[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":81},["ShallowReactive",2],{"\u002Farticles\u002Ftake-your-medicine":3,"\u002Farticles\u002Ftake-your-medicine-surround":71},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"bibleBooks":8,"body":12,"columnName":53,"date":54,"description":18,"extension":55,"image":56,"meta":57,"minRead":58,"navigation":59,"path":60,"postType":61,"publication":62,"publicationUrl":56,"seo":63,"stem":64,"topics":65,"__hash__":70},"blog\u002Farticles\u002Ftake-your-medicine.md","Take Your Medicine",{"name":7},"Dave Faust",[9,10,11],"Mark","Luke","Proverbs",{"type":13,"value":14,"toc":49},"minimark",[15,19,22,25,28,31,34,37,40,43,46],[16,17,18],"p",{},"High health care costs are nothing new. Jesus encountered a woman who \"had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse\" (Mark 5:26). My son-in-law is a caring, hard-working MD, but he knows what every doctor knows: In some cases, no amount of money or professional care can fix a person's health. It's interesting that Luke, a physician himself, doesn't mention the woman's negative experience with doctors in his version of the same encounter (Luke 8:43-48). But the Gospel writers all agree: Jesus instantly healed a very sick woman that medical science and mounds of money couldn't help.",[16,20,21],{},"The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates that health care costs more than $8,000 per year for the average American, but here's a free prescription for a healthier life: \"A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones\" (Proverbs 17:22).",[16,23,24],{},"A Cheerful Heart",[16,26,27],{},"Peace of mind leads to a healthier body. Researcher Julia Boehm of the Harvard School of Public Health reviewed dozens of studies examining the effects of a positive mental attitude on cardiac health. Her findings indicate that optimistic people cut their risk of a heart attack in half when compared to those who are least optimistic. A positive sense of well-being contributes to healthier blood pressure and lower cholesterol levels. What the Bible calls \"a cheerful heart\" ranks right up there with eating right, exercising often, and getting adequate rest.",[16,29,30],{},"It's a sign of a cheerful heart when someone appreciates simple blessings. \"Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting, with strife\" (Proverbs 17:1). Don't you enjoy a simple meal in a peaceful environment more than a fancy feast surrounded by conflict and stress? Strife messes with your digestion and makes it difficult to enjoy your food.",[16,32,33],{},"Watch a woman playing happily with her grandkids and you'll see a cheerful heart at work. \"Children's children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children\" (v. 6).",[16,35,36],{},"You can also see a cheerful heart at work when two friends settle a disagreement. \"Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam; so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out\" (v. 14). Unresolved conflict takes a heavy toll on body and soul. \"Whoever loves a quarrel loves sin; whoever builds a high gate invites destruction\" (v. 19).",[16,38,39],{},"A Crushed Spirit",[16,41,42],{},"While a cheerful heart is a great blessing, \"a crushed spirit dries up the bones\" (v. 22). It withers the soul and weakens our zest for life, as if our very bones have dried up. A crushed spirit can afflict a whole group of people—a discouraged church, a low-morale workplace, a sports team accustomed to losing, a family that seems too dysfunctional to fix.",[16,44,45],{},"When all seems hopeless and our spirits feel crushed, there's only one place to turn. It's the same place a very sick woman turned after every other route led to a dead end. She found healing—and a cheerful heart—when she touched the hem of Jesus' garment.",[16,47,48],{},"The Great Physician is available when we reach out to him in faith. Amazingly, he still makes house calls.",{"title":50,"searchDepth":51,"depth":51,"links":52},"",2,[],"Revealed and Relevant","2012-08-26","md",null,{},3,true,"\u002Farticles\u002Ftake-your-medicine","column","The Lookout",{"title":5,"description":18},"articles\u002Ftake-your-medicine",[66,67,68,69],"Biblical Theology","Intergenerational Ministry","Christian Unity","Church Leadership","UYe-VuFpBLT5gKwcYVb3PV6NsWr-eHD6EsztYSbiu60",[72,76],{"title":73,"path":74,"stem":75,"description":73,"children":-1},"Take the Leap","\u002Farticles\u002Ftake-the-leap","articles\u002Ftake-the-leap",{"title":77,"path":78,"stem":79,"description":80,"children":-1},"Taking Evil Seriously","\u002Farticles\u002Ftaking-evil-seriously","articles\u002Ftaking-evil-seriously","*Evil* sounds harsh to contemporary ears, but sometimes it’s the only word that fits. Child abuse is more than a mistake; it’s evil. Terrorism cannot be justified as a political strategy; it’s evil. Pornography isn’t a joke or an innocuous expression of free speech; it degrades women, shames and enslaves men, and destroys families. Betraying your spouse can’t be rationalized as merely an error of judgment. Drunkenness isn’t a harmless rite of passage for young adults; it’s a thief that steals good judgment, a murderer that kills on the highway, a butcher that carves up a person’s dignity and reputation.",1790466179282]