I was talking to a friend over the weekend and he told me his family has a bad habit of not wanting to go to the doctor when something’s wrong because they’re scared. I’m certainly guilty of trying to weather most health storms, but I think when the health problem is something like cancer, preventative care is absolutely essential. This friend had a relative who was diagnosed with a type of cancer that has a high survival rate, but instead of going back to the doctor to get it taken care of, she hid out at home and prayed. The cancer eventually won.

I get frustrated at my dad for the same thing — serious problems should be diagnosed and treated, but he wants to just wait it out, hoping it’d magically go away. That’s fine if he has a cold or something, but when he was leaking out blood that was really scary! And he’d kept it a secret from my mom for days until he passed out and hit his head on his way down late one night. (If you’re interested, I’d posted about finding out here and the results here.)

When I hear that someone was doing nothing but praying for their recovery, or when they say it is God’s will that they be sick or well, my first thought is usually the cliche “God helps those who help themselves.” This weekend, I thought about that statement, and came to this conclusion about God’s will and our own free will…

I think that God answers our prayers when we ask for help, by giving us the tools we need to resolve our problem. For example, when we are hungry, God doesn’t take away our hunger pangs, he gives us food and drink. But if we just sit there and don’t pick up the food, don’t catch the fish, don’t dig for the water, then it’s just our own damn fault if we starve to death. It’s not “God’s will.” If we’ve done everything we can to help ourselves and we still fall to a disease, then maybe I’ll be convinced that it’s God’s will that we’re done with this stint on earth. This bodes true for addicts (who could seek help with AA or NA but choose instead to feel sorry for themselves, saying the urge is too strong), job hunters, people trying to lose weight, and people who don’t go back to the doctor for follow-up appointments when something is found to be wrong.

Mr. W said that older generations tend to avoid the doctor due to their different styles of thinking, and I guess I can see that. Back 50+ years ago, when medical science wasn’t as advanced, if you were told you got the “Big C,” it was pretty much a death sentence. So they’d rather not know. Today, however, so much is preventable or treatable that I think it’s highly irresponsible to your loved ones, to yourself, and even to God if you just sit on your ass.

Too harsh? Just my opinion.