9

The Power of Truth

Truth indeed rather alleviates than hurts,
and will always bear up against falsehood,
as oil does above water.

Miguel de Cervantes

Joe was dying of colon cancer. It was too late for treatment; the cancer was too far spread to heal. Joe told me he noticed some rectal bleeding four years earlier, but rather than going to the doctor to get an evaluation, he told himself, “It must be hemorrhoids.” He was afraid of the possibility of what rectal bleeding could mean. The thought of having cancer was too emotionally distressing, so rather than pursuing the truth, he attempted to avoid it. But as Joe learned all too well, we can never avoid the truth—we can only delay the day we’ll have to deal with it. Delaying pursuit of the truth does not prevent the truth from happening. Delay only makes the problem worse when we are finally forced to face it.

Sadly, far too many people fail to realize that the ultimate reason for pursuing the truth: healing. Instead, throngs of people fear the truth. They fear that knowing the truth will cause pain, embarrassment or loss—of position, job, respect, health, relationship or reputation. So they run from it. But we must learn to be truthful in all things, in all circumstances, in all relationships, for truth destroys lies and opens the life for healing.

If we deal with the truth right now, here on this earth, we will still experience life’s storms, but we’ll deal with them under the comforting umbrella of God’s grace, with all the agencies of heaven on our side, working to heal and restore us to mental, emotional and spiritual wellness. But if we deny the truth, run from it, suppress it or even ignore it, we only delay the moment in which we’ll have to deal with it. If we delay long enough, we will pass the point of recovery, whether physical or spiritual.

Sincerity Is Not Sufficient

Greg was a twenty-three-year-old man who was admitted to the intensive care unit with a blood sugar over one thousand. He was in a condition called diabetic ketoacidosis—a life-threatening condition caused by not taking his insulin. Greg had been a diabetic since childhood. He had been hospitalized many times in the past and knew the dangers of stopping his insulin. Therefore, after he was medically stabilized, a psychiatric consult was obtained to determine if he was suicidal, if he was purposely refusing his treatment in an attempt to kill himself.

Greg told me he had no desire to die but had stopped his insulin because he had been “healed.” He enthusiastically described a “revival” he had recently attended at a local church. During the event, those with sickness and illness were invited to come forward. Loud and emotional prayers were made, hands were laid on him, and an invocation for healing was delivered: “In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, be healed!” His emotions soared with exhilaration and he sincerely believed he’d been healed. He had never “felt” so good, he told me, so he stopped taking his insulin. Now he was in the ICU at death’s door. The truth of his condition was contradicting his sincerely held belief. Sincerity—convincing oneself that something is true despite the evidence—is not the same as resting on truth. Those who value truth, know miracles can, and do, happen. But because they love truth, they are not afraid to examine the evidence that demonstrates that healing has actually occurred (Heb 5:14). Bottom line, no matter how we “feel,” if we reject the truth we cannot get well.

Brain imaging studies have demonstrated that religious practices such as Greg experienced inflame limbic-system structures and reduce activity in the prefrontal cortex. Since truth enters our minds via the neural circuits of the prefrontal cortex, it is not surprising that the powerful emotional experiences by Greg resulted in his inability to make a reasonable, truth-based decision. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth and always works in harmony with, never against, the truth. When the Holy Spirit is involved, the prefrontal cortex becomes healthier, the ability to reason improves, and love, compassion and empathy grow stronger. When false “spirits”—sometimes identified as feelings—are involved, prefrontal-cortex activity is impaired, the limbic system is inflamed, and reason, love and compassion are undermined. We cannot be healed until we accept the truth.1

We Must Apply the Truth

Jesse was in the ICU, heavily sedated, on a ventilator and could not communicate in any way. He was fifty-nine, but he looked eighty. He was dirty, unshaven and unwashed with nicotine-stained fingers. A foul cocktail of body odors mixed with tobacco hung in the air. Jesse was severely malnourished. His skin hung loosely from his bones; his eyes were sunk deep into the sockets, and the whites of his eyes were a dark, eerie yellow with blood dots speckled throughout. If it wasn’t for the ventilator causing his chest to rise and fall and the monitor showing a constant heart rhythm, he could easily be mistaken for dead. But he wasn’t dead—not yet, anyway.

As I was unable to get any history from Jesse, I reviewed his chart. It revealed that he was in liver failure, had severe electrolyte problems, resulting in a recent seizure, complete with cardiac arrhythmias, and he was bleeding from his gastrointestinal system. All of this damage had been caused by years of heavy alcohol use. Jesse’s life was literally hanging in the balance.

