charles reynolds brown - the gospel of good health (1908)

7/30/2019 Charles Reynolds Brown - The Gospel of Good Health (1908)

1/38

984- eBern 31fi


2/38

LIBRARYOF THE

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA.e.

Class


3/38

YB 1314

E GOSPEL OFOOD HEALTHBROWN


4/38


5/38

THE GOSPEL OF GOODHEALTHBY

CHARLES REYNOLDS BROWN

THE PILGRIM PRESSNEW YORK BOSTON CHICAGO


6/38

GENERAL

And he showed me a river ofwater of life, bright as crystal,proceeding out of the throne ofGod and of the Lamb, in the midstof the street thereof. And on thisside of the river and on that wasthe tree of life, bearing twelvemanner offruits, yielding itsfruitevery month: and the leaves ofthe tree were for the healing ofthe nations.

REVELATION 22 : 1, 2.

COPYRIGHT, 1908BY LUTHER H. GARY


7/38

\jr "ic.I UNIVERSITY

THEGOSPEL OF GOOD HEALTH1N the vision of the seer, " the leaves of thetree were for the healing of the nations." Theleaves, rather than the fruit, became in hismind the graceful symbols of the divine in-terest in the curing of disease. The leavesrepresent that which is incidental, a kind ofby-product. The main business of the treewas to produce fruit; it bore fruit everymonth " all manner of fruit " and un-doubtedly the same kind of fruit as thatnamed by the apostle. Now " the fruit ofthe Spirit," he says, " is love, joy, peace,patience, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness,mildness, and self-control." These usefulmoral qualities are the fruits of the Spirit;the type of character here indicated is thereal fruit which the tree of life is intendedto produce in the garden of human experi-ence. But incidental to its main purpose,thrown in as you might say, there is afurther ministry to good health " theleaves of the tree are for the healing of thenations."

I wish to make this distinction clear at theoutset because in all our communities thereare groups of religiously disposed people whomake physical healing the central object of


8/38

their interest. They talk about it, they thinkabout it, they write about it, incessantly. Intheir published statements they deny the veryexistence of disease, but with a curious incon-sistency they at once proceed to spend theirmain strength in a heroic effort to heal thatnon-existent illness without the use of drugs.In doing this they virtually narrow down theirreligious interest to the business of raisingleaves. When the day of judgment comes itis to be feared that many of them will have" nothing but leaves " to show, for thereason that they have been slighting theweightier matters of useful and unselfishservice in their zeal to " demonstrate " theirability to keep these perishable bodies ingood trim. To do this is to unduly exalt thatwhich is incidental and make it central.We shall part company with these physi-cal bodies of ours very soon at best. Thegreat question therefore is not whether a manhas a good liver and a sound stomach, butwhether he is sane and true, whether he isupright, unselfish, serviceable in his personalcharacter. These groups of people whomake physical healing their chief concern canshow a considerable number of cures of a cer-tain sort they are in the leaf business andit would be strange if they did not at timesproduce fairly good crops of these leaves.But when you make inquiry as to the generalyield of fruit in the form of useful service,when you ask them about providing homesfor the orphans and the aged, about making


9/38

[7]provision for the poor through wisely ad-ministered and generously sustained chari-ties, about bringing to bear those better in-fluences upon the neglected portions of ourcities through social settlements and othervalued forms of endeavor, about providingwell-rounded Christian men and women thor-oughly furnished for every good work, theyhave not much to say for themselves. Theyhave unfortunately been occupied for themost part in raising those leaves which arefor the healing of certain minor bodilyailments.

Their successes are confined almost en-tirely, if not altogether, to the correction offunctional troubles as distinct from casesof organic disease. I have known many per-sons who have been relieved from headaches,indigestion, and other similar disorders bymental

therapeutics. I have never known ofa case of organic disease, where the presenceof the disease was conclusively establishedby competent diagnosis before the treatmentbegan and the cure of it similarly provedat the end, to be healed by that line of effortalone. The principle of suggestion has greatvalue in maladies which have their origin innervous or mental disorders, but it seemsthus far to have had little or no efficacy inthe face of serious organic disease such ascancer, tuberculosis, or Bright's disease. Itwould surely be for the safety of childrenand of the untaught generally, if mentalhealers could be induced either by law or


