Good Medicine for any Ailment

A merry heart is still good medicine!

“A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bone” (Proverbs 17:22).

We are what we think. Solomon said of man, “as he thinketh in his heart so is he” (Proverbs 23:7). Attitude plays an important part in our lives. A good attitude is a key to physical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing.

Physically, many health problems are the result, either directly or indirectly, of anxiety. It has been estimated that as many as two-thirds of all patients who see physicians have symptoms caused or aggravated by mental stress. Headaches, high blood pressure, hay fever and a host of other health problems can be directly linked to emotional stress. The key to good physical health begins with good mental health. Use good medicine. “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine.“

Emotionally, the greatest threat to our wellbeing is depression. I have in mind the kind of depression which results from our outlook. We must avoid the negative gloom and doom thinking which leads to discouragement. I realize that we all have good days and bad days, but for some the bad far outweighs the good, at least in their own eyes. These folks feel bad when they feel good for fear they will feel worse when they feel better. “A broken spirit drieth the bones.“

Spiritually, sin is a cancer eating away at the soul. It finds its greatest nourishment in an evil heart. Jesus said, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh” (Matthew 12:34). It was also Jesus who said that from the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, and all things which defile a man (Matthew 15:19-20). What is needed is good medicine. In Christ we find a cure for the soul’s cancer (Romans 6:23).

“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23). Here is the key to real physi­cal, emotional, and spiritual health. A merry heart is still good medicine!