Sickness
is a phenomenon of our existence on earth that is familiar to everyone. What is
sickness? Why do we get sick? How do we get rid of it?
Speaking
of theological approach to this phenomenon, we must be aware of the fact that
sickness is nothing other than a decrease in natural human vigor, a discord in
his essence, and a change of some sort in his composition, which was created by
God. The human was called from non-existence into being by the Divine Love, and
he was created perfect. Therefore, there was no place for sickness in his body.
However,
when humans transgressed God’s will and trespassed the commandment given to
them by their Creator, their sinful actions introduced a distortion into the
world, and their nature underwent a transformation that can be most aptly
characterized with the word “corruption”, i.e., a rift, a discord. This
corruption resulted in sicknesses and suffering. Therefore, sicknesses and
bodily weaknesses result from the Fall. It is by no means a coincidence that
both bodily suffering and sinful habits of one’s soul are called “passions”.
This is
how we can explain the spiritual mechanism of sickness more easily, and give an
answer to the question, “Why do we get sick?” When a person voluntarily chooses
to trespass God’s commandments and turns his back on the Lord who is the Source
of all life, he gets on a different track. As he moves along this track, which
leads to dying, he will inevitably encounter sicknesses, sorrows, and ailments
that are the harbingers of death.
Sickness
is always caused by sin. Sometimes you can figure out the spiritual cause of
your sickness simply by looking into your own heart. On the contrary, sometimes
you will have to inspect your entire life and investigate your conscience
meticulously in order to find out why you suffer from a certain sickness. It is
in your own actions that you will be able to see the real spiritual cause of
your health condition: an un-confessed and un-repented sin that, like a morbid
scab, causes the sickness of the soul which in turn, in compliance with the
unbreakable law of interconnectedness of soul and body, leads to bodily
infirmity.
A
sickness, allowed by God’s Providence, is nothing other than a means to teach a
person who defected from God’s Truth. This is how C. S. Lewis, a
British author and religious thinker, treats suffering. His thoughts about it
are remarkably concise: “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our
consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf
world.”
Anyway,
if the root of one’s sickness lies in the sin, one must direct his efforts to
take that root out first. We Orthodox Christians can and should use medicines
and seek doctors’ advice; nevertheless, we must never neglect spiritual
treatments, i.e., the Sacraments of Confession and Communion, the Sacrament of
Unction, and first of all, prayer to the Lord and his saints.
By Archpriest Andrew Nikolaidi
Source:
www.dishupravoslaviem.ru
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