10/38

[8]by the power of public opinion to confinetheir efforts to that class of cases where sci-entific research and wide experience unitein indicating that suggestive therapeuticsmay operate with some hope of success.But having pointed out the distinction be-tween what is central and what is incidentalto the main purpose of the gospel, I wishto ask what is here offered us in our Bible forour health. The Church of Jesus Christought to " teach health," not as its chief busi-ness, but as a leaf on the tree of its main pur-pose, which, as already indicated,, is to pro-duce the good fruit of Christian characterand service. We have been unnecessarilyfrightened perhaps by the nonsense and wild-fire which so often characterize this phase ofreligious experience. We have neglectedwhat had better have been patiently cultivatedwith intelligence and love. We would nothave so many religious side-shows to-day ifthe performance in the main tent had been toa greater degree well-rounded and complete.We ought to be able to offer to all whocome the total helpfulness of the gospel ofthe Son of God.

It has seemed to me that in the last halfof the nineteenth century there was a wide-spread tendency to depend too much on thewithout and not enough on the within. West-ward the star of empire took its way forcenturies, seeking new fields for materialdevelopment. Now, as some one said the otherday, " Inward the star of empire takes its


11/38

way." There has come a wholesome reactionfrom the almost idolatrous trust in materialthings and a quickening of interest in forcesunseen. Men and women have begun anewto cultivate, to honor, to confide in, thatwhich is within, and this disposition shows it-self in many ways. The kingdoms of thisworld, bodily health, mental development, so-cial charm, useful action, are by this move-ment from within becoming more truly andsteadily kingdoms of the Spirit of Christno longer rebellious, no longer separate andindependent, but submissive and harmoniouskingdoms of the divine Spirit.And I believe the main hope of our Chris-tian world for improved health, and for theconsequent larger joy and effectiveness, liesnot so much in the increased efficiency of med-ical science in dealing with disease when ithas actually fastened upon the patient, im-portant as this is I believe our main hopelies in so strengthening the inner life as tosecure increased immunity from the inroadsof disease.

Here is a gold mine, not far away in themountains, but deeply buried in your owninner life! It has never been adequatelyworked. You have your mind and spirit al-ways with you, and they are always in touchwith all your members ; they sustain un-brokenly sympathetic and vital relations withall those functions upon which we depend forhealthy life. These inner forces may be util-ized by intelligent faith and a wisely directed


12/38

[10]will in a way that will put you in possessionof wonderful values which for years, perhaps,have been hidden under the soil of thoughtless-ness and indifference. You can, if you will,dig down and develop that which is withinyou, so that it will earn for you and forthose you love priceless dividends!Let me indicate, then, certain points inthis gospel of good health as it stands de-clared in Holy Scripture.First of all, right thoughts as the prevail-ing habit of one's mental life " As a manthmketh in his heart, so is he." This doesnot mean that a single thought will cure acancer or even fill an aching tooth themen who wrote the Bible were not crazy.It does mean that states of mind tendconstantly to register themselves in conse-quent physical conditions. Morbid condi-tions of mind mean, by and by, morbid con-ditions of body. Weakness, irresolution, fear,prepare a soil altogether favorable for theseeds of disease. On the other hand, healthystates of mind minds free from all grudge,bitterness, envy, minds filled with faith andhope and love make for health as do sun-shine, fresh air, and pure water. As a manthinketh in his heart, steadily and insistently,be it up or down, so he tends to become !

It is a great deal harder to cultivate rightthoughts, right desires, right purposes sothat they shall always bear rule within, thanit is to go and take something out of a bottlethe real heights of human experience are


