By Mike Colaw
When I was young, I had allergies and asthma. It really wasn’t too severe, nothing that kept me from playing sports or camping with the family. Like most kids I grew out of it. The doctor I went to as a kid would often prescribe prednisone and antibiotics, “just to keep infection at bay.” Honestly, it felt like these two drugs were his answer for just about anything; whether it was a sinus infection, rash, or asthma attack, the treatment was the same.
A few years later my brother got a job working at a local pharmacy. One day while waiting for my brother, I ended up in a conversation with the pharmacist. He told me there were all kinds of other options that were better for my body and much more effective. He even told me what scripts to ask my doctor for. You gotta love small towns!
This experience sort of left me with a negative view of doctors; I started to feel like they just didn’t care.
It’s a good thing I didn’t judge them all by that one.
Now, years later, I have several great friends that practice medicine. They are outstanding people who truly do give their all to help their patients. Obviously, they can’t share any details with me, but I have had numerous conversations over the last few years where I could tell their hearts were heavy because a patient was suffering. It is so refreshing to know there are people who became doctors because of a true desire to do good, who take their job to another level, who sometimes almost irrationally will sacrifice to help someone they don’t even know.
For example, I know a dentist who takes a couple months off every year to offer his services to people in impoverished countries. He pays out of his own pocket to treat people! One thing I know about these individuals: there is a common driver in each of them. The common driver is their heart to be like Christ.
Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”
We can probably all think of a doctor who all other doctors wished didn’t represent them, or maybe a lawyer, nurse, salesman, or even a Christian. Yet when you meet someone who is truly compelled and understands the life and message of Jesus, you will find someone in a relentless pursuit to bring Galatians 5:22-23 to the world around them.