"Hurry Up!" screamed the nurse, "we need the Doctor now or we may lose the patient!" The tension in the emergency room was mounting as the man who had wondered in off of the street was not sure what was wrong, but he was sure he was experiencing pains he had never felt before. Pains that warranted him going to the hospital for the first time in years. He had always prided himself on not needing doctors, or medicine, or hospitals, but now the pain was so great he was willing to look beyond the pride and seek help from someone or something that might be able to help him in this extreme time of pain.
The Doctor arrived. "His vitals are normal" the nurse calmly told the Doctor, "but he is in extreme pain". "I will take it from here" the Doctor confidently asserted as he made his way to the holding room where the patient was anxiously awaiting. The patient's expectation that the Doctor could help deliver him from his pain was evident in his first words to the Doctor. "Doctor - thanks for hurrying down here to the ER - please, please help me - I have an incredibly pain - and it wont go away. I have tried everything - with no luck. It's been a long time since I have been to a Doctor, but now I understand that the help I need is beyond what I can do for myself. Can you help?"
"I am sure I can help", the Doctor calmly replied, "What do you think is wrong?" The patient replied quickly and intensely with a list of symptoms that he hoped would paint a picture for the Doctor - a picture the Doctor could use to make the right diagnosis. "Hmmm, I certainly can understand those symptoms" the Doctor responded, "We had someone in just yesterday with the same symptoms. What do you think we should do?" Perplexed at the question, but focused on getting help, the patient quickly listed for the Doctor all of the things he had heard his family, friends, and even the talk show hosts his wife watched every day at 1:00pm, had said could remedy his excruciating pain. "Well," said the Doctor, "there are a variety of ways that one can get rid of the pain, but the most important thing is that you chose one that you think will work for you. Once you chose a way, come back on a regular basis, and we can discuss."
"Beep, Beep, Beep", went the Doctor's pager. Looking down and grimacing, the Doctor told the patient, "I hope I helped. I am sorry, but I must run to someone else who needs me, let me know how things work out. Just remember - the most important thing is that you chose one that you thing will work for you, " Bewildered, the patient got up, left the ER, and over time got used to the pain. In fact he got so used to the pain that he really no longer considered it pain - but just considered it a nuisance - a nuisance that he could live with because in his estimation, if his pain was not that important to the Doctor, he should not be so concerned about it.
Quickly moving on to his next patient, the Doctor thought to himself - wishing he could have shared what he really thought was wrong with the patient. However, not wanting to offend the patient or create a situation where the patient might not be happy with his response and never come back to the hospital if he needed help, he convinced himself that he had made the right decision.
Are We Like "The Doctor"?
Do you think the aforementioned anecdote would never happen in today's world? Well, I submit to you that we, as believers, are many times like "The Doctor" and are guilty of this type of behavior much more often than we realize. Many times in our conversations, in our teaching, in our sermons, we collectively are more concerned about how an answer to a problem, a symptom, or a question is received by someone than we are with the answer itself. And many times people ("patients") are coming into our homes and workplaces, our classes, our churches, seeking answers they expect us to have based on our relationship with God, our understanding of the Bible, and our relationship with fellow believers. Do we truly help these people if we don't give them the answers they truly need - not just what we think they want to hear? In a time where justice is at the forefront of everyone's mind - I submit to you that we are guilty of grave injustice if we are not honest and accurate with our answers and comments. Consider these comments from Ezekiel 3:18-21:
-
18 When I (The Lord) say to a wicked man, 'You will surely die,' and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. 19 But if you do warn the wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his evil ways, he will die for his sin; but you will have saved yourself.
- 20 "Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and does evil, and I put a stumbling block before him, he will die. Since you did not warn him, he will die for his sin. The righteous things he did will not be remembered, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. 21 But if you do warn the righteous man not to sin and he does not sin, he will surely live because he took warning, and you will have saved yourself."
Yes, we certainly need to exercise gentleness, and respect in our answers to key and sensitive questions, but we also need to ensure that we do give biblically based, Christ-centric answers to everyone who asks - as we are going to be accountable for our answers - or lack thereof. . Our focus needs to be on The Christ and we need to answer in a way that He would find acceptable, as we are accountable to Him, and in debt to Him, and in service to Him. Beginning today, let us strive in our lives to be more like the "Great Physician" than "The Doctor".
-
Scripture: But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. 1 Peter 3:15.
-
Prayer: Dear Lord, help us to pray, study, and learn in such a way that allows you to truly prepare us to confidently share the reason for our hope - The Christ - with others as we receive opportunities for that sharing. Help us to be sensitive to your Spirit's leading in those situations and help us to follow exactly as your Spirit leads - with gentleness and respect - even in those situations that we confess are very uncomfortable for us as they do require us presenting the right answer in love rather than an answer that will be loved. Amen