13/38

[n]never reached without hard climbing. Butthe cry " Good health for a dollar a bottle "is rapidly becoming a spent force. The cryof good health at the price of the culti-vation and training of all one's powers, physi-cal, mental, spiritual, by bringing them intojoyous harmony with the revealed will of God,is now to the fore.And this mode of treatment has this furtheradvantage, that it may, and to be genuinelyand permanently efficacious must, include theculture and development of the entire innerlife in a way that taking something out of abottle does not. Many of us will live to seethe day when there will be growing on all sidesthese trees of life covered with leaves for thehealing of the nations ; and the common peo-ple, having heard the good news gladly, willbe constantly utilizing this source of help fortheir improved health. Strive to reach thepoint where you can look up and say, " Thythoughts are my thoughts, and thy ways aremy ways, O Lord," and you will have gonefar toward the realization of that high claim," As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he."The main forms of fear which destroy ourpeace of mind and thus invite the approach ofcertain forms of disease are these the fearof ill-health, the fear of adversity, the fear ofbereavement, and the fear of failing in theperformance of duty. Other fears there maybe, but they are unimportant as comparedwith these four main forms ; and in thevery forefront of all harassing apprehension


14/38

marches this terrible fear of possible physicalinadequacy.

It cannot be lightly regarded; we cannotshoo it away by a wave of the hand or bysome fantastic flourish of the mind. The peo-ple who assert that the thing feared has noreality are simply flighty. Sickness and pain,disease and death, are all stern realities to bemet and faced, and, as far as may be, con-quered. The vital question is in what moodwe can best approach them when they come.

I know of none better than the high moodof the singer who sang in olden time, " I willfear no evil, for Thou art with me." Withall the practical wisdom you have shapemeans to ends ; lay hold of every availableform of assistance in averting and counter-acting sickness, sorrow, adversity, and fail-ure. But when all visible forms of assistanceare in place, know that it will add to yourprospect of victory immeasurably if youmake your struggle unabashed, unafraid, be-cause you have caught the spirit of that songand have embodied it in those thought habitswhich dominate your inner life.

I will not fear! Suppose each morningwhen you awake to a hard day, you utilize thewell-known principle of mental suggestionby deliberately storing the mind with rightthoughts. Begin your day with the repeti-tion of certain assurances from Holy Writ,uttering them over and over with your lipsand your mind and your soul, until the fullstrength of them is felt in every cell of your


15/38

being. " I will fear no evil, for Thou art withme." " In quietness and in confidence shallbe my strength." " Be still, and know thathe is God." " The Lord of hosts is with me ;the God of Jacob is my refuge." " Fearnot, only believe all things are possi-ble to him that believeth." " I know WhomI have believed, and I am persuaded that heis able to keep that which I have committedunto him." " He forgiveth all my iniquities ;he healeth all my diseases ; he redeemeth mylife from destruction ; he satisfieth my mouthwith good things, so that my youth is re-newed like the eagle's ! " Begin the day withthese promises ringing in your ears, singingthrough the secret chambers of your mind,throbbing with added strength in the pulsa-tions of your heart! When you relax thetired muscles and the weary brain at nightas you sink to sleep, do it with these sameconfident assurances furnishing your finalmood and yielding their wholesome, restfulinfluence through all the hours of sleep !

I cannot tell you all it would mean for youto do just this, but I could tell you much.My report would be born of long experiencein a busy, strenuous life where all the aids,seen and unseen, were needed, and where whenonce brought into commission they have vin-dicated the high claims I here advance ontheir behalf. The habit of serious, resolute,trustful meditation upon these divine assur-ances, once formed and held, works its ownmarvels. Souls once timid and despairing are


16/38

[14}led to say,

" We never saw it on this fashion."The verifiable results of such a practise uponhealth, upon mental adequacy, upon char-acter, delicate and imperceptible though theyseem at first, are increasingly registered uponthe life within until they utter themselves inan enlarged and well-grounded efficiency forall life's tasks. This is what the Psalmistsaid he was perfectly aware of the factthat life would not be all green pastures andstill waters ; he would be compelled to walkin and through the valley of many a shadow,but, come what might, still he would not fearnor be afraid. The man whose inmost soulis filled with and possessed by such thoughtsfinds himself strongly fortified against the

^ encroachments of disease.In the second place, high expectations asthe fundamental choice of your deepest andbest self " According to your faith be itunto you" The language of Scripture is al-most always the language of great expecta-tion, the only condition put upon it being thereceptivity of men. " Open thy mouth wide,and I will fill it " there is no lack of ma-terial with the Lord. " Prove me now here-with, saith the Lord ; make your consecrationcomplete, and see if I will not open the win-dows of heaven and pour you out such a bless-ing that there shall not be room enough to re-ceive it." " Stand up straight, the ceiling ishigh " you will not bump your head ! Ac-cording

to your faith, your openness, yourwillingness, your capacity, be it unto you!


