Pills, prayers & priorities

Medical technology has advanced rapidly in the past century. A hundred years ago, it was common for a person to die of complications arising from something as simple as a broken leg. Antibiotic drugs and vaccines were unknown.

But medical gains are not the answer to all problems. Some medicines – thalidomide, for example – hailed as breakthroughs, have come with tragic and unforeseen side effects. And medical intervention, while useful, can be abused by people seeking easy remedies to circumstances best dealt with in other ways.

So how can Christians make good ethical decisions concerning medical treatment?

Not just about long life

Our continued earthly existence isn’t all we need to consider when making these decisions. Preparation for eternity beyond death is as important as maintaining health in this life. While good health is worth preserving, we need to ask: At what cost?

My sister-in-law, an operating room nurse, recounts numerous instances in which she and other staff have resuscitated a patient with no hope of recovery, largely because family members are unwilling to emotionally let go of that person. At other times, decisions regarding medical treatment are phrased in terms of quality of life, as though quality of life can be preserved indefinitely. In reality, treatment can often be traumatic and offer only modest improvement.

Sometimes it’s better to acknowledge our mortality and seek to glorify God through it. When my aunt was terminally ill with cancer, she devoted her energies to planning a funeral service that would testify to the working of God in her life.

The apostle Paul’s example can help us maintain a Christian perspective on death and dying. Although Paul prayed for physical healing from his “thorn in the flesh,” God chose to work through Paul’s weakness. Paul realized the wisdom of embracing God’s sovereign plan (2 Corinthians 12:9–10; cf. Philippians 1:21; 2 Timothy 4:6–8). Paul recognized that God’s plan didn’t rely on his living a long or healthy life.

However, we know that medical treatment is appropriate in many cases, and that God has blessed us with many wonderful medical breakthroughs.

Unethical treatments

When seeking medical intervention, we must always recognize God’s sovereignty and adhere to certain ethical commitments, even when faced with desperate situations. Our Christian convictions will influence our willingness to consider different types of medical treatment, and may mean refusing some treatment options available to us.

Early in 2007, Art and Jody Matz were enjoying the anticipation of Jody’s pregnancy. The discovery that Jody was carrying twins added to their excitement. Midway through the pregnancy, however, their anticipation gave way to anxiety as an ultrasound revealed a serious problem with one of their unborn twins.

Baby A, as they called the child, was suffering from an abnormal accumulation of fluid. Among other issues, the condition prevented proper brain development, and meant the baby probably wouldn’t live. Even in the unlikely event that Baby A survived until birth, there would be profound physical and mental disabilities.

Even worse, Baby A’s condition was endangering Baby B. The specialists to whom Art and Jody were referred advised them to terminate Baby A to prevent harming Baby B. Adding to the pressure of the situation, Art and Jody were advised that failing to take this action could endanger Jody’s health, and even take her life.

Art and Jody, already parents of two toddlers, were faced with some tremendously difficult decisions. Believing that God had called them to uphold the sanctity of life, they decided to entrust themselves and their unborn children to God’s care and asked for prayer from the church community. They believed that trusting God negated the possibility of taking the life of their unborn child, so they prayerfully continued the pregnancy, against the advice of their doctor.

Although their doctor’s advice to terminate the sick child was given with good intentions – to preserve the lives of the healthy child and the mother – it reveals that medical staff may give advice from a moral perspective very different from that of a Christian. They neglect to consider Christian discipleship and the sovereign actions of a God who is beyond our understanding.

Some of today’s medical intervention options can lead us into dangerous moral territory. Although we take certain actions for the right reasons, we may still be doing the wrong thing.

Consider side effects

Our decision-making process should also take into consideration not only the direct results of medical treatment, but also potential side effects.

For example, many infertile couples opt for procedures such as in vitro fertilization to allow them to have children. But this technique can create a number of fertilized embryos, raising some difficult questions. Should surplus embryos be destroyed if the couple doesn’t want to have any more children? Or should all fertilized embryos be implanted in the mother’s womb, regardless of how many children may or may not be born?

We believe that children are a heritage from the Lord. But if life begins at conception, can we defend the practice of using artificial means to create lives (even unborn ones) just for the purpose of increasing our chances of having a baby?

Furthermore, is it even proper for Christians who cannot conceive naturally to pursue parenthood through extraordinary medical procedures when there are so many orphaned children in need of loving families?

Some medical treatments can create more problems than they solve and Christians are called to consider all the implications.

Lack of faith?

Other dilemmas exist. For some, seeking medical treatment implies a lack of faith. A young man I know was advised by people in his house church that God would heal him of his illness, leading him to refuse medical care. As a result, he nearly died. Before accepting the medication that would have cured him, he suffered irreversible damage from what was a serious, but very treatable, disease.

Scripture reveals that in many cases, a believer’s faith has led to healing (Matthew 15:28, Mark 5:34). Faith does not, however, guarantee physical healing (as noted from the life of Paul). Nor does it dictate how a person should seek healing; Scripture simply affirms that believers should supplicate in faith.

For example, the Roman centurion in Luke 7 humbly asked Jesus to “say the word” so that his servant might be healed. In the very next chapter, Luke records how a woman with a discharge of blood sought healing by touching the fringe of Jesus’ clothing. Jesus healed a man born blind by instructing him to go to the pool of Siloam to wash a mud poultice from his eyes.

The variety of circumstances in which people sought and received healing reinforces the truth that there is no prescribed way to seek healing. Help may very well come through medication, surgery, or a doctor’s advice. The Bible simply affirms that Christ is the source of all healing.

Guidelines

It would be presumptuous to present hard and fast rules about when or when not to seek medical treatment, or about what kind of treatment to seek. But there is biblical guidance to help us make decisions.

Christians are called to respect life. We’re called to ground our hope in the resurrection of Christ and in the life to come (1 Corinthians 15:19). This eschatological hope helps us realize that sometimes allowing a loved one to die and pass from earthly life to heavenly reward may be a wiser decision that using heroic means to keep a person alive. Medical intervention isn’t always the answer.

Christians are also called to seek wise counsel when faced with difficult circumstances. The stress of making medical decisions alone can be overwhelming. Consulting other believers can help us gain valuable perspective and make better decisions (see Proverbs 11:14; 15:22). We can also benefit from resources, such as the Board of Faith and Life’s pamphlet series, that provide solid biblical teaching for making informed medical decisions.

It’s important to talk about medical issues with our loved ones at times when major decisions aren’t imminent. It’s always more difficult to make decisions during crisis situations. The apostle Peter’s first letter contains instructions about the inevitability of “various trials” (1 Peter 1:6), and emphasizes thoughtful preparation as integral to Christian living (see 1 Peter 1:13; 4:12).

Finally, we must remember there are many wonderful advances in drug and surgical treatments that can help people recover from injury and disease. God can use these advances to bring about physical healing. And, through the healing process, God can use us as agents of his reconciliation and restoration in the world (2 Corinthians 5:19–20).

Christians can joyfully take advantage of much that the medical establishment has to offer because, as temples of the Holy Spirit, our bodies are instruments by which we exercise stewardship and glorify God. Often, seeking medical help and advice, keeping our bodies healthy and strong, and preventing disease is the best way to honour God.

Ultimately, our aim is to glorify God in every medical choice we make.

Postscript: Art and Jody Matz held fast to their original decision. Baby A died about a month after the initial diagnosis, but Baby B – Logan James – was born healthy and without complications in May.

Brian Cooper is pastor of family ministries at Northside Community Church, Mission, B.C., and a sessional faculty member at Columbia Bible College, Abbotsford.