November 27, 2016 (Proverbs 17:22)

“A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones” (Prov 17:22). It is all but universal experience that a merry (the Hebrew literally means joyful) heart is related to better health than a broken spirit. The latter is often associated with depression, fear, extreme anxiety, and loss of hope. And such a person does in fact tend to dry one’s  bones in the sense that it is more common that what is inside the bones, namely the bone marrow, is negatively impacted. For cells are developed in the bone marrow which have a major role in the immune system, and what affects the immune system leads to multiple disease states such as susceptibility to serious infection, various allergy conditions, and in some instances autoimmune disorders and even leukemia. A relationship between one’s emotional state and different disease states, now understood to be immune-mediated, has long been recognized. Such teaches us that the spiritual and emotional state of a person is expressed in recognized disease far more commonly than appreciated in the past, serving to bear witness to the truths found in the Word of God. It is a sad state of affairs that the incidence of depression requiring treatment with psychiatric drugs is equally as common in the Church if not more common than among those who never darken the doors of a house of worship. Perhaps this is explained by the fact that troubled people frequently turn to religion to find peace in their hearts, yet find little solace because of poor teaching by those appointed as shepherds to care for the sheep.