"When I was sick...

For a few weeks, if not months, this part of Matthew 25:36 has been ringing in my heart...and it took me a bit of time to pull my thoughts or heart-tugs together. Before we go further, let's read that section of the verse first:

Matthew 25:36b - "I was sick, and you cared for [visited; looked after] me. I was in prison, and you visited [came to] me.’" (Expanded Bible)

As I read and meditated on it, several questions came to my mind:

1. How many people would believe, let alone visit their Pastor (or his wife) if/when he/she is ill?
2. How many of the Pastor (or his wife's) "illnesses" are self-inflicted?
3. What can we - Pastor, Mrs Pastor and church members - do to prevent Pastor (and/or his wife) from falling ill in the first place?

A few priceless answers - that require persistent action - come to mind:

The 1st thing everyone including Pastor and Mrs Pastor need to realize is that they are human. I've talked about this before*. So if they ( I mean, "we") don't take the time to develop and maintain healthy living habits, chances are that the promise of divine health will not be fulfilled in our lives. Living a healthy life includes our diet, bedtime and exercise. A lot of us cut out the exercise part forgetting that: " [For] Training your body [Physical exercise] helps you in some [or small] ways , but serving God [godliness] helps you in every way ·by bringing you blessings [since it holds promise] in this life and in the future life, too." (1 Tim 4:8 - Expanded Bible, emphasis mine). A lot of us focus on the 2nd part of the verse but the 1st half is just as important.
Even John F. Kennedy said:

"Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body,

it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity."

 

The 2nd thing, is for Pastors and Mrs Pastors to not only disciple but also delegate things to others...that's one sure way you can develop others in ministry. I've seen and unfortunately heard some Pastors and Mrs Pastors say things like: "He/she won't know what to do" or "He/she doesn't know how to do it (as well or as fast) as I can (or would prefer)" - yes that's sad. In life, I have learned several things, these 2 are relevant here: Practice makes progress and My way of doing things is not the best or only way. If you keep an open mind and give people space to function, you can improve yourself too. Ronald Reagan, another US President has this advice for us: "Surround yourself with the best people you can find, delegate authority, and don't interfere as long as the policy you've decided upon is being carried out."

So really all we need to do is to be clear on the vision and let others run with it...

We see the instruction to disciple and delegate in 2 Tim 2:2 and Hab 2:2 respectively

 

"You have often heard me teach.

Now I want you to tell these same things to followers who can be trusted to tell others." (CEV)

"Write my answer plainly on tablets, 

so that a runner can carry the correct message to others." (NLT)

The 3rd thing is you must do is, if you do fall ill, take the time to take care of yourself. Whether or not others visit and or care for you, care for yourself. Sometimes we want to keep going and "manage" the unhealthy situation. You cannot expect that by continuing to rush around, the illness will run away. I can tell you, from personal experience, that it won't. The illness will actually just be fuelled to dig it's roots deeper and deeper because you're not giving your body time to regain strength to fight that internal war. We should learn to listen to our bodies when they whisper before they start shouting and - God forbid - shutting down.

 

Divine healing is a wonderful benefit for us; divine health is better... and to some extent, it is dependent on our healthy living which includes regular rest. It's wonderful to be visited when you are sick but even better to be visited when you are well...

 

Sources:

*http://mrs-pastor-and-pastor-mrs.blogspot.ca/2012/10/pastor-is-not-superman.html