I have had the good fortune over my life to have had a good group of individuals who have been my doctor. Since I have lived in several different places throughout my career I have routinely had to find a new doctor and establish that relationship. Something I have discovered, especially about men, is that going to the doctor is something to be avoided like the plague. (no pun intended!)
I am not sure where the idea came from but many view a doctor as someone who simply helps me when I am sick. If I never get sick or at least sick enough that I finally break down and go see the doctor, I would likely never see the doctor. Maybe the old adage, “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” is to blame. I used to be this way when I was younger but have since experienced a different way of seeing this person commonly referred to as a doctor.
Earlier in my life I saw my doctor as one who dealt with sickness. Sick people go to the doctor. They are the one’s who need a doctor, even Jesus said so! Although I don’t think what I am referring to is what Jesus meant. So, if I am experiencing an acute pain or fever which can’t be regulated or have the presence of blood in places it shouldn’t be, these are the occasions to see the doctor. He or she will fix me and then I can go back to seeing how long I can go until I need to see the doctor again!
Today, I am looking at this issue differently. While I am not particularly looking forward to seeing my doctor for my annual physical it is for another reason. Over the past year I have not been as cautious about watching what I eat and so have gained weight. I also have not been as faithful to getting exercise regularly. In truth, I don’t want to see my doctor because I feel like I have let him down. I don’t see him as my repair person when something breaks, I see him as my partner in helping me live in a way that is healthy. I haven’t been as diligent about doing my part and so I know what he is going to say.
Sometimes I feel like a doctor for the people in the congregation where I serve. Some readily welcome me to help them with their spiritual health and see me as a partner in that relationship. They make regular attendance to ingest God’s good Word a priority and are eager to exercise their gifts in service of their Lord. By and large they enjoy relatively healthy spiritual lives and welcome encouragement and direction from someone like myself.
Others I think take the other approach. They see someone like myself as important but not particularly necessary for them on a regular basis. If a crisis occurs or life gets difficult for them, they will likely reach out for help and advice. For this I am truly grateful. But after the crisis has passed, they seek to handle their spiritual life as they have determined is best, even though 2000 years of Church history would say otherwise. It comes down to whether or not we see our Pastors, Teachers, Ministers as resources to help us stay healthy and on the right path or who only are needed in a crisis, when we are “sick”.
I think most medical doctors would rather have a relationship with their patients where the patient and doctor are working consistently to achieve and maintain maximum health. Every doctor that I have yielded to in this way has always treated me with extra time and a personal touch that made me feel like we were friends and not just that I was his client. For that to happen I had to be honest to confide in my doctor all the things that he asked, even when they felt uncomfortable. Some questions asked by our doctors really can’t be asked in a way that isn’t uncomfortable: How exactly would someone ask about obesity without using the word obese? Some are better than others but it really all comes down to whether or not we see our doctor as our partner in healthcare or someone who bandages me when I am sick.
How you answer this with respect to your healthcare is important but not as important as how you answer it with your spiritual life. Doctors all know that one day all their patients will die. Those who help us with our spiritual life are dealing with much higher and longer consequences: eternity.
For my part I try to preach and teach messages that will provide the congregation with a balanced diet from God’s Word. I encourage all of us to find appropriate ways to serve our Lord and partner with Him in advancing His Kingdom. I am hopeful that we can have a strong partnership that leaves you strong in your spiritual walk. But at the end of the day, you have to want that too. Wherever you are with this issue, I hope my counsel as you read these words might be the trigger to changing direction if you need to and affirmation to keep on course if you don’t. While I can’t promise that all the conversations we might have in the course of the journey will be without discomfort, I can assure you that they will be to help you stay strong in Him until the end.
Leave a Reply