Morning Moments

Caring or Curing

Mark 12:24. And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God?

I am using this text out of its context not for a proof text but merely to suggest that sometimes in our zeal to care we lose signet of the cure.

I see signs all over the place about "Caring for the Divorced". I like to consider myself as one who sees beyond his nose and sometimes signs like that concern me because somewhere in it rings a note of danger that we can get so concerned about care that we lose sight of the cure.

As a former (not recovering) cancer patient, I do appreciate the care I received during my illness and do not wish to minimize that in any way. My wife was a champion! She took such good care of me, but she wanted me well, as did I. I was grateful for the care but I wanted the cure. Coping with the cancer and consideration of the care played a big part in my recovery, no doubt, but the cure was up to God and me.

To deny the pain and damage divorce brings would be foolish and to deny care to those who have gone or are going though it would be even more foolish, but far too often we see the same folks going through the same thing over and over. It is like the recurrence of cancer again and again - no cure, just care. And it is there I have a big problem.

Someone has said that if I always do what I have always done I will always get what I always got. That makes a lot of sense to me, so there are some foods that I stay away from completely because of what they contain. If I know the contents of a certain food contains a cancer causing ingredient and eat it anyway, I KNOW I am at risk.

The same is true regarding relationships. Some people simply are not good a picking dates or mates. It's just a fact and should not be ignored. So, if we are going to look beyond care to cure, we must start there. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Care is not to be ignored but cure is critical if marriage, as we know it, is to survive another generation.

I am in no way saying "Stop Caring!" But I am saying, "START CURING" because with all our "caring" the problem is getting worse. Please just think about what I am saying for a moment. If I may be so bold as to use the medical profession as an illustration: The doctor who treats the arthritis in my feet has to send me to another in the group to treat the arthritis in my knees, etc, because nobody knows anything about the whole body anymore.

I was having severe stomach pains and could not get an appointment with my gastroentrologist for six weeks, so I went to my general practitioner who ordered a test because of my cancer background. The GP in the meantime moved away. I knew the results of the test had been sent to my specialist so I called to inquire about the results (I am making a long story short). He refused to comment on the RESULTS of the test because in his words "I didn't order it." Now this guy teaches Sunday school somewhere but because he didn't order the test he wouldn't comment on the results of the test he had before him. THAT is too specialized for me.

It is the same in the church because the church has taken on the character of the world. We can't all worship together, so we have to have adult church and children's church, contemporary services and traditional services, clases for singles and classes for couples, classes for divorcees and classes for those who are subject to become so. My head spins! I KNOW our intentions are good and our motives are pure but I do not think our wisdom in many of these matter is what is should be. Maybe I am all alone in my thinking, but I surely do wish we could do a little more teaching like mama did, that "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." And I would add that a pound of cure surely prevents another "caring" group. THINK ABOUT IT!

People who divorce once are more apt to do it a second and third time, so we are told, so let's concentrate on the CURE a bit more but continue to care too. We have far too many Recovering Christians.