Spiritual Surgery
Surgery is a term that many dread. However, when a qualified doctor deems it necessary, we will have it done. What brings people to the point of surgery? It is usually some pain in the body letting us know that there is a problem. We endure the surgery because it holds the promise of eliminating our pain. We deem the surgery “worth it” when that pain is eliminated, or at least reduced to where we can manage it.
Spiritually, there are things that cause a tremendous amount of pain in a person’s life, yet, when told by a qualified person that something needs to be done to eliminate this pain, very few take the advice. The Bible tells us of the spiritual causes of such pain: pride, anger, envy, lust, greed, sloth, and gluttony. These seven traditional sins are just a few things that we could target for spiritual surgery. The Bible tells us to cut these things out of our lives. Colossians 3:5 states, “Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.” “Put to death” is the idea of cutting off something that is causing a serious problem! Why is it that some do not do it?
Munchausen Syndrome is a psychological disorder where one falls in love with being sick to get attention. How many have spiritual Munchausen Syndrome??? They love their sin because of the things that it “gets” them. For those reasons, they endure the pain. Jesus said, “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19). One day, the pain will be more than they can bear, but it will be too late for surgery. Why not take care of the problem today?