Major Causes of Sickness and Disease

According to a survey made by a well known Health Organization about 80% of all patients in hospitals world wide cannot be cured with medicine. Also about 90% of all mentally disturbed Christians admitted in mental hospitals in some Western countries simply because they feel within themselves they have committed unpardonable sins and that there is no way that God can forgive them. So we see, people are being destroyed by something. If medicine is not curing them and God does not send sickness and disease to destoy them, then someone or something is destroying them. If Christians are indeed what the Bible says they are more than conquerors (Romans 8:37), how come these things have power over them?

It is amazing that both the Bible and medical science tell us that the major causes of sickness and disease are strife, anger, bitterness, envy, contention, dissention, jealousy, unforgiveness, etc., etc. These are stress and emotional disturbances which produce chemical changes in human bloodstreams. These emotional disturbances cause our adrenal glands to secrete a hormone called adrenaline. When the body is under stress, the glands increase their secretion of adrenaline and pour it into the blood, which carries it to every part of the body. The hormone speeds up the beating of the heart. It also causes an increase in blood pressure and enables the muscles to work faster and longer. Adrenaline has extensive uses in medicine. It is used as a stimulant in certain heart conditions and is helpful in case of bronchial asthma and shock. But it causes stress on your heart and artery and also detrimental to your nervous and muscular system. This in turn brings symptoms of infirmity, sickness, disease and eventually death to your physical body.

The Biblical Viewpoint

First of all we must realize that the human mind which is the soulish part of the person can be subject to the devil's control. Medical doctors find this difficult to understand unless he is a Christian.

Paul said, "But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the gods of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them" (2 Cor. 4:4, NKJV, emphasis added).

If your mind is blinded by circumstances that cause strife then there is no way you can see the things of God and there is no way you can think the thoughts of God.

God said through Jeremiah, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not evil, to give you a future and an hope" (Jeremiah 29:11).

God's thoughts toward you are not evil but good. So you will have peace and not strife; joy and not harassment. On the other hand, the devil's thoughts toward you are evil and he takes away your peace and your joy by causing you to strife and at odds with other people around you.

The root cause of strife

People must get rid of the cause and not just the symptoms of strife because it can kill them. If you have a tree that produces too much leaves and you try to prune it by pulling out some leaves you will not solve the problem. The tree is going to bear more leaves. In order to stop the leaves to grow out of contol you have to get rid of the root because the root is what causes the leaves to come as it brings food to the tree.

Likewise if you have a problem of strife in your life you have to go to the root problem. The problem is in you and not in those around you - your mother-in-law or your Pastor. If you sove your own problem, the problem of those around you won't bother you at all. Or maybe the person in your life is a mirror of you and the people around your are just trying to show you that some of the things in your life need to be removed.

Paul said, "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness" (Romans 1:18, KJV, emphasis added).

The phrase "Hold the truth" means "keep back, restrain or hinder the truth". Notice you cannot know the truth if you are unrighteous at the beginning. That means before you are born again. Then God saves you and you begin to know the truth because the Holy Spirit reveals the truth to you. Now God's wrath is against you because you purposely keep back the truth.

Paul said further, "Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, backbiter, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, desobedient to parents, without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmercifu; who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them" (Romans 1:29 - 32, KJV, emphasis added).

When you do these things or allow part of of the world to come into your life then the Bible says it will cause death to your physical body.

Now compare the above with what Paul said to the Galatians, "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: adultery, fornication, uncleaness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: ... that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God" (Gal. 5:19 - 21, KJV, emphasis added).

Notice the sin of strife is listed here with the sin of murder. Paul was saying that Christians who allow "the works of the flesh" to come into their lives will not inherit the kingdom of God.

So Christians have a choice and the right choice is to stay away from strife and live!

Strife is an abomination to God

Solomon wrote: "These six things the Lord hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren" (Proverbs 6:16 - 19, NKJV, emphasis added).

In the original Hebrew language "discord" means "strife. strive, and disharmony". And so God hates people "Who sows strife among brethren". This is an abomination to Him

As members of the Body of Christ we have to understand that if we do what God hates it will open the door for the devil to come in and to do whatever he wants to do to us. He has the legal right to harass and torment us.

