The Doctor

I am grateful to have a very good doctor. In addition to his deep medical knowledge, he has an excellent bedside manner. He is always enthusiastic about his work.

I truly believe that he likes me as a person and wants the best for me. Recently, however, he has not been such a fun person to visit.

It all started after my last physical. I expected him to look at me quickly and tell me that I was in perfect health. Instead, he decided to run some tests.

Some of these tests, like the blood test, actually hurt! I did not see why his examination had to be painful.

An Honest Diagnosis

After the tests, he came in to talk with me. I expected this nice doctor to compliment me on my health. After all, he would probably want to keep my business.

Instead, he told me that I needed to change my diet. He wanted me to remove the bad foods that raise my cholesterol. I agreed completely until he started listing those foods—they were all things I loved to eat.

He also prescribed some medicines. They cost me money, and I have to remember to take them daily. He even told me to exercise more, which requires extra time and effort.

When I was sick recently, I expected him to tell me I would just get better on my own. Instead, I had to take more medicine and avoid some fun activities for a few days. As you can see, he is not much fun to visit anymore.

Sometimes I wonder if he still cares about me at all.

The Waitress

A couple of weeks ago, I ate at a popular steak restaurant. I immediately liked our waitress. She was not sullen (gloomy or bad-tempered) or rude. Instead, she was very friendly to my family and me.

She took excellent care of us. Our glasses stayed full, and she got our orders correct on the very first try.

I think what I liked most about her was that she was completely non-judgmental. When she took our drink order, I asked for a Coke. She did not lecture me on caffeine and its effects on my heart. She just brought me a full glass and plenty of refills.

When we ordered our food, it became clear that I could order anything on the menu. Even the “bad” foods my doctor warned me about would be brought to me with a smile. I could have ordered a massive amount of food, and she never would have warned me about indigestion (stomach discomfort).

Sweet but Costly

After the meal, she asked if we wanted dessert. Almost everything on my doctor’s “banned” list was on the dessert menu. I summoned my courage and ordered a brownie with ice cream and hot fudge.

Instead of a rebuke (sharp criticism or disapproval), I received a very large and delicious dessert.

After I finished the last spoonful of ice cream, the waitress brought the check. It began to dawn on me that for everything I ordered, she expected a tip.

It was in her financial interest for me to order a lot of food, whether it was good for my physical health or not. Even if she was just doing her job, her goals were different from my doctor’s goals.

It was not her job to worry about my health; she expected me to make my own wise choices.

Replace Your Doctor with Your Server?

None of us would want our doctor to act like a server at a restaurant. A doctor serving food would tell us we could not order certain items because of health concerns. He would limit our portions and refuse to bring us dessert.

Likewise, we would not want our restaurant server to act as our doctor. A server acting as a doctor would only tell us what we want to hear. He would avoid bad news, protect us from pain, and tell us to eat whatever we want.

If we treated our physical health this way, we would suffer greatly. We would never correct our bad habits or cure our ailments (illnesses).

Who Do You Want for a Preacher?

A certain preacher often spoke on things his congregation (a group of believers assembled for worship) needed to hear. His lessons required them to change some bad behaviors.

Realizing they were disobeying God caused them inner pain. They had to change their lives to please Him. Because of this, some people thought the preacher was angry at them or did not want them to have fun.

Another preacher chose to tell people only what they wanted to hear. He preached on entertaining topics. He avoided issues that required effort to understand.

He was careful never to cause discomfort, challenge cherished beliefs, or call out bad habits (2 Timothy 4:1-5).

Which kind of preacher do you actually need? Do you need someone who keeps you comfortable, or someone who helps you heal?