Biblical Health is Holistic...,God's Way to Optimum Health

I grew up near Allegan State Forest in Southwestern Michigan where I did a lot of hunting. When walking in this huge preserve all I saw was the towering pine, oak, and hickory trees. I literally could not see the forest for the trees.

In dealing with illness and disease, a Christian and the health care profession often focuses so hard on the physical causes of a problem, they fail to treat the whole person.

In Luke 2:52 the Bible says that “Jesus grew in wisdom, stature, and in favor with God and man.” One can conclude that there are four parts of a properly developed man including mind, body, spirit, and social. While these divisions help understand the nature of man, it is not a good model for approaching health.

I work full-time in health care, and I volunteer as a part-time minister which involves counseling. In these capacities, I observe the wasted effort in treating physical, mental, social, and spiritual conditions independently.

Traditionally our system works where the doctor or medical practitioner takes care of the physical ailments of a person. The psychologist or therapist takes care of the mental and social disorders. The minister takes care of the spiritual side of man. This appears on the surface to be a good division of labor, but it is based on a false belief—that man can be so conveniently divided in four distinct parts.

In my profession as a chiropractor, I must be on guard to avoid thinking of patients who come to the office as solely low back, neck, or arm pain patients. I must continuously remind myself that every health problem in varying degrees has a physical, mental/social, and spiritual component.

These parts—the physical, mental/social and spiritual—are inalterably interconnected and inter-related. An imbalance of one creates an imbalance in the other. A change in one results in a change in the other. An improvement in one results in an improvement in the other. Optimum health results only when all are addressed.

When we have a physical aliment, we must train ourselves to go to God in prayer and ask some questions. We should ask God to show us any spiritual or mental/social problems that might be contributing to this physical ailment.

Am I angry and resentful toward someone? Have I failed to forgive them? Do I have a clear conscience? Should I ask for forgiveness from someone I wronged? Is there some area of disobedience toward God? Do I have some harmful habits that contribute to this ailment such as poor dietary choices, lack of exercise, negative thinking, and so forth?

It is helpful to ask for insight from someone who loves us and knows us well as we are often blind to our own behavior. “The wounds of a friend can be trusted,” Psalms 27:6.

Sometimes God chooses to heal us as a direct answer to our prayers. However, God works best to heal the physical when the spiritual and mental/social issues are addressed. Healing of only the physical will produce temporary results.

Let’s not fall into the trap of believing that since we have gone to the doctor and gotten some pills or treatment for our condition, we have taken care of the problem. Dig a little deeper for spiritual and mental/social components. This approach will bring the abundant health we were designed to enjoy.