17/38

15 ]

There is nothing shadowy or unreal about itmen do become very largely what they ex-pect to become in that hidden faith whichdoes not always utter itself in formal creeds,but shows itself in shaping those persistentaspirations which control the life. Includewithin the firm grip of your anticipation thisphysical nature, coveting for it earnestly thebest there is, and according to your faith beit unto you !The people who are continually expectingto catch all the diseases that are going,rarely fail they usually catch them all.The people who live in perpetual fear anddread and apprehension almost always re-alize, not their worst fears entire thatwould be expecting too much but a goodworking percentage of them. According totheir expectation it is gradually wrought outfor them in actual experience.On the other hand, the quiet, serene con-fidence of the intelligent physician, of thetrained nurse, or of the well-poised individualin ordinary life, is like a steel armor againstall the attacks of disease, as each one goescourageously about his business. Accordingto their faith it is unto them, and the resultis vastly different. If every one could formthe habit of going about with those samefamiliar words from the Twenty-third Psalmon his lips, in his mind, deeply embedded inhis heart, "I will fear no evil, for Thouart with me ! I will fear no evil, for Thou artwith me ! " I do not say it would enable him


18/38

[16 ]to lie down with rattlesnakes or to drinkwater out of a malarial swamp unhurt, butit would add to his prospects for good health,in some cases thirty, in some sixty, and insome a hundredfold. Pitch your expectationhigh look for the best, hope for the best,strive for the best, and according to yourfaith be it unto you!In the third place, firm resolution as theuncompromising attitude of your will "woman, great is thy faith! be it unto theeeven as thou wilt! " Here was a motherwhose daughter was afflicted with one of thosenervous maladies epilepsy we call it nowwhich often baffle the skill of our best phy-sicians to this hour. It seemed to the peopleof that day, untrained in scientific diagnosis,as they saw her writhing in her distress, thatshe was " grievously tormented with a devil."The best account of the matter they knew howto give was to the effect that the nature ofthe child had been overborne by some hostile,malicious personality resident within.The woman was an outsider, a Canaanite,but she came boldly to Christ, saying, " ThouSon of David, have mercy on me. Havemercy on my child." She was not only aheathen, she was noisy and inconsiderate.The disciples said, " Send her away," but sheonly cried the more earnestly to Christ. ThenJesus said to her gently, " I am sent to thelost sheep of the house of Israel." Still shewas not repulsed she said, " Lord, helpBut Jesus said, further testing her


19/38

[17]resolution, " It is not meet to take the chil-dren's bread and give it to the dogs." Andthe woman replied, " Yes, Lord, the dogs eatthe crumbs which fall from their master'stable give me a crumb of divine help." Herdetermination leaped all the barriers of raceand distance, all the obstacles which achronic and painful illness interposed! AndJesus said to her, " O woman, great is thyfaith ! be it unto thee even as thou wilt! "Faith expressing itself in determination hadwon the day her daughter was healed fromthat hour!

If you will stand up, your mind and heartmade right with God to the fullest extent youknow, and in God's name say, " Let there behealth," and keep on saying it resolutely,trustfully, hopefully, that very action ofyour inner life will work wonders. I do notsay that no disease can stand before you, foryou are not omnipotent, but I do say thatyou will set in operation one of the greathealing forces of the world.

All about us there are people who havestopped talking about their ills, stoppedthinking about them, stopped pitying them-selves, who are saying in the way indicated," Let there be health," and there is health ! Itis done unto them at last even as they will.When people fix their eyes on something high,fine, useful, linking their determination withthe purpose of God for them, and say bravelyand steadily, We will! we will! we will!they are putting themselves in a position to


20/38

t 18]come off more than conquerors through Himwho loves us.

I have tried to practise what I preach inthis matter, and I feel that I have earned theright to speak as one having some measure ofexperience. I have never been one of thosepeople, to whom Ian Maclaren refers, who are" so brutally and offensively healthy as tofeel no true sympathy for those who are fight-ing for their very lives." I was not born avery robust baby, and many of my years havebeen years of physical struggle ; and withsome of those ills I struggle now. But sometwenty years ago I learned better how tofight I gained some new weapons ; I be-gan to practise a different formation. Thishas meant a long series of victories. I havebeen in the active pastorate now over nineteenyears, and in all that time I have never missedany kind of an appointment on account ofsickness.

