Published: September 11, 2009 07:58 am      

Do I have to be numb to serve?

Dr. Jerry N. Duncan

Guest columnist

How well do you do watching the channels on TV that show sick and starving children in other countries? I don’t do so well. I find myself taking advantage of the fact that I have the remote control at the moment, and switch the channel to something else- anything else. Is it OK to be numb?

Our bodies are created with a life-saving mechanism that allows our brain to turn off our perception of physical pain during times of real emergency in our lives, when the overwhelming nature of pain might prevent us from getting ourselves or others to safety. A true-to-life example is the story of the young female hiker in California who slipped and fell 60 feet “landing” on her feet below. She shattered bones in her feet and ankles, her knees, and then her hip. It was days before she was found after she drug herself a couple of miles to a trail where others could see her. It wasn’t until she was placed on the stretcher that the excruciating pain of her injuries “broke through.”

It seems to be necessary at times to numb our personal pain. Chronic pain that doesn’t respond to the best of our current medical knowledge and treatment can sometimes be relieved to a degree though relaxation techniques, physical therapy, or hypnosis.

Becoming numb to the pain of others can be dangerous. We can find ourselves missing out on our greatest opportunities to respond to the call of God to be an extension of Him to a world in excruciating pain.

We deceive ourselves, or are deceived by the Enemy to believe that we won’t survive if we feel- if we really knew about and were in the midst of the pain of others in need. It is an easy lie to believe because most of us have never ventured out to discover for ourselves if it is a pain we can survive. Fear and selfishness are great “protectors,” but they also rob us of our most rewarding life experiences.

Remember the quote from Jesus I used last week? “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13). I don’t think our death will always be required when helping others. I do believe that our willingness to die, if necessary, is the mindset that makes us manage any fear we might feel.

God is not numb to the pain of others. He came to live on earth to experience the same kind of pain we feel. He felt great physical pain when He was tortured and then crucified. We are told that He also felt great emotional pain.

When He cried at the announcement of the death of His friend, Lazarus, whom was he crying for? Was he crying because of his own loss of a friend? Was he crying for the pain of grief that Lazarus’s sisters were feeling?

Was he crying for Lazarus? Remember Lazarus had been dead for three days. Jesus would be bringing His good friend back to earth after tasting the joy of Heaven for three days.

Jesus cried for Jerusalem, was sad for the rich young ruler who walked away from an invitation to follow Him, and concerned about the one lost sheep- even when the other ninety-nine were safe.

We don’t have to be numb. Numbness will rob us.

We do have to have the very strength of God to do the tasks that are our calling for the short time we have here on earth.