time on it has been fornication, and medical science now knows that incest leads to an increase in birth defects. Thus, the effects of sin.

We could give more examples, but for brevity’s sake we must move on.

Thirdly, we need to consider God’s purpose for sickness and disease. In II Corinthians 12, Paul speaks of a thorn in his flesh for which he asked God’s deliverance three times.

Though some have ignorantly suggested that this was a human adversary, Paul used the word “infirmity,” indicating some sort of disease process. In fact, in Galatians 4 and elsewhere he seems to indicate it had to do with his eyes.

God’s purpose in this was twofold. First of all, God sent this to keep Paul humble. The most arrogant people I have ever met have been those of wealth, rank, strength, health, intelligence, wit and beauty. And this would have been Paul’s temptation.

But secondly, God wished to demonstrate the power of Christ through Paul, and this could not be done without human weakness. You see, when man is operating at his best, he takes credit for the things he does, and thus robs God of the glory. Weakness, on the other hand — be it sickness, persecution, poverty or such like — gives God the opportunity to work through the life of the believer such that all who see it are convinced in their soul that this is the hand of God, not just man.

It is easy to serve God when you are in good health. It is easy during a good economy. It is easy when Christianity is respected and advocated. But God is looking for those who are willing to take a dare and follow him when the deck is stacked against them.

Impossible, you say? I’ve determined to serve God with all I’ve got despite my own thorn in the flesh called Crohn’s disease. I invite you to join me.

Ron Hamman is pastor for Independent Baptist Church of Wasilla. Contact him at 357-4229.