It is eighteen years ago this winter sinceI first began to hear people discuss thegrippe, which had then become epidemic un-der that title. If I could recall all that Ihave heard about that malady related bythose who were temporarily suffering from it,I feel sure that I could write a natural his-tory of the grippe, giving all the symptomsin order and rehearsing all the unhappy re-sults of it. This endless discoursing uponit was not beneficial to those who made thepainful recitals it is never wise to talkwithout a purpose, and unless one is talking


21/38

[19]to his physician, or his nurse, or his pastor,or some member of his family about his illswith some definite and wholesome end in view,he had better not talk about them at all.

But with all the cases I have visited andwith all the discussions to which I have lis-tened, I have never had the grippe myself ; Inever expect to have it, and I do not rapwood when I say so, for there is nothing ofmagic in it. Some honest attention to God'slaws of health, which are as sacred as theTen Commandments ; some ability to cherishright thoughts and maintain a serene confi-dence, and some power of resolution havebeen sufficient thus far to safeguard me fromany inroad of that particular malady. In-sist on being well ; go to bed with that ideaand get up with it; carry it about with youas you carry your own face and hands aboutwith you and somehow you are apt to findthat it is unto you even as you will !And finally, have faith in God as the Su-preme Friend and Helper of all our lives." Have -faith m God," Jesus said to his trem-bling disciples, and although he sent themforth with neither purse nor scrip, theyfound in this new and high confidence inwhich he had established them, an abidingsource of personal reenforcement and anample furnishing for a widely beneficentservice.

In a certain Eastern city there is a hos-pital which I used to pass and repass, and italways did me good just to look up at it.


22/38

[20]The building is brick, but set in the front ofit is a broad marble slab, and on it in lettersof gold are these plain words, " HAVE FAITHIN GOD." It is a Christian hospital, as youmight imagine. Hundreds of sufferers, bornethither in the ambulance or assisted up thewalk by loving friends, have looked up atthose words as they passed in at the door.I am sure the words have given an addedcourage to many an anxious heart. Hun-dreds of sufferers have there been cured ashuman intelligence and human love have co-operated with those healing forces which arealtogether divine. As they walked away, re-joicing in health regained, perhaps theylooked back at those words of gold, and weremade by the message they conveyed moredeeply grateful to Him who had wroughtwith his chosen servants for their recovery.Have faith in God they are good wordsto have engraved upon a building devotedto healing, or upon the walls of one's home,or deeply embedded within one's heart!They point ever to a sure source of inex-haustible help.We have often been afraid to aim boldlyfor that simple, original, spiritual potencyof early Christianity which in the days of theapostles healed the sick at the same timethat it was saving the soul from sin. Yeteven if we tried and failed, it would do usgood to aim high. But under the blind lead-ership of certain fanatics, many people havebeen led to feel that if they undertook to ex-


23/38

ercise faith in God's power to heal directly,they were estopped from using any materialremedies. This is the sheerest nonsense. TheAlmighty is not so touchy as to withhold hisspiritual aid, because the patient is also usingsome material remedy which he himself ex-pressly created for the use of his children.Those narrow-minded people ought not tothink that God is another such a one asthemselves !

But, we are told with an air of finality,there is no record that Jesus ever used drugs.That is true there is no record that he everdid. There is no record that he ever usedan elevator or a telephone, but he would bea foolish man who would insist to-day uponclimbing the stairs to the top of a high build-ing or upon doing all his errands on foot,because Jesus never used an elevator or atelephone. Sometimes a drug which Godmade and which men have learned to use,will accomplish a certain result more easilyand more quickly than it could be accom-plished (if indeed it could be accomplished atall) by purely mental and spiritual forces.He would be a foolish man indeed who wouldlightly decline its help.And the very people who declaim so loudlyagainst the use of drugs in time of sickness,all use soap. Soap is a drug; it is sold atthe drug stores ; its action is chemical. If aperson were furnished with plenty of hotwater and time enough, he might wash hishands, his face, or his clothing clean without


