Some Psychosomatic Medicine

We sometimes use big words to express simple thoughts. Consider, for example, the word psychosomatic. Its common use may be relatively recent, but the idea of the effect of mind over matter, over happiness, over health, is certainly not new. Many centuries ago a man of much wisdom said in a simple scriptural sentence: “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine…” And then he added: “but a broken spirit drieth the bones.” It is easy to prescribe, but it isn’t always easy to administer the “medicine of a merry heart,” for there is often much to make hearts heavy. There are sorrows; there is sickness; there is sin. There are disappointments, cruelty, unkindness; the loss of loved ones, and loneliness. And if we would, we could easily succumb to the negative side and shut out the sunlight and become darkly depressed. But if we did, we would be overlooking one of life’s chief purposes, for the pursuit of happiness is one of life’s principle purposes. This principle hasn’t always been accepted, but if we will look at the facts, we shall see that it is so: for we are here on earth as children of a loving Father who has blessed us with the privilege of life and with all else that is ours. And surely the purpose of any loving Father for His children would be sincere happiness. It is true that we sometimes receive (and no doubt sometimes deserve) discipline. It is true that some of us sometimes hurt our happiness by our own foolish, strong-headed acts and utterances. And it is true that some of us might sometimes have unhappiness that we don’t seem to deserve. But these things we shall sometime understand (and we now understand some of the purposes of our parents which were not so understandable to us in our younger years). And if we will keep faith: faith in the purpose of life, which is limitless and everlasting; faith in the power of God to give to each of us all that is best, all that ought to be ours – with such faith we can survive the hurts and heartaches, with a “heart that doeth good like a medicine.”