A Much-Needed and Neglected Remedy
DOING good is an excellent remedy for disease. Clothe the naked, bring the poor that are cast out to thine house, and deal thy bread to the hungry. “Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily.” It was not until Job prayed for his friends that restoration took place. When Job prayed for his friends, “the Lord turned his captivity.” Consciousness of right doing is a soother and a tonic to the body. There are many who remain ill merely because13they think constantly of their ills. Selfishness keeps them ill. As long as one thinks of his ills, he keeps them in mind; as long as they are kept in the mind, they are kept in the body. A little interest in some poor unfortunate would result in self-forgetfulness, and create a satisfaction and joy of mind that would be felt in every fiber of the body. “In blessing I will bless thee.” Many diseases originate in the mind. Dissatisfied feelings, unrest, worry, fear, anxiety, a knowledge of wrong-doing have a paralyzing influence on the organs of digestion, the heart, the liver, and every other organ or member of the body. There are many who can never be helped until these mental boulders are removed, until, like Job, they begin to think, pray, and work for their friends. To be healthy one must first be happy. “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine.” The friends of the paralyzed man expected physical healing as soon as they brought him to Christ. But Christ saw that the man was worrying over past sins, and needed mental healing before bodily healing was possible; so he addressed him with the welcome words, “Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.” When good cheer had taken the place of condemnation and worry, he could say to him, “Take up thy bed and walk.” Physical healing is impossible as long as worry, fretting, and condemnation exist in the mind. What Christ said to this man, he says to every man who is in a similar mental state,—“Be of good cheer.” The gospel imparts “the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.” It is, after all, the one great remedy humanity needs. Failing to do what we know to be right, or doing what we know to be wrong, will bring about a state of mind that will result in injury to the body. The person who knows he is eating that which is not good sustains a greater bodily injury than the one who eats the same food ignorantly. The wilful transgressor is robbed of that peace of mind which the other one may still possess, and which is so essential to good health. Increased knowledge may, therefore, prove a blessing or a curse. In order to be of value there must accompany it such a change of mind that it will be a delight, not a burden, to obey. This is termed conversion. “To be carnally minded is death [it matters not how much knowledge possessed]; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”—Australasian Good Health.