24/38

soap, but it can be done more quickly andeasily with soap; and for that reason allsensible people use this drug we call soap.The very people who become so agitated overthe use of drugs in healing disease constantlyuse soap without realizing, apparently, howvery funny they are making themselves bytheir inconsistency.Have faith, then, in God, with no fear what-soever that you are discrediting your faith inhim by employing all those useful aids whichhe has created and appointed for our benefit !Have faith in God, and gather to yourself allthe mighty aid which you can claim out ofthe Unseen for your perfect restoration !The divine readiness to aid us along physi-cal lines reaches farther than we dream. Incertain quarters those wild and extravagantguesses which always precede sober investi-gation and verifiable knowledge are beingmade, and they frequently repel the morediscriminating minds in the community. Butastronomy was not first astrology wasfirst, the awe, the wonder and the interest ofmen in the stars leading to all manner offanciful claims. This gradually gave placeto an exact science which now maps out thecourses the planets take, measures the dis-tances of the stars from each other and fromus, weighs their huge bulk, and by its spec-trum analysis determines even the fuel theyburn. Chemistry was not first alchemywas first with its wild attempts to transmutethe baser metals into precious gold and to


25/38

[23]work all kinds of magic. It pointed the wayfor the coming of that exact science whichto-day lays whole communities under obliga-tion to it, as it works out valued results inmanufacture and in agriculture, in the treat-ment of disease, and in those sanitary meas-ures which safeguard the health of thecommunity.In similar fashion those movements called" Christian Science," " The Home of Truth,"or " New Thought " are the astrology andthe alchemy of modern life, pointing the at-tention of the world in a direction whereuseful investigation will presently discovervalues unsuspected as yet. We are not to bedeceived nor repelled by the wild guesses orthe extravagant claims made. We are not totake leave of our senses, nor to make asser-tions which were not true in the beginning,are not true now, and never shall be true,world without end. We are to separate thewheat from the chaff and then sow it in thegood soil of patient, intelligent, sympatheticeffort, where it will bring forth in some casesthirty, in some sixty, and in some a hundred-fold of increased bodily vigor.We must find and utilize all the help opento us through mental and spiritual agenciesfor the gaining and the maintenance of soundhealth. And in this undertaking we are tofeel that the One who stood of old upon theshore of the Sea of Galilee speaking in sym-pathetic but confident tones to that boat-loadof discouraged men about their physical


26/38

mineeds, is with us yet and for us ever. " Chil-dren, have ye any health? " his voice cries atthis hour ! " Cast your hope and your faithand your power of will on the right side andye shall find." And when we realize the fullmeasure of help open to us in that quarter weshall say, as the apostle said of old, but witha new and a profounder gratitude, " It is theLord."You will make a sad mistake if you neglectthat sympathetic figure on the shore whowatches you as you struggle through longnaghts and long days upon the sea of humaneffort, often taking nothing, or as you fightagainst the inroads of some dread disease.You will live far below the appropriate levelof thought, of feeling, of moral action andof bodily health as well, if you neglect Hisoffer of assistance. When the question comes," Children, are you gaining the deepest de-sires of your hearts ? " you will be compelledto answer him, " No." Watch for him, then,on the shore of every sea. Listen for hisvoice of sympathetic interest. Cast yournet of effort as he bids you, for he is bring-ing to us at this hour, in the very turning ofthe popular mind to these lines of aspira-tion and effort, a fresh assurance of the di-vine recognition of all these needs and of thedivine readiness to aid us in the fulfilment ofour highest hopes !In undertaking to use these mental andspiritual aids for the gaining and main-tenance of sound health, we shall in no wise


27/38

[25 ]advance the cause by any sort of pretense ormake-believe. I have heard companies of well-fed, well-dressed people, sitting easily oncushioned seats, behind stained glass, theirminds considerably befogged by persistentattempts to believe what their common sensetold them was not true I have heard suchcompanies of people say, " There is no realityin sin, sickness, disease, poverty, or death.All is good and all is God. Everything inthe world is just lovely, and we are justlovely, too."

