I was basically wearing the clothing equivalent of a mullet… all business up top but a party on at the bottom. I wore a collared shirt and tie with green polyester basketball shorts to work for about a month… sitting at my desk I looked professional to the common onlooker… that is until I stood up… I would also sleep under my desk and in my car during lunch breaks at work. Yes… I realize I’m not making myself out to be a “model employee” but all this was necessary to reduce the pain. It seemed like no matter how much I rested, it wasn’t enough. The nagging pain and discomfort could be felt from my side and radiated up into my teeth. “I can deal with this on my own” I said to myself… I’d been living with it for a few months anyway; in fact I was probably just being a big baby about the whole thing. So I took Tylenol and Ibuprofen and continued to wear my comfy shorts. Jen kept telling me to make a doctor’s appointment; but I knew deep down I was just being a wimp. Then one morning, as I sat at my desk in my basketball shorts wishing I could curl up in a ball under my desk, I realized I didn’t even have the little energy it took to type or look at the computer screen. The pain in my side was agonizingly intense. I left work and drove to the doctor’s office. I had a horrible infection. So, after an Emergency Room trip, two surgeries and six weeks off work, I was finally on the mend! This experience reminded me of something Jesus said to a group of religious teachers who were criticizing Him for teaching & eating with “sinners” and “tax collectors”:
When the [Pharisees] saw him… they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” … Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” – Mark 2:16-17
I always thought this meant there were righteous people who have what they need from God. Perhaps like those who already know and follow Him. But scripture says: “not one is righteous, no not one…” (Romans 3:10). So why the contradiction? Well… Jesus is a master teacher. His parables and stories generally gave a choice, and forced the listener to make a decision. Someone who thinks they can handle an illness on their own, won’t rely on a doctor to help them. They’ll try to manage it on their own and self-medicate. Jesus is saying that those who call themselves “righteous” won’t listen or learn because they believe they don’t need it! Pride. It prevents healing, hinders learning and God hates it. Those who call themselves sick, realize their need for a doctor and will go. Jesus is forcing the listener to make a decision: are you healthy, or do you need a doctor? Because Jesus is tending to and calling the sick. Until we realize that even though we may be “saved”, sin is still way beyond our control. Sin is an illness, even a disease; that does not mean we are doomed to remain constantly “sick”, but that we are prone to sickness. Jesus is the Doctor, the Great Physician, the Cure! Christ doesn’t call those who think they are cured; He calls those who realize their need for Him.
So don’t wait to go to the doctor… or you too could be curled up under your desk, in a dress shirt and polyester shorts thinking you’ve got it under control.
-Pete