A Message from the Heart, John Grant

Physician, Heal Thyself

Week Fifty, 2018

PHYSICIAN, HEAL THYSELF

Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum” (Luke 4:23).

He was a hometown boy in our city who became a world famous cardiac surgeon. He pioneered heart transplants and perfected many surgical procedures. He was known for both his skill and his speed. His skills in heart surgery are credited with saving many lives. Recently he died…. of all things from heart failure. He could heal others, but could not heal himself.

The Bible speaks of people who can heal others, but not themselves. What’s the meaning of the phrase ‘Physician, heal thyself’? It refers to tend to one’s own faults, in preference to pointing out the faults of others.

The phrase alludes to the readiness and ability of physicians to heal sickness in others while sometimes not being able or willing to heal themselves. This suggests something of ‘the cobbler always wears the worst shoes’. That is cobblers are too poor and busy to attend to their own footwear. It also suggests that physicians, while often being able to help the sick, cannot always do so and, when sick themselves, are in no better place than anyone else.

We should not attempt to reach out and cure the ills of others until we heal the ills and faults of our self. Things need to be okay at home in our own lives before we try to “concur the world.”

Early in His ministry, Jesus was in Nazareth speaking in the synagogue. Nazareth was His hometown, and the people there were familiar with His family and had watched Him grow up (Luke 4:16). When Jesus read a messianic prophecy from Isaiah and claimed to be the fulfillment of it, the crowd in the synagogue immediately balked (verses 17–22). It was then that Jesus made reference to a proverb of the day: “Physician, heal thyself” (verse 23, KJV).

People should take care of their own defects and not just correct the faults of others. Jesus was aware that this would not set well with the hometown folks, who refused to examine and correct themselves before reaching out to expose the ills and sins of those in other towns.

This is a reminder for us to look at ourselves in the mirror and see our faults before lashing out at others.

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SOMETIMES TRUE STORIES

This will boggle your mind!

The year is 1918 “One hundred years ago.”

What a difference a century makes!

Here are some statistics for the Year 1918:

  • The average life expectancy for men was 47 years.
  • Fuel for cars was sold in drug stores only.
  • Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.
  • Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.
  • The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.
  • The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower.
  • The average US wage in 1918 was 22 cents per hour.
  • The average US worker made between $200 and $400 per year.
  • A competent accountant could expect to earn $2,000 per year.
  • A dentist earned $2,500 per year.
  • A veterinarian between $1,500 and 4,000 per year.
  • And, a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.
  • More than 95 percent of all births took place at home
  • Ninety percent of all Doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION!
  • Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press AND the government as “substandard.”
  • Sugar cost four cents a pound.
  • Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.
  • Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.
  • Most women only washed their hair once a month, And, used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
  • Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason.
  • The Five leading causes of death were:

1. Pneumonia and influenza

2. Tuberculosis

3. Diarrhea

4 Heart disease

5. Stroke

  • The American flag had 45 stars …
  • The population of Las Vegas, Nevada was only 30.
  • Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn’t been invented yet.
  • There was neither a Mother’s Day nor a Father’s Day.
  • Two out of every 10 adults couldn’t read or write
  • And, only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.
  • Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at local corner drugstores. Back then pharmacists said, “Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach, bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health!” (Shocking?)
  • Eighteen percent of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help…
  • There were about 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE U.S.A. !

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QUOTES YOU CAN USE

Generosity gives out of abundance; sacrifice costs us something.

See the Good, not the Bad

Gratitude Is the Attitude that Sets the Altitude for Living. Focus on the Positive not the Negative

When we have an education of God’s performance in the past and evidence of God’s presence in the now, we can have an encouragement of God’s provision in the future.

If God is all you have, you have all you need.

I might wake up early and go running or I might wake up early and win the lottery. The odds are about the same.