It is a very economical view to take of thematter. If there is no such thing as pov-erty or sickness, then of course we are notcalled upon to give any of our money to main-tain homes, hospitals, relief societies, or asso-ciated charities. But it is untrue; it is a" false claim " which is leading scores ofconfused and undiscriminating people to be-come complacent, self-centered, self-satisfied,morally indifferent to the stern needs aboutthem. Sin is a fact young men not out oftheir teens take pieces of gas-pipe and beatthe brains out of helpless victims in order torob them. Crime is a fact men who standerect upon two feet, but who are in all otherrespects lower than the four-footed animals,perpetrate their crimes against the honorand purity of young womanhood. Povertyis a fact a hard, bitter, unyielding fact,showing itself the relentless enemy of thebodily, intellectual, and moral well-being ofthose who suffer under its heel.


28/38

[26]scare it away with big, unmeaning words orby any silly pretense that it does not exist.It can only be relieved by generous, intelli-gent, persistent service. Disease and deathare perpetually recurring facts, bringingsorrow in their train to the homes of thosewho hold the fantastic theories as well as tothose who still trust the evidence of their fivesenses. We cannot dispose of the tribulationof the world by vague talk about there beingno reality to it. There must be a fearlessfacing of the facts of experience as they are,coupled with a reasonable reliance upon thoseforms of help which have often been neglectedbecause they were unseen.With that open-eyed honesty, then, whichshuns nothing and hides nothing, take thesegospel ingredients, right thoughts, high ex-pectations, firm resolution, faith in God,and employ them in the interests of a morecomplete and abiding state of health. Mixthem together, shake them well, use themfreely! You need not measure them outnarrowly with a drop tube or a teaspoonthere is nothing in them which will hurtyou take as much of them as you cancontain. They will do you good and onlygood.

I do not offer them, wholesome though theyare, as an infallible panacea for all the illsthere are. We cannot, even with these aids,banish all suffering, disease, and death. Onewhose right thoughts, high expectations, firmresolution and faith in God, utterly tran-


29/38

[27]scended anything we can expect to attain inthis present world, suffered. " He learnedobedience by the things that he suffered,"the Bible says. If any enthusiast in his pres-ence had claimed that there was " no realityin sin, sickness, disease, or death," he wouldhave regarded such a one as not altogetherin his right mind. When wicked men drovenails through his feet and hands, and whenthey pierced his side with a spear, he sufferedand died.

In like manner, if you are overtaken bycruel accident, or if you are loaded down withmore work and care and necessary anxietythan you have strength to bear, you will suf-fer and it may be you will incur some painfulillness. And the time will come when we shallall suffer and die. When we have done ourbest, living under present conditions, incrowded cities, with the water and food sup-ply often contaminated, with the air webreathe becoming sometimes the agent ofdisease rather than of health, a certainamount of sickness is inevitable. Reduce thevolume of it by wise sanitation and by takingall personal precautions possible, and yet acertain percentage of people will be ill atsome time during the year.And even that which is best in us sometimesbecomes the occasion of a depleted vitality.The father's unselfish ambition for the well-being of his children, for their education, ortheir social

standing, coupledwith his desire

to start them in life on a better footing than


30/38

that which he enjoyed, carries him into anamount of overwork which means a break-down. And many a mother suffers fromdragging ill-health because she gave so freelyfrom her own store of vitality to her children.And the sympathetic nature of many another,in the face of the struggles of those who aredear, yields itself so unreservedly to them asto lower its own life forces. Do our best, itstill remains true that a considerable sectionof the whole creation groans and travailsin physical pain at some time during itscareer.

There are offsets and compensationsstanding over against all such unavoidableills. If you had eyes to see, ears to hear, anda heart to understand, you got something ofgreat value out of your last illness. It didnot simply bring you the customary feeling ofresentment coupled with a huge doctor's bill

it would not let you go until it had blessedyou. It brought you what the Psalmist pic-tured, an enlargement and enrichment ofyour whole being " Thou hast enlarged mewhen I was in distress."When you are called to lie upon a bed ofpain for many months, or to spend tiresomeweeks in a hospital, or to lie awake throughthe lonely nights and hear the clock strike theweary hours when sleep is denied, you may,if you will, transmute all this into higherqualities of mind and heart. You may cometo the point where your sympathies go out asthey never did before to the whole army of


