"Dr Paul Brand was a physician who spent much of his life working with lepers in India. He discovered the real danger was that leprosy destroys the nerve endings in the body and lepers lose their ability to feel. While the inability I feel pain might sound like a blessing, it is ultimately a lethal curse. Without pain lepers are unaware when they have been injured. As a result, even a tiny wound or splinter can be left untreated and become infected, leading to the loss of limbs or even death.
After documenting this phenomenon and treating its effects, Dr. Brand said, "I thank God for pain, I cannot think of a greater gift I could give to my leprosy patients." When taken too far, the pursuit of comfort and the avoidance of pain can make us into spiritual lepers- we become incapable of experiencing the aches God uses to awaken us to the reality of sin and evil in the world and in ourselves. Dr. Brand continued, "Most people view pain as an enemy... yet, without it, heart attacks, strokes, ruptured appendixes, and stomach ulcers would all occur without any warning. Who would ever visit a doctor apart from pain's warnings?"
Although no one enjoys feeling pain or fear, they play a vital role in our existence. Physically they help us stay alive in our dangerous world, and spiritually they awaken our souls to seek a beauty, a justice, and a freedom beyond what this present world can provide. By focusing on insulating ourselves from these unpleasant experiences and pandering to our consumer desires, (we are) cut off from the redemptive purposes of pain and fear. In our comfort we forget the One who alone can deliver us from our true ailment. Instead we seek lesser things."
-taken from the book entitled "With" by Skye Jethani
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