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Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Apr 23, 1908

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 85, No. 17.

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Our Sanitariums

By D. H. KRESS, M. D.

Their Relation to the Church and Her Sick Poor

“Ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good.”
“If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land, . . . thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him. . . . Because that for this thing the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou putest thine hand unto. For the poor shall never cease out of the land.”
For a wise purpose God permits the poor always to remain in our midst. Their poverty may be due to sickness and affliction, or it may be due to poor management. Whatever the cause, the members of the church of Christ owe a duty to their own sick poor, a duty which can not be delegated to an organization or an institution, without doing injury to the individual members of the church and to the church as a body. The poor and the sick God permits to remain in the church, in order that the sympathies of its members may be aroused, and that a spirit of Christlike benevolence may be constantly cherished and developed.
They are designed to be a blessing to the church of Christ, an aid in the development of the character of its members. Not to the church as a body, but to the members of the church who do unto the poor as they would be done by, will it be said, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren ye have done it unto me.”
The poor unfortunate who fell among thieves was left by the wayside bruised and wounded and in need of help. God brought a certain priest that way, that through the practical ministry which this called for he might obtain a spiritual fitness for his position. But his heart was untouched, and he passed by on the other side. Likewise did the Levite.
The Samaritan’s heart was touched as he beheld the sufferer. He did what the others should have done,—he had compassion upon him. He bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine. He placed him on his ass, and in the absence of a sanitarium or a better place took him to an inn. He did not feel that his duty was even then discharged,—that others could stand the necessary expense while the sick man received care and treatment at the inn,—but he put his hand into his pocket, and made a deposit on the sick man’s future expenses, and then said, “Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.”
Jesus says to every member of his church, “Go, and do thou likewise.”
Here we have pointed out to us clearly our duty to the afflicted poor in our midst. There are sick ones among us who feel the need of going, and who should be encouraged to go, to a sanitarium. Many of these could be greatly helped by the suitable treatments; and the knowledge they would obtain while there would prove a blessing not only to them but to their families and the communities in which they live after they returned.
They should not only be encouraged to go to one of these institutions that God has established to be a help and blessing to his people, but provision should be made to meet their expenses while there. This is a duty that rests upon the members of the church in whose midst the sick ones are, if the relatives are not in a position to do it. While our sanitariums would gladly do all they can to help all such, they are not able to assume such a responsibility, neither would it be best for the members of our churches to place this burden upon these institutions. Most of our sanitariums are struggling for an existence, and have about all they can do to meet their running expenses, which are heavy. They have no fund upon which to draw to assist the worthy poor. While they should make the expense as low as possible for charity cases, they feel compelled to plan to come out even at the end of each year if possible. The duty of the church toward her afflicted poor is clearly stated in “Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. IV, page 510: “None whose names are on the church books should be left to suffer year after year from sickness when a few months at the sanitarium would give them relief and a valuable experience to take care of themselves and others when sick. Every church should feel it a Bible duty devolving upon them to care for their own worthy poor and sick. When a worthy child of God needs the benefit of the sanitarium, and can pay but a small amount toward his expenses, let the church act a noble part, and make up the sum. Some may not be able to pay anything themselves, but do not let them continue to suffer. . . . Send them to the sanitarium, and send your pledges and your money with them to pay their expenses. In doing this you gain a precious blessing. It costs something to run such an institution, and it should not be required to treat the sick for nothing.”
Some have thought that our sanitariums are wholly for the treatment of those not of our faith. The truth is our sanitariums have been erected for the benefit of our own people who are sick as well as for others. They are to find there a refuge, a place where they can have the benefits of the rational remedies to which God has called our attention, and where they can at the same time gain a knowledge that will show them where their own habits have been wrong.
The Lord desires that men shall be led to understand the cause of their suffering, and the only way to find relief. He desires them to see that their physical, mental, and moral well-being depends upon their obedience to his law. It is God’s “purpose that our institutions shall be as object-lessons showing the results of obedience to right principles. In the preparation of a people for the Lord’s second coming a great work is to be accomplished through the promulgation of health principles.”—“Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. VI, page 224.
To those who have thought that our sanitariums are only for those not of our faith, the words are spoken: “Let no one listen to the suggestion that we can exercise faith and have all our infirmities removed and that there is therefore no need of institutions for the recovery of health. Faith and works are not dissevered. Since the Lord is soon to come, act decidedly to increase facilities that a great work may be done in a short time.” “Why, asks one and another, is not prayer offered for the miraculous healing of the sick, instead of so many sanitariums, being established? . . . The Lord has opened this matter before me. . . . Our sanitariums are established to educate in regard to right habits of living.” This education every member of the remnant church needs. “The light given me was that sanitariums should be established, and that in them drug medication should be discarded, and simple, rational methods of treatment should be employed for the healing of disease. In these institutions people were to be taught how to dress, breathe, and eat properly,—how to prevent sickness by proper habits of living.” From these institutions those who have regained their health, and learned how to live, could go to their homes fully prepared to act the part of medical missionaries.
When we appreciate fully God’s instrumentalities, and their purpose in the message, and cheerfully correct our own wrong habits of life, we shall exert a much wider influence as a church, and the way will then be opened for the prayer of faith to be more fully answered among us as a people. But with the ignorance which exists in regard to the laws of health, and often the wilful indulgence in that which is known to be wrong, the prayer of faith for the healing of our physical infirmities is useless. Should the sick be raised, it would not be to walk in newness of life, but in the same old paths of transgression; and the same causes unremoved, which were responsible for their first sickness, would soon again bring about a similar condition. The individual would not be benefited greatly, and a church composed of such members would not carry much light to the world. The chief aim of the gospel is to bring men and women to obedience to the law of God, which includes the laws of health. In this work our sanitariums occupy an important place.
D. H. KRESS, M. D.