End of Life Issues: Medicine

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Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (Concise)

Proverbs 31


An exhortation to king Lemuel to take heed of sin, and to do duties. (1-9) The description of a virtuous woman. (10-31)

Verses 1-9 When children are under the mother's eye, she has an opportunity of fashioning their minds aright. Those who are grown up, should often call to mind the good teaching they received when children. The many awful instances of promising characters who have been ruined by vile women, and love of wine, should warn every one to avoid these evils. Wine is to be used for want or medicine. Every creature of God is good, and wine, though abused, has its use. By the same rule, due praise and consolation should be used as cordials to the dejected and tempted, not administered to the confident and self-sufficient. All in authority should be more carefully temperate even than other men; and should be protectors of those who are unable or afraid to plead their own cause. Our blessed Lord did not decline the bitterest dregs of the cup of sorrow put into his hands; but he puts the cup of consolation into the hands of his people, and causes those to rejoice who are in the deepest distress.
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I think many are being unfair to Andrew. There are many verses that speak of suffering purifying us and sanctifying us. We are tried with fire and the furnace and the rod of the Lord. It is not self-flagellation if it has come upon you providencially.

It's not fair to him or showing Christian charity to assume the worst in his motive. Paul revelled in his sufferings because they were for Christ. I have chronic pain also and it is horrible and I can't stand it very long. When it comes, it does drive me to Christ like nothing else and I am thankful for that because I need that clarity that comes with suffering occasionally.

I think we should be charitable here and not jump to conclusions.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (King James Version)

16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.

17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;

18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

1 Peter 5:10
10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.

Romans 8:17
And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

2 Corinthians 1:4-6 (King James Version)

4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

5 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.

6 And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation.
 
Matt 26:39-42 Does Jesus seek unnecessary suffering? NO. First he prays for an alternative. He submits to that suffering to accomplish his fathers will. The agony that Jesus suffered is far greater than anything we could imagine or bear, but he walked into it with full knowledge. Make sure it is God's will for you to suffer extremely before taking it on yourself.
 
I think many are being unfair to Andrew. There are many verses that speak of suffering purifying us and sanctifying us. We are tried with fire and the furnace and the rod of the Lord. It is not self-flagellation if it has come upon you providencially.

If pain comes upon us unbidden, and we have no choice but to bear up under it, then I would certainly agree. If we have a choice, it would seem to me to be a mercy that God has provided means for mitigating pain. While it is not self-flagellation, speaking of denial of comfort to those that are in pain and obviously going to die seems cruel rather than something that will work toward sanctification. Those that are about to die will be sanctified quickly enough. While the encouragement to bear up under pain, knowing that it produces sanctification, is present, it appears to me to be encouragement to those that have no choice; they either bear the pain graciously, or they curse God for their situation.
 
In defense of my friend Andrew, he was speaking about his personal point of view, not trying to impose it on everyone else. And he's not the only one who's articulated that position. If I remember correctly (anyone please correct me if I'm wrong), Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones also held the same position, and refused pain medication on his death bed because he wanted his faculties engaged in order to enjoy the conscious communion of Christ during his experience of death. I'm not saying that position is for everyone or for every situation. I can't say I would argue for it myself just yet. But let's not get so judgmental until you've heard the brother out. Christ does meet us in our suffering in a special way. What a delight it would be to have the ability to consciously enjoy it, crossing the river of death in close communion with Christ, rather than having the experience blurred through the cloudiness of pain medication. But I speak only for myself here. I'm sure I may have a different point of view if I were suffering under severe cancer. And I know the Father would not think less of me for needing some alleviation. I'm righteous and always acceptable in God's sight because of Christ's righteousness, not because of my ability to endure pain.

:2cents:
 
It's interesting. A recent sermon on Romans 8 mentioned that God uses two things in our sanctification more than any other. The Pastor said:

1) sin
2) suffering

We mean different things by the word "suffering" and it is helpful to differentiate between pain caused by direct physical ailment verses anguish pain in our minds and emotions.

Both are a part of life, most everyone will experience them intensely sometime in life.

God's promise is not that we will not have it, the Lord had it beyond what any of us could bear. But He does promise He will be with us through it.

It's also comforting that we are promised He will not give us more than we can bear.
1 Corinthians 10:13

13There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

(It doesn't seem like it, at times, though).
 
Would you prefer excruciating, intractable pain to comfortable oblivion? Come on. Do to others what you would want done.

Personally, it is different for me, that is why I am asking.

I would want to feel pain. To feel a glimpse of what my Savior felt because of my sin. I'm sure it would be sanctifying.

But I say this as a young man, so...

I think the operative phrases in this are "I say this as a young man" and "I would want."

I share the view of several here who have pointed out that we may be "piling on" the brother. I didn't see him advocating self-flagellation or hair shirts as a quasi-Catholic way to experience Christ's sufferings. Furthermore, he's got a right to refuse pain medication if he so chooses, especially if he believes he wants to remain conscious on his deathbed. That's his choice, and not ours.