The attending physician had told me, “This guy is an alcoholic, and if we are able to save him, he’s going to need rehab.”

Seven days later Jesse was off the ventilator, his electrolytes had been stabilized, the bleeding stopped, his liver was working again—just barely—and the detoxification from alcohol was progressing well enough that his mind was now clearer so that he could engage in meaningful conversation. I entered his room and extended my hand. “Hello, I’m Dr. Jennings. I’m a psychiatrist and your doctor has asked me to see you.”

“I don’t need no psychiatrist!” Jesse responded with disdain.

“Do you know where you are?” I asked.

“In the hospital. I ain’t crazy.”

“No one said you were. I just want to check your memory and see if any of these medicines are affecting your thinking. Do you know why you’re here?”

“I been drinking.”

“How much?”

“Nuff to get drunk.”

“And how much is that?”

“A fifth.”

“A fifth of what?”

He offered no evasive answer and shot back, “Whisky, Jim Beam whisky. Sure use some right now.”

“Why do you think you could use some whisky right now?”

“So I can get drunk.”

“Do you think your drinking has anything to do with why you’re here?”

“Of course it do. I ’spect I’ll die from drinkin’. Gotta die from som’ing.”

I looked at my patient for a long moment. “Your doctor wants me to evaluate you for admission to an alcohol rehab program once you’re stable enough to leave the ICU. It’s a place that will help you learn how to stay sober so you won’t die from drinking. Have you ever been in a rehab program before?”

“I ain’t going to no rehab program!” he said angrily.

“Have you ever been to a rehab program before?”

“Four or five. Can’t ’member. But I ain’t going to no rehab!”

“If you don’t go to rehab, where are you going to go?”

“Home.”

“Who do you live with?”

“Myself.”

“You live alone?”

“You heard me.”

“What are your plans when you leave here?”

“Same as they were before I came. I’m gonna get drunk.”

“Do you want to die? Are you trying to kill yourself?”

“No, I don’t want to die, and I ain’t trying to kill myself neither!” he said, annoyed.

“What do you think will happen if you go home and drink?”

“It’ll ’ventually kill me I ’spect.”

Somewhat confused and searching for clarity, I pressed on. “If you don’t want to die and you know drinking is going to kill you, then why are you planning to go home and drink?”

“Cause I like gettin’ drunk. I like how it feels. I like it more than most anything in life I ’spect, and I’d rather die than not drink.”

Dazed with disbelief at what I was hearing, I remembered something I’d learned earlier in my career: Insight does not equal change. Knowing the truth is not sufficient, we must not only know it, we must apply it to our lives if we want healing, if we want to get well. Jesse understood all too clearly that alcohol was killing him, that he needed to stop if he wanted to live, but he was unwilling to apply this truth to his life. In fact, he actively refused to apply the truth and instead chose the path of willful self-destruction.

I saw it so clearly. Jesse’s situation was a microcosm of our sin-sick state. At that moment, my heart empathized with God. How he must hurt! Here were all these doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, social workers, physical therapists and nutritionists working to save, heal and remedy this poor man. There was no condemnation. None of the health-care team was seeking to punish. No one needed appeasement in order to minister to Jesse. All the resources the hospital and medical community could provide were being poured out to redeem this gentleman, and it was heartbreaking to realize there was ultimately nothing we could do to save him. Jesse was so settled into his self-destructive way that, while he would accept interventions to relieve immediate suffering, while he would drain hundreds of thousands of dollars of resources to keep himself well enough to drink, he refused all treatments that would actually transform his life and cure him.

God has poured out all the agencies of heaven for our healing. He has sent angels, seraphim and cherubim, legions of heavenly host, and his Spirit to guide, comfort and heal. Then, in an act of astonishing selflessness, he sent his Son to win the victory we could not. God is not seeking to punish. He is not condemning and doesn’t need appeasement to heal and save. All of heaven is emptied for our rescue, for our restoration. Yet, like Jesse, far too many of God’s children are so settled into their self-destructive habits that they refuse his remedy.

When in pain, when times are tough, when sin’s destructive weight eventually comes crushing down, many turn to God for momentary relief or escape from the pain, but then refuse to follow God’s prescriptions that would actually transform and cure them for eternity. Just like Jesse and his Jim Beam, far too many seek God’s power, resources and grace, not for salvation or genuine healing, but merely to provide the means to continue living their self-destructive lives. How heartbroken God must be realizing that, for some, because of their refusal, there is ultimately nothing he can do to save them.