Solomon said, "Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins" (Proverbs 10:12).

Hatred is of the devil and it stirs up strife; love is of God and it covers all sins. We have a choice and the logical thing to do is to choose love and not hatred.

Joy of the Lord

Paul said, "Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowhip of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself" (Phil. 2:1 - 3, NKJV, emphasis added).

For Christians joy and love go together. If we think of our brethren more honorably than we think of ourselves and give them recognition and love them as Christ loves them, then we will fulfill God's joy. Now if you have God's joy then you also have God's strength (Nehemiah 8:10). When you have God's strength you don't have the sickness and disease operating in your life.

What if the person gets old? People get old in the flesh but that does not necessarily means when you are old you must be sick also. Old-age is not synonymous with sickness; it has nothing to do with sickness. You can be 120 years old and still perfectly healthy.

Paul said, "Therefore we do not lose heart. Even thogh our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day" (2 Cor. 4:16).

If your inward man is being renewed day by day there is no room for sickness and disease!

The harmfulness of strife

Strife is harmful because it causes you to serve the devil and not God. If you are the man of the house and you have strife in your heart you are in essence bringing strife into your household. The devil can attack your wife, your children and make them sick. When you are sick with disease it can destroy your business. Christ has redeemed you and you have no right to condemn yourself with sickness and disease.


Strife hinders your prayers

Peter said, "Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered" (1 Peter 3:7, emphasis added).

When you give honor to your wife you will not have strife with her. If you have strife in your heart even if you are praying in tonques God will not hear your prayer, let alone answering you. I believe this does not apply to your relationship with your wife alone, but to the whole Body of Christ. We are brethren and we are heirs together of the grace of life.

Strife makes your ministry ineffective

Paul said, "And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, ..." (2 Tim. 2:24, KJV, emphasis added).

The word "strive" in Greek means "quarrel, dispute or strife".

Paul was not just giving us a casual suggestion. As a servant of God you can't afford to have strife in your heart because it opens the door for sickness and disease to come in. Have you ever wondered why so many servants of God with great ministries have deadly diseases like cancer? You can't even pray for a minister down with cancer because God will not hear your prayer if he does not humble himself and repent. I believe God will restore him if he repents (1 John 1:9).

Strife keeps the Holy Spirit away

The Holy Spirit will not operate in your life when strife is operating. Why? Simple because darkness and light has nothing in common.

James said, "Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? Let him shew out of good conversation his words with meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish" (James 3:13 - 15, KJV, emphasis added).

Strife is the product of the wisdom, not of God, but of the world, of the soul and of the devil. It is totally contrary to work of the Holy Spirit. Strife is in the soulish realm and it tries to control you. If your soul is not in control of you, then the question is, who controls your soul? If Christ controls your soul then you will do all things that God says to do. If someone else controls your soul then you will do what the world says to do.

Paul said, "Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so tha you do not do the things that you wish" (Gal. 5:16, NKJV).

If you want to do the things of God and not the things of the world you will have to crucify your flesh. You cannot crucify your own flesh. You need the Helper, the Holy Spirit. Call on Him and He will come and help you.

Strife causes one's bone to rot

Solomon said, "A sound heart is life to the body, but envy is rottenness to the bones" (Proverbs 14:30).

A sound heart (man's spirit) is a healthy heart controlled by the Holy Spirit. It gives life to the body. But envy, the product of the flesh (or carnal desire), like strife and all those listed in Galatians 5:19 - 21 cause the bones to rot.

Bone has bone marrow, a soft, gelatinous substance, consists of a network of blood vessels and fibers holding together blood-producing cells. If your bones start to rot, your blood will not be healthy, and your body will eventually be destroyed. Blood and bone disease can kill you.

Conclusion

I strongly believe that the Bible can explain things what medical science fails to explain. In a sense the Bible is an up-to-date medical encyclopedia.

Solomon said, "It is to a man's honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel" (Proverbs 20:3, NIV).

In the eyes of God a man who does not stay away from strif is a fool! And God has nothing good to say about a fool!