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We have been taught to
attack our bodies with chemical poisons. We
are doing things we think are natural; when in fact they
are far from natural. You can break free—You can see miracles happen in
your life. We have looked to science and technology to solve our problems but it
isn't happening! YOU must be the hero!
There was a man who every
day when he went to his lunch would complain bitterly, “Peanut butter and
jelly sandwiches, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches! Every day, peanut butter
and jelly sandwiches!” After hearing this for
many days one of his fellow workers turned to him and said, “Hey, Man, Why
don’t you tell your old lady to pack you something else for your lunch?” Whereupon the guy said, “But I’m not married.
I have-ta pack my own lunch!” Need I say more?
A
look at mood altering drugs:
Back in the dusty avenues of ancient
history we find the religion of the worship of Asculaepeus, the serpent. The priests of this religion were sorcerers, and studied
chemicals and poisons and developed many mind-altering drugs. This science was called Pharmacopoeia, and has come down to us in
Pharmacology, the use of chemicals and poisons to affect the body and mind of
the patient. It comes to us with the taint of the serpent on it and I fear we
may become just too complacent in embracing this modern phenomenon.
Some may object to the use of the word
’poisons’ but after working in a big city hospital emergency room, and
seeing overdoses and accidental poisonings in great abundance, I assure you it
is accurate.
While studying nursing, this writer had the
privilege of attending lectures by a doctor who was very knowledgeable in the
field of alcoholism and drug addiction. He gave the students some very
interesting information. He told us
that if a person who never drinks alcohol is given one drink, the effects of
that drink on his body systems is still clearly visible the next day if an
examiner knows what to look for, and it is several days before the alcohol is
fully out of the tissues. A person, in the habit of taking a drink or two every
day, will take about a year before the effects of alcohol fully leaves the
tissues. Now, here is a shocker–If a person takes 1 Valium today, it will be thirty
days before it is fully out of his tissues! He left it to us to consider the
effects on a person using these drugs regularly.
I was talking one day
to a father in Israel, a faithful Elder in the church for many years. He
told me his experience with seeing church members put on
tranquilizers or antidepressant medications.
He bluntly said, “Every time a person starts on to this type of
medication, it is only a matter of a short time and they either leave the
church, or their spirituality just dies
away. Even if it is only a low dose and ‘just to help them sleep’.”
As Christians, we must take a good look
at this subject and seek to understand what we are dealing with. First let me
ask a question, What do mood altering drugs, nicotine in cigarettes, and alcohol
have in common?
We are all acquainted with the picture
of the alcoholic drinking up the pay check while wife and children are waiting at
home, in need. Or the drunken mother, lounging with her bottle while her home
and children suffer neglect. If you asked them if they loved their family they
would likely insist they do. What
is wrong?
I once knew a lady who smoked. She had a
group of children including a young baby and was quite poor.
She often asked me for a few dollars to buy milk for the babe, she knew I would
give it to her if I possibly could. She would go and buy one can of milk and a
pack of smokes. Why? Did she love her baby? She would have said yes.
In my nurses training, the time
came when the subject
came up about the harm that smoking does and
how nurses should seek always to oppose this practice, the teacher laid
it on hard. She pulled no punches and taught the subject well. When the lecture was over, the students looked at one
another, then we non-smokers witnessed a strange phenomenon–we saw all the
smokers, a high percent of the class, get up and say, “Well, after that I need
a smoke!” and go out to the smoking lounge to light up–the teacher included! The
rest of us in the class could not believe what we were seeing. Why did this
happen?
Now look at a mother on mood altering
drugs, lounging around and dozing while children are left to fend for
themselves. Doesn’t she care? She would say she does.
In the slanguage of the medical world,
they have a term for mood altering drugs, (away from the patients that is) they
call them 'D____ ital', because once on them, the person just doesn’t care any
more!
Now I’ll explain what happens–each
of these substances has one thing in common they attack that portion of the
brain where all the ‘higher’ impulses are born.
The conscience is found there and also
any spiritual ambitions. They numb that part of the brain where God seeks to
communicate to us, where the Holy Spirit gently woos us and warns us, where
real, heavenly love is born if it exists in us at all. Jesus called that portion
of our mind the “light’ of the body and warned if that light were darkened,
how dark we would be!
You see, guilt also is found in that
conscience, it is God’s way to warn us away from death, and give us a desire
to seek our Saviour. Guilt is
uncomfortable, it is meant to be. But
man, wanting comfort and peace but not the One in Whom that comfort and peace is
to be found, resorts to these chemicals to blot out the conscience.
People don’t realize that is what they are doing, but Satan sure does,
and he takes full advantage. With
the watch dog of the conscience drugged, there is no limit to things that will
creep into the life that otherwise would never even be considered.
People who use any of the above
mentioned chemical crutches may think they still ’love’ their families, they
may think they still ’love’ God, but they are no longer able to tune in to
spiritual realities–it is like being blind or deaf–they just can’t
receive.
It is no accident that substances that
deaden the conscience are so widely used today, Satan is behind it of course. People are suffering from the effects of sin and guilt on a tremendous
scale and when they seek those who should be pointing them to the only true
Remedy for sin, they are given platitudes and advised to seek medications.
If you want counsel on mood altering
drugs, I suggest you read the Spirit of Prophecy on the subject of hypnotism and
mind control. Also the counsels regarding the use of alcohol and opium are
instructive.
