I Have a Headache.  Therefore, I Am Sick.  Should I Call for the Elders of the Church, as James 5 Says?

No.  This could end up being a real headache for the elders!  The elders cannot come visit you every time you have a headache.  Read the following two verses in James carefully.

James 5:14-15:
Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord;
And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

James 5 does not say that you should call for the elders if you have a headache.  There are four proofs of this within the passage in James.

First, James said to let him call for the elders of the church.  If you have a headache, you do not need to call for them to come to you.  You are perfectly capable of going to church yourself unless you are in such pain that you cannot possibly get to church.  Go and have those who are mature in faith pray for you at church!

Second, James said that the elders who had to travel to the person were to pray over him, implying that the sick person is confined to a bed because he is so disabled by his illness.  If you’re bedridden by your headache, you can call for the elders.  Otherwise, you should just get hands laid on you at church to get rid of that headache.

Third, James said that the Lord shall raise him up.  This is further proof that the sick person is bedridden.  If you simply have a headache but you can make it to church, the Lord does not need to “raise you up.”  You can raise yourself up.

Fourth, the Greek word for sick in James 5:14 is astheneo, which refers to a condition involving weakness.  It is sometimes (correctly) translated “weak” and in places where the “weak” (astheneo) were healed, we see them being brought to Jesus or having someone go to them.  This would imply that they are too weak to get somewhere for help without assistance.  The word in James 5:15, interestingly enough, is not the same word, but kamno, a word that appears only 2 other times in the Greek New Testament and refers to weakness and faintness.  Again, this is not someone with hay fever who can drive himself to church.  It is someone who is too weak to get to church on his own.

Thus, it is clear from the context in James 5:14-15 that James is talking about the believer who is so seriously ill that he cannot go to church on his own.  If that does not describe you, you should not call for the elders of the church to come to you.