INTRODUCTION:
Seventh-day Adventists have traditionally given emphasis to healthful living as a vital part of the gospel. It is well known that we Adventists are a health-minded people; that a large proportion of our members are trained physicians, nurses, or dietitians in institutions supported by us at great expense; that we maintain numerous hospitals, clinics, sanitariums, health-food factories, and stores; that converts to our faith are expected not only to abstain from the stronger stimulants and narcotics but also to make what seem to be radical changes in their diet and other health habits. These facts are generally known and can be seen everywhere in the world where Adventists have established themselves.
But the church's emphasis on health is often seen only from the viewpoint of what the church as a whole is doing professionally. In other words, our greatest emphasis is seen in centers of health, which several churches have sup ported. When it comes to the local congregation, there is little if any emphasis on health as part of the work of the church. This lack of local concern for health becomes evident when an individual in a local congregation seeks in formation on the subject of health and finds little to satisfy him. The congregation can direct him to one of our large health centers, but this often is a great distance away and usually there is not a real concern for the particular community that the person comes from.
It is our purpose here to seek out ways that we, as members of this local congregation, can implement the health emphasis our denomination as a whole has accomplished. How can we on a local level render service to our community in the area of health education? First, we need to define what health is and why it is important to the work of the church; then we ought to find ways to emphasize health in the local church and the community.
BODY:
I. The emphasis on health is an integral part of the preaching of the gospel.
A. The usual definition of health is that given by the World Health Organization: "Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." Notice several important points:
1. Freedom from disease is not necessarily health. One can be in poor health and not be sick.
2. A person can be run-down mentally in his relationship with others as well as physically.
3. Health is well-being a satisfactory condition, by what is normative, in mind, body, and in our relationships with others.
4. Health involves the total person, not just part of him.
5. To the W.H.O. definition we need to add the spiritual dimension.
B. Complete well-being or health can be achieved only by a transformation of life, which Jesus Christ alone can give.
1. Jesus proclaimed, "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly" (John 10:10).
2. The life that Jesus gives is a total experience symbolized by the new birth.
C. Biblical concept of well-being must be seen as a conversion of the total man.
1. The unity of man means that all of man is affected when certain individual areas are.
2. The presence of disease is attributed to sin.
3. Health and well-being are equated with salvation.
a. Often Jesus would say that a person's sins were forgiven him, when he was healed.
b. Concept of healing in the Bible means that all of man is transformed or made healthy.
D. The emphasis upon health and well-being of man is vital in the Biblical command to preach the gospel.
1. Christ's commission to His disciples states, "He sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick" (Luke 9:2).
a. "He sent them" that is, those in the church.
b. "to preach" to the public of the world.
c. "the kingdom of God and to heal the sick" the message which, when believed, makes possible a new physical, mental, and spiritual restoration to true health.
2. Jesus' instruction states: "Into whatsoever city ye enter, . . . heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you" (Luke 10:8, 9).
3. The result of the teaching of Jesus revealed that the disciples "departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel, and healing every where" (Luke 9:6).
4. Jesus' own example of preaching and healing needs to be followed by Christians today.
E. The doctrine of the priesthood of every believer emphasizes the need to care for the whole man.
1. For Israel, the priest supervised both the religious and the health functions of the nation. It is important to see the close relationship that existed between health and religion.
2. The priesthood of every believer as stated in 1 Peter 2 indicates that we as Christians have taken on the role of priest in the kingdom of God. Every Christian ought to see the importance of giving the gospel of the kingdom to the whole man.
F. True education, and in this sense, the gospel, is the "harmonious development of the physical, the mental, and the spiritual powers" (Education, p. 13).
II. Every Christian needs training in the fundamental principles of the gospel in making man whole.
A. Curative medicine is a vital part of the problem of health, but is not the complete answer to it.
1. Physicians, surgeons, nurses, and others are trained in the areas of healing.
2. Prevention, which our definition of health is really more concerned with, can be implemented by all in the church, whether they are in the medical field or not.
B. Preventive medicine is the duty of every member of the church and is the proper area of health that ought to be emphasized.
1. Nonmedical persons have no business involving themselves in areas of healing that they have no training in.
2. There is a far greater potential in saving people through prevention of disease and maintenance of good health than in the curative phase.
C. Every church ought to be a training center in principles of good health. Some areas that could be developed are as follows:
1. cooking and nutrition
2. home nursing and family care
3. knowledge of disease and its causes
4. first aid to the injured
5. weight and diet control
6. mental and emotional health
7. family life education
a. sex education
b. growth and development
c. child guidance
d. interpersonal relationships within the family
8. alcohol-narcotic-tobacco-LSD-other dangerous drug education and withdrawal programs.
III. The proclamation of the gospel ought to be given in a setting that will fulfill the requirements of good health. Besides the spiritual, there must be emphasis upon the physical, mental, and social well-being of the individual.
A. Principles of health ought to be included in evangelism.
1. Missionary efforts have often been in the area of doctrinal teachings, to which the person makes mental assent.
2. What is needed is an approach that shows practical ways in which to live in Christ.
a. Physical would include care of the body as the temple of the Holy Spirit.
b. Mental deals with the care of our minds. Here is the center where God communicates with us.
c. Social involves our relationship with other people.
3. Programs that would cover these areas of health ought to be combined with doctrines, for they simply apply doctrines to life.
B. The church ought to be a health agency in time of need. Basic needs exist for:
1. food
2. clothing
3. financial means
4. medical care
5. psychological well-being
C. The church can do more than simply be a health agency in time of need; it needs to be an active agency of health education and help for the community. How? By providing:
1. information to the public on health issues through
a. newspapers
b. radio
c. literature
d. lectures
e. films
f. personal contacts
2. clinics to combat community health problems:
a. smoking clinics
b. marriage guidance
c. child care and discipline
d. nutrition and cooking schools
3. services for promotion of health:
a. restaurants
b. family camps
c. recreational pursuits
d. social activities
D. One word of caution here, however. We must present the total message of healthful living in the best light possible. We must remember that this mes sage must be seen by those outside the church as a community service with the welfare of mankind in mind.
CONCLUSION:
As a church we have a rich heritage of health emphasis that ought to become part of the ministry of every local congregation.
Ours is a message that involves the total individual in his response to Christ.
The work of the church is to proclaim the gospel, which deals with all aspects of good health.
Ellen White once wrote: "The breadth of gospel medical missionary work is not understood. . . . Our field is the world; our work the proclamation of the truths which Christ came to our world to proclaim." --Testimonies, vol. 8, p. 204.
There are unlimited opportunities for us to work in the areas of health education, helping people who take no interest in religious things, thus winning their confidence and attracting them to the Christ who is interested in the welfare of their entire being.