31/38

patient sufferers ; you may learn to thinkwith an added tenderness of those who lack thecomfort and alleviation you enjoy, in theirtime of pain; you may enter into a newappreciation of the faithful, unselfish hero-ism of the poor who aid each other in theirtimes of trial; you may so pass throughthat period of distress as to be enlarged inyour whole attitude toward the ills of theworld.When we go along prosperously and joy-ously, able to eat three meals a day and sleepeight hours every night, able to take the carfor the place of business at the usual houreach morning with never an interruption, andable to do our full share of the world's work,rej oicing in the chance to do it, we may beginto fancy that this flesh which walls about ourlife is brass impregnable. We may grow cal-lous and careless touching those lives whichare struggling against heavier* odds thanours, those lives which sometimes go down fora month or two in physical defeat. If anyman's heart is becoming small, tight, and hardby this round and round of pleasant experi-ences, it may be that there is no other wayfor his sympathies to be brought back to amore abundant life than for him to travel theway of pain and distress himself. Whetherthis is the only way or not, it is one waymany a man comes through such an ordeal towalk a bit more slowly for the rest of his daysbut with new sympathy for all his fellows.When he looks down into his own heart he


32/38

[90]says with profound gratitude,

" The Lordenlarged me when I was in distress."But having made room for that illnesswhich is apparently unavoidable, and havingindicated a certain high office it may performin moral growth, I would again strongly in-sist that it is not only the part of expediencybut morally imperative for every one to doall that lies in his power to be well, steadilyand joyously well. It is part of our Chris-tian duty to so obey God's laws of health,which are as sacred as if he had actuallyspoken them aloud from Sinai, to so orderour habits with reference to the maintenanceof a high degree of effectiveness, to so utilizeall means, material and spiritual, which makefor soundness, that we shall be up to the markin physical health.I beseech you, as did the apostle of old, topresent your bodies a living not a half-dead nor a diseased but a living offeringunto God, holy and acceptable, for this isyour reasonable service. Barring out acci-dents or unhappy hereditary burdens or theoverwork which sometimes seems inevitable,it lies within the power of a great number ofus to be thus ready for service three hundredand sixty-five days in the year. And in set-ting forth with that high resolve we shall re-ceive unspeakable reenforcement from thoseallies which are inner and spiritual. I makeno unreal or extravagant claims for this gos-pel of good health, but I know from the Wordof God, from long years of experience, and


33/38

[ 31 )from wide observation, that right thoughts,high expectations, firm resolution, and faithin God are for our health. They are leaveson the tree of life to be used for the healingof the nations.You have all noticed where this tree of lifestood " in the middle of the street." Itgrew and flourished, offering its graciousand accessible ministry, there in the center ofa city whose walls are great and high. Thetree of healing was not remote from the com-mon life, only to be found in some far-awaygarden to which none but the privilegedmight go. It was not shut away in somesacredly guarded enclosure where only thechosen few were admitted. It grew right inthe middle of the street, accessible to all, apart of the common, daily environment.We do not need to make pilgrimages tosome distant shrine, or to go apart into somemystical occult sect, or to use prescribedlanguage which no one quite understands, inorder to avail ourselves of this help. Righthere, where we are carrying on the work ofordinary life, where we are using our commonsense in our daily duties, we find this splendidtree with healing in its very leaves, growingin the middle of the busy street. If you willtake those leaves and use them habitually, itwill be good for the body and good as well forthe soul. Indeed you cannot use them withthe highest effectiveness until your moral pur-poses are altogether right. The very factthat God is pure, that God is love, makes it


34/38

[M]plain that his total helpfulness will only dwellwhere purity and love are. You will findtherefore, in seeking to rightly use the leavesof the tree for the healing of your bodily ills,that you will be led also to eat the fruit of thetree which will give you life everlasting.

OF THtUNIVERSITYOF


35/38

6156


36/38

UNIVERSITY OP CALIFORNIA LIBRARY

THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATESTAMPED BELOW


37/38

YB 13147

U.C.BERKELEY LIBRARIES


38/38

charles reynolds brown - the gospel of good health (1908)

Documents