The Unwanted Gift

Bob Gross was a star basketball player in the NBA. In one game, Bob injured his ankle.

However, his team needed another player, so Bob was asked to play despite the pain he felt in his ankle. The team’s doctor injected Bob’s ankle with Marcaine, a strong painkiller, in three different places on his foot. Bob went off merrily to play, his pain gone.

While the game was under way, as Bob battled for a rebound, a distinct snap was heard in the arena. Bob ran up and down the court two times, then suddenly crumpled to the ground. He had felt no pain but had in fact broken a bone in his ankle. “By canceling out pain’s warning system, Gross had laid himself upon an injury that caused permanent damage and prematurely ended his basketball career.”

Pain is a voice that carries a message: stop there is a problem!

By silencing his pain, Bob did not end his problem, he ended only his awareness of his problem. Pain keeps us from injuring ourselves permanently, if we listen to it.

Years ago, the statistical consumption of aspirin in the United states was 30 thousand tons per years. That translates into each person consuming 250 pills per week, to alleviate the pain they are feeling. Pain is undoubtedly something the American culture is obsessed about avoiding. But more than just seeking to avoid pain we actively pursue pleasure.

Ironically, while millions are consuming pain killers, 10-12 million people would regard a sap of pain as good news. These people have leprosy. By not being able to feel pain leprosy patients inflict harm on themselves. For thousands of years leprosy was considered a terrible decease which ate up your flesh. But all leprosy is, is a sickness that stifles your nerves which warn you of dangers. Leprosy patients inflict harm on themselves without knowing it because they lack that essential warning system.

Pain is an amazing system God has given us to cope with dangers.

More than just a physical pain system, God has given us a spiritual pain system: The Holy Spirit. By silencing the Holy Spirit in our lives, we do not fix our problem, we close the door to being able to fix our problem.