One of the things I have not missed in my time away from the Presbyterian church was the seeming need to be argumentative. One would think that a woman could give a personal testimony on a personal blog without folks feeling the need to pick a fight. Well okay then ... but before you get out the big guns please read both my blogs in their entirety.
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Today's issue; Do bad things happen to "good" people .... am I preaching health and wealth? And, do Christians who take medication have less faith.
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Bad things do happen to everybody. We live in a fallen world. It is generally not our place to judge why another person is suffering. The individual who is suffering may come to their own conclusions as to why something dreadful has occurred in their life. If they ask our opinion we certainly may offer it with the goal of bringing that person closer to the God of all comfort.
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The problem with the so called "health & wealth gospel" is that the good news of the death and atonement of Jesus Christ is secondary to what God can do for you materially speaking. We do not love the Giver but the gifts. Health and wealth gospel promises us the good life if we will just come to Jesus .... we want the good life but not necessarily Jesus. This is a skewed approach to a relationship with God but one that is common to man .... it is called idolatry. We are not grafted into the vine .... we are grafted into some other barren desire. Yet when God penetrates our hearts with his love and with a desire for more of him and for kingdom come our lives cannot help but be affected for the better.
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Finally, I addressed this whole topic of whether Christians should take medication in my Bird House Blog under the topic title O Yes They Call It The Blues. In this article I stated that medication was a personal decision (You lose the ability to chose for yourself if you cannot control yourself). Medication has it's value and it's place but it is not a substitute for eating right, exercise or God. Too often it has functioned as a substitute for what we actually need.
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So I will repeat again what has brought me improved health; singing praise songs to God, eating organic, less gluten and sugar, bio natural hormones, and excercise. I am not on any medications and I no longer even take vitamins. I do eat omega rich fish about five times a week (Trader Joe's has batter dipped fish nuggets that are great for lunch .... snacking on almonds or walnuts is good too). I am currently in the best health that I have ever had but it has been a two year process and I have not made all my goals ..... I am thankful to God for this improvement .... I could serve him healthy or sick ..... I believe he has called me to be whole.
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* Christ Healing The Sick, Rembrandt
My opinion on medication differs from yours. In my opinion medication pretty much only covers up symptoms, as it doesn't ever really heal. Therefore, relying on medication is costly both financially and mentally... even emotionally. However, I believe medication was made for a reason and the times that I've been on medication for my depression and anxiety were times I agreed that I need to be supplemented. Medication for mental illness always is hard to get on. For the first few weeks you feel terrible and mostly tired and flu-like. Oddly enough, those feelings are quite similar to some of the symptoms I already had from feeling depressed so it hardly created a bump. After the two weeks though... I truely noticed a difference in how my body functioned automatically. Less negative thoughts, I was more prone to smiles than tears, and my anxiety attacks were few and far between (vs. having 40 a day)
ReplyDeleteSo for me, medication was my way into feeling normal again. Once I got used to how it made me feel, I was able to then learn to function that way normally and automatically without trying. This brought me closer to God, as my negative feelings were flushed out and my heartache wasn't something I focused on anymore.
I am not on medication currently. But I've done my research on meds. And my overall opinion is that you are correct about all the things that are good and holistic being so healing and good for you, but I believe medication and a supplement to all the good things you are doing really gives one an advantage. It suddenly becomes easier to get motivated to be healthy and feel good. For me it was just a boost and a blessing.
Hey Samantha ... I don't see the disagreement. thanks for the input ... I agree.Some situations do require the assistance of medication or meeting a physical need in some way before a person is free to respond to God with thanksgiving ... the reason for mercy ministry. Physical lack of any kind can impare our relationship to God .... when our needs are met we have reason to rejoice and be thankful .. all though sometimes we are called to rejoice inspite of circumstances .... "thanksgiving opens doors of deliverance" ... {Paul & Silas sang praise songs after being beaten and imprisoned ... and yes the prison doors flew open}.My point is simply that medication should not be a substitute for God and healthy living. And some of us have not had good experiences with medication .... some meds actually increase suicide and suicidal thoughts.
ReplyDeleteYou are right. I initially meant the disagreement is that sometimes medication needs to come first in order to come back to God. At least it did in my case.
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