Faith Healing

I have a word to say about faith healing. Really, I probably have about 2 million words to say about faith healing, but I'll try to keep it short.

I am of the belief that our bodies are amazing and wonderful things. I believe that our bodies have the ability to heal themselves in many circumstances. I believe that our bodies were made that way. I believe that it is better to allow your body to fight an infection than to give it medicine, if at all possible.

But, you see, I also believe that doctors and medicine are essential in the world we live in. I believe that when you are sick, and your body is not healing itself, you should go to the doctor. There are so many illnesses that are easily curable with a doctor's help. Take, for instance, appendicitis. This is an illness that most bodies are not going to cure on their own, but that a doctor can cure in less than an hour by removing the appendix. But, if you don't go to the doctor, that appendix will not be removed, and you will die.

So, where does faith healing fit in? Most people that believe in faith healing believe that God will heal them. They also seem to believe that sickness is a test of their faith. They believe that if they just have enough faith, God will heal them. Going to the doctor means not having enough faith in God. And this is where we part ways. My grandmother believed strongly in faith healing. She had something wrong with her eye (I believe it was a cataract) that caused her to be blind on one side. A cataract is something that is treatable by surgery. But, my grandmother went around half blind for a good 10 years waiting for God to heal her. She firmly believed that if she just had enough faith, God would heal her. I have never met someone with more faith than my grandmother. Yet, God never healed her. Why didn't he?

Time and time again, I have heard the phrase, "Unless God moves, it's just a matter of days before ******** dies." Then, there's my favorite, "God really moved last night. Today, my headache(or other common illness) is completely gone." Why must God move on a molecular level to heal you? Why can't he put in place a team of doctors to help you? Have you ever thought that the reason God doesn't heal more often isn't because your faith isn't great enough, rather it's because you won't use the avenues that he's already put in place to heal you? If you have a child and the child won't eat his food because you're not feeding it to him, yet he's able to feed himself, do you blame the child or yourself? The fact of the matter is that the child had the ability to feed himself, yet didn't, because he had faith in you to feed him.

Why is healing different than every other aspect of your life? You ask God to provide a job, but don't expect Him to work it for you. You ask God to provide food (through said job), but don't expect Him to cook it. You ask God to provide a spouse, but don't expect Him to marry the man/woman for you. You ask God to give you children, but don't expect Him to raise them for you. You ask God to protect you on your way to work, but you still drive carefully. You ask God to heal you, but you refuse to utilize the things He has put in place to heal you. You refuse to acknowledge the fact that He might have had some hand in the discovery of that vaccine or medicine. Yet, you think He has a hand in everything else in the world. Why is there such a disconnect?

And, why do you think that God is like some butler in the sky, waiting to fulfill your every request? Didn't God put you here, give you free will to live your life, and set you free? What makes you think that he just sits up there waiting to serve you? Is it that whole "God is love" thing? Because, really, I'm not seeing it. Just because I love my children doesn't mean I do everything for them. I don't even get all their bandages for them. Why should I? They have the ability and free will to do it for themselves. They don't need me waiting on them hand and foot. No, in fact, they need me to teach them to be independent. Maybe, when God doesn't answer your prayer, He's wanting you to figure something out on your own. Have you ever thought of that?

Don't come crying to me when a loved one dies while waiting for God to heal them. I'll be grieving, too. After all, I loved that person, too. But, you know what? I'll be angry at the same time. I don't believe in 'faith healing', so don't talk to me about it. Don't talk to me about how much faith this person had. Don't talk to me about how noble they were. Just let me grieve. I loved them, and, chances are, they killed themselves. Heaven will wait for you. Go to the doctor.