GRACE & PEACE
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11)
Growing Dominion, Part 20
We have noted that within the last generation, we have enjoyed astonishing blessings in the realm of health. The reason for emphasizing this was to point for the fundamental need for gratitude. Whatever the root causes for this, and they are not necessarily medical advances, we must conduct our debates on the subject in a spirit of gratitude, not a spirit of complaining.
The improvement may be due to advances in agriculture, not medicine. In other words, not as many people starve to death. Or it may be because of the prevalence of soap. Lots of diseases disappear when people simply start washing up. Or it might be through advances in medicine. Most likely, it is some complicated combination of all of the above, plus a few other factors not mentioned. All of this is legitimate fodder for debate and discussion. The point being emphasized here is that the debate should only be undertaken by grateful people. In other words, the longevity is a fact, and we should be thankful for it. If we are not thankful for the indisputable fact, then our contributions to the discussion are likely to be seriously skewed.
The reason this must be emphasized is that even though we have this longevity, we are a nation of worriers. And because we are worriers, we have low sales resistance. We believe anything (although different groups of people believe different kinds of “anything”). Some people are so ga-ga over conventional medicine, they not only believe their doctor, but also believe someone who “plays one on tv.” Other people will buy alternative products because they “contain no chemicals.” Oh? What are they made of then? We are not to be children in our thinking, but rather mature. A spirit of complaining and ingratitude creates gullibility, and this gullibility knows no borders.