But I also suspect that as he gets older and sees his friends and family members go through some pretty serious sufferings, he may come to have a different view. Again, that's his choice, and palliative care to relieve pain is totally different from euthanasia, withholding food and water, assisted suicide, or any number of other evils the church must condemn in the strongest possible terms.
 
Would you prefer excruciating, intractable pain to comfortable oblivion? Come on. Do to others what you would want done.

Personally, it is different for me, that is why I am asking.

I would want to feel pain. To feel a glimpse of what my Savior felt because of my sin. I'm sure it would be sanctifying.

But I say this as a young man, so...

I think the operative phrases in this are "I say this as a young man" and "I would want."

I share the view of several here who have pointed out that we may be "piling on" the brother. I didn't see him advocating self-flagellation or hair shirts as a quasi-Catholic way to experience Christ's sufferings. Furthermore, he's got a right to refuse pain medication if he so chooses, especially if he believes he wants to remain conscious on his deathbed. That's his choice, and not ours.

But I also suspect that as he gets older and sees his friends and family members go through some pretty serious sufferings, he may come to have a different view. Again, that's his choice, and palliative care to relieve pain is totally different from euthanasia, withholding food and water, assisted suicide, or any number of other evils the church must condemn in the strongest possible terms.

While I love Andrew, I tended to read his OP a little different than just his own personal desire ... from his OP
If possible, shouldn't we be aware of what is going on? Shouldn't we want to have control of our faculties as we near death (if possible)?
The "we" in here and the "shouldn't" seem to point toward and "ought to" rather than "is it permissible". I'm willing to grant anyone the right to suffer as long as they do so quietly (if they are in a hospital).

I do have a concern about someone attempting to convince others that it is the "right thing" for anyone. For himself? More power to him.
 
The "we" in here and the "shouldn't" seem to point toward and "ought to" rather than "is it permissible". I'm willing to grant anyone the right to suffer as long as they do so quietly (if they are in a hospital).

I do have a concern about someone attempting to convince others that it is the "right thing" for anyone. For himself? More power to him.

I read the OP the same way. I might not have been as concerned except for the fact that he is a pastor and I would assume would be counseling his parishioners in these situations. I've seen this before. My mother almost died when I was a teenager (colon cancer) and suffered enormously - physically as well as emotionally - and I remember our pastor (who had experienced very little suffering by his own admission) telling her what a gift her suffering was and wishing out loud that it could have fallen on him or his wife instead. This was complete poppycock - what our family went through wasn't a "gift," it was the result of a world tainted by sin.
 
I think it's a good thing to consider, though having had cause to consider it I wholly agree that pallliative care preserves dignity (suffering can be an extreme indignity: and one can in many cases barely string conscious thoughts together in any case). I have been so much better of late, but have in the past regularly been in pain so that I couldn't lift a finger to dial a phone for help, or lift my head to save myself from drowning in the tub, or raise my voice -- or bear the sound waves of anyone else's. I did indeed meet Christ in that pain after some years of regular intervals with it, when I began to understand some things I find difficult to express; and it is not something I can regret -- when I stopped regretting, I also stopped fearing it somehow. However I think when one is driven to that extreme, it is highly unlikely that one would not take pain medication (I always did, and now pre-emptively do). Your body is practically in shock already -- 'the eyes can see the colors, but the colors blend before they focus into sense'; people aren't strong enough to hang onto what is ultimately not a necessary article of faith beyond such a point: we weren't made that strong. If someone were torturing you and offered to stop -- not at the cost of renouncing your faith, simply at the cost of sleep -- one probably wouldn't say, 'no, go on, so that I can be conscious to meet my Saviour' --you would recognise your Saviour in the salvation of release from suffering (and it is a pretty glorious recognition :). This too is a way of being conscious of and meeting God: being delivered. 'I will lay me down in peace and sleep' is also in the Psalms. We are given grace to bear what we must, but in general I am relieved to think that probably, when a fellow creature has stamina left to refuse pain medication, he or she is not at the point of extreme pain where all that is unnecessary for the soul to hang onto is simply incomprehensible and anguishing noise.

I would personally be far more upset if having been through such an ordeal, someone gave me a drug to wipe out my memory of it, as I have heard of in a few cases. I have learned things I value very much from pain -- that life is worth it, for instance :). But I would be extremely hesitant to decide such questions for anyone else.

Jennie, I hate to simply insert this at the bottom of a post as if it were merely an aside. Please do know we are praying with you and your family, and rejoicing in God's great deliverance of your cousin from so much suffering.
 
There's an old Harvest hymn:

...Oh by each mercy sent us
And by each grief and pain,
By blessings like the sunshine,
And sorrows like the rain,

Our barren hearts make fruitful;
From every sin set free:
That we at last, rejoicing,
Our sheaves may bring to Thee.
 
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