The same principles apply, only instead
of turning your mind and conscience over to another person, (and through him to
Satan) you are anaesthetizing your
mind and conscience, turning them over to a chemical. (and through it to Satan)
In
recent years a new danger is found in these mood altering drugs. Many of them
have a side effect of causing or contributing to suicide and/or homicide! You
see, if you cut off the channel that God seeks to communicate to you on, and
Satan has opportunity to pass the sleeping watchdog (he communicates to us
through our emotions and lower impulses)–the danger is great!
I know of a case where a lady was a patient of a
psychiatrist at a mental health clinic. He
prescribed for her an antidepressant, which was among those with the known,
possible side effects of suicide and homicide. This lady’s husband worked
nights and so she was alone at night until eight in the morning.
Shortly after starting on this medication she was awakened at night with
the impression of a voice telling her in an authoritative way, “You don’t
want to live! You must kill yourself! You don’t want to live any longer.”
She was terrified but the hallucination continued.
Fortunately,
she was a Christian and knew to flee to Jesus so she knelt by her bed in
earnest prayer, and stayed there all night until her husband came home in the
morning.
She immediately refused to continue
taking the drug and when she
visited this doctor again, she told him of the horrible experience she had. He just put down any idea of the drug causing this problem.
“There is nothing wrong with that medication,” he chided, “I take
it myself!”
A short while after, this doctor shot
himself and ended his life!
In my own experience I have heard of
other such cases.
What is the answer for ‘nerves‘,
guilt, mental anguish? For the
world–run and hide–take chemicals to ease the pain–seek entertainment–busy-ness–anything to keep one
from having time to think on the deeper things of life. That is
understandable, but why are more and more Christians seeking therapy and
drug medication for ‘mental and emotional’ problems?
Why? Because we are no longer being
pointed to Christ as the answer and sin as the cause in these problems. To tell someone they have a sin problem and need to flee to
the Saviour is considered overly simplistic these days. People want excuses, they want sympathy, they want to be told that they are the unfortunate victims of a disease.
But to face the fact that they are sinners and need a Saviour is not what
they want to hear.
To face that they need to take
responsibility and repent, confess, and allow Jesus to free them and change
their lives is not good news to many. The Bible says “And they shall turn
away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” 2 Timothy 4:4
“And with all deceivableness of
unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the
truth, that they might be saved.” 2
Thessalonians 2:10
The terrible thing is, that once a
guilt ridden, burdened, suffering person decides for whatever reason–whether
the influence of others, trusting in the ’professionals’ or his own choice–to start into using drug medication and mood altering chemicals, he is making it
well nigh impossible to discern and receive spiritual
guidance. He feels better, but the higher influences and conscience are
interfered with and spiritual realities blur into insignificance.
The Bible and Spirit of Prophecy
counsels are numerous regarding the necessity of
searching our hearts, facing the truth about ourselves, and seeking the
Lord–that we might have the real peace and lasting joy that comes from turning
our lives and sins over to Him and dying to self. But even Christians–in this
day of ‘Self Esteem’ emphases–when they feel the prompting of a guilty
conscience, resist it, thinking it is the devil and so the uncomfortable
feelings the Holy Spirit gives us to send us to our knees for help and healing
and to seek Christ’s abundant grace to overcome sin, are chalked up to Satan
and are pushed out of the mind or distraction or medication is resorted to.
Friends, pain, whether mental or
physical is a warning that we are violating spiritual or physical laws. We need to study Ministry of Healing counsels for God's laws
of health critically and honestly and see what needs changing in our lives. These
laws, put into practice, will help in numerous ways. If we are hanging on to
indulgences we have been advised are harmful, we are suffering needlessly.
God doesn’t deny us anything that will make us happy–what ever we
are advised to leave alone is only going to harm us. Just as we instruct our little children to avoid hot stoves and busy
highways, so our Heavenly Father’s counsels are for our own good.
‘Nerve’ problems can be aggravated
by the use of sugar, MSG, Aspartame, and refined flour products;
flesh meat; lack of adequate water; lack of nutrition and live, whole
foods; lack of rest and quiet meditation. The
presence of parasites are common trouble makers as well and should be suspected
in anyone displaying cyclic mood changes or agitation and seizures.
For honest, spiritual counsel, read
‘Steps To Christ’ When I say
this, some say, “Oh, I read that years ago” or “That is too out of
date.” It is the simplest guide to spiritual well being we have. Use
it, and put into practice what you find there.
Seek the Lord–He is the only one who has power to help you out of mental
anguish. Many of those who counsel others are full of problems in their own
lives and at best they are sinful mortals like yourself. They have no power to
give you a new heart and mind. Jesus does have that power and wants to–if you will only let Him.
Don’t take the drug option for it leads to destruction.
Remember, if we are truly dead to self,
we don’t get emotionally upset and offended.
Jesus can free you from sin and self.
One thing all mental and emotional problems have in common is that the
sufferer’s attention is focused on self and away from Jesus. Reverse this by God’s grace, and miracles will happen.
When we are born again, we leave the rubbish from our past at Jesus feet and
look only to Him.
What if you are on these
medications? DON'T QUIT SUDDENLY.
Seek the Lord for wisdom and power to set you free–don’t be afraid–He came to set the captives free!
He will show you what to do or guide you to someone who can instruct you in the
process of weaning off.
HEALTH
LIBRARY TOC
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