Spiritual Health
“…part of what it means to say we live in a fallen world is that people are in a weakened state, in poor spiritual health, likely to stray from the good path, to be tempted to leave the path that leads to fullness of health, and that therefore we all need the healing, nourishing, guiding, and protecting that the Scriptures provide. These various images also imply that entering into the new life in Christ isn’t just a matter of mentally accepting some ideas as true. If we need protection, then it isn’t an easy process; it involves struggle, deep change, a cross.” (Mary S. Ford)
“The culture of modernity imagines itself to be a champion of a therapeutic approach to life. “Healing” is popular in an array of forms. The Christian faith is not immune to this cultural predilection – how could Christianity be opposed to healing? Nevertheless, much of our modern concept of therapeutics, at least on the popular level, remains shallow and devoid of truth. The culture satisfies itself with “making you feel better.” Oftentimes, wanting to “feel better” is precisely the thing that has made someone sick. In a consumer-driven world, feeling better sells. A Christian version of “feeling better” also sells – but at the expense of the gospel.” (Father Stephen Freeman)
“Often the reason people fall into unhealthy or even sinful habits, such as comfort eating, mindless web surfing, or substance abuse, is that they have not identified wholesome ways to self-soothe and recharge. In the long term, disordered ways of recharging only suck more energy out of us.” (Robin Phillips)
“Every person has self-medicated at some point. Perhaps it was something as benign as eating a bowl of ice cream on arriving home after a stressful day of work. However, often it is not so benign. When we self-medicate, we are trying to self-soothe. We are trying to reach out for something that will numb the pain of feelings of loss, grief, sadness, pressure, stress, or anxiety. This is the root cause of addiction. Addiction is an attempt to cope with and avoid emotional pain…self-medicating not only blocks out pain in an unhealthy way, it also blocks insight and self-awareness. Through self-medicating we pause the inner work that is needed for our theosis. Only when the medication is removed does the reality of one’s inner world emerge.” (Fr. Joshua Makoul)
“Sobering up and coming to our senses, we realize that here, in this world today, we’re in exile. We’ve been sent here in exile. Man, left without God, has turned his life into hard labor. He suffers by the sweat of his brow, laboring for his bread, yet he still lacks everything. He tries to find some special doctors, special medicine, health improvement systems (everyone wants to improve their health now), but he’ll still die—that’s the thing. No matter how much you recover, soon or later you’ll die. Those are our prospects without God. But when man begins to live spiritually and pulls himself up, crawls out of these swamps he’s stuck in, there are completely different prospects. If we’re truly religious people, God gives us everything we need. However, we lose a lot due to our stupidity and sins.” (Archpriest Andrew Lemeshonok)
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