Objection: Sickness Can Be Proof of God’s Special Favor
I really wish that Christians would stop buying books written by famous people who make such inane statements. There never seems to be a shortage of such books in the Christian bookstores (and elsewhere, wherever crummier Christian books are sold, such as in the “Christian” book displays at some big-box stores). Why people buy books that help them be sick is beyond me. Why people write such books is even farther beyond me, unless they misunderstand what the demonized boy’s father meant when he said, “Help my unbelief!”
The premise behind this objection is that God has a special purpose for sickness and suffering, and that maybe you have your condition because God knows that you are now so spiritually advanced that you are ready for this great challenge. This goes right along with the putrid statement, “God gives special children (referring to those with severe birth defects) to special parents.” The truth is, there are plenty of wretched sinners out there with the same condition you have and whose kids have the same conditions yours have, and they’ve never so much as lifted a finger to please God. Not only won’t they learn a thing from it, they’ll just be ornery and mean and mad at God for “letting” it happen. Ask the parents of a child with severe problems whether they think that they’re “special” to God because they have such a child. The world knows better; it’s only gullible Christians who buy into such rubbish.
On the other hand, the old Jewish idea that having a special-needs child is a result of sin in your life is not any more comforting or true. (Recall that in John 9:1-7, they wanted to know if a blind-from-birth man’s parents had sinned. Jesus said no.) This idea is unfair to the parents, who are probably not worse people than anyone else.
The righteous should increase in favor with God and man, as Jesus did (Luke 2:52). Given this, Jesus did the parents of the man born blind a great disservice by healing their “special” child if you accept this silly “God’s special favor” argument. Imagine the heartbreak for the parents to find out that aren’t so “special” anymore and that now they have less special favor from God. Would you be disappointed if your “special” child who participates in the “Special” Olympics got miraculously healed and neither the child nor you were “special” or had “special favor” anymore? No way! You’d be dancing in the street, and you know it!
If you really believe that sickness is proof of God’s special favor, you should get sick and cough on all your family and friends so that they can enjoy this special favor, too. Of course, you should not take medicine, since that might relieve your suffering and lessen your favor. And I assume that you would never go to the doctor or the hospital to try to escape this “special favor.” Indeed, if you believe that sickness is the work of God, then you, your doctor, your pharmacy, the hospital, your insurance company, etc., are sinning because you are all conspiring together to undo the work of God in your life and reduce His special favor.
If sickness is from God, and God made all things good, you should pray to be sick when you are well. Can you see how ridiculous this reasoning gets?
If God gives His children sickness as a token of His love, surely you should find at least one place where Jesus, moved with love and compassion, made multitudes sick. Then more multitudes should have come forward to receive such wonderful gifts, and we should have passages like this in our Bibles:
Hezekiah 15:7-12:
And multitudes came from every quarter to be made sick by the Lord. They laid the well at His feet, and as many as touched Him had to be carried away in beds and stretchers. And the Pharisees as well as the disciples wondered, saying, “We sure never saw it like this before!”
And Jesus found a man with 20/20 vision in both of his eyes, who had never been blind since his birth. He said, “Be blind!” Immediately, the man was unable to see, and he glorified the God of Israel for counting him worthy and mature enough to endure this proof of God’s special favor.
And a man who could walk approached Jesus in the crowd and touched His robe. Immediately he became “differently abled,” and he rejoiced in the favor he had been given.
And a man in perfect health worshipped, and said, “Lord, if you are willing, You can make me sick!” And Jesus said, “I will. Receive leprosy now because you’re really special. Glorify God with your mature response to this special test for which only special people qualify! Receive AIDS also, O greatly favored one!”
And Jesus commissioned the disciples, saying, “These signs shall follow you. You shall lay hands on the well in my name and they shall become sick as a sign of God’s special favor.”
But among the Gentiles, no one got saved, because verily, no one wanted anything to do with a God or the disciples of a God who makes people sick and declares it to be a special blessing.
But we know that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). If He did not make anyone sick to help him grow during His earthly ministry, He is not doing it today. If His only action regarding sickness was healing then, that is His only action now when people come to Him for healing.
If sickness is the work of God, Jesus was a big-time sinner, because He went everywhere un-doing the works of God. Surely, if there were a special category of those whom God wants sick due His special favor, Jesus would have encountered at least one such person in his travels. I won’t hold my breath while you try in vain to find such a person in the Gospels.
No, Jesus declared that He only did His Father’s works. His Father’s works did not consist of sickening the well. Therefore, the works of God today are not sickening the well, either. You are mistaken if you think that God wants you to be sick for some special reason. Jesus never told anyone who came to Him for healing, “Stay sick. You have special favor.” Jesus has not changed. The Church has changed, and not for the better. I hope that this book can help undo that change and get Christians back on track with God’s healing plan. Maybe while I’m at it I can decrease the public’s seemingly insatiable appetite for pseudo-Christian foolishness in book form.