Think About It

My friend wrote this morning: “It is tough to be in a position where speaking truth can cause huge amounts of conflict. “Romans 12:18 tells us. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.

I’m a people pleaser. People who know me well can affirm that. I don’t like to ‘rock the boat’ or create conflict, but there are times as I pray and study God’s Word that I feel convicted to write about issues I’d rather leave alone. 

When you pray, “Show me God what I should do today,” beware, you may not always like the answer.

I grew up without immunizations. Until yesterday I never really knew why. Since then, I’ve learned that there are two main reasons: number one, getting immunized means you are not trusting in God’s providence, and two, immunizations may be harmful or dangerous.

As I prayed and mulled these reasons over in my mind these thoughts came to me.

God entrusted three children in my care, one unborn. I take being a mother very seriously and do everything to protect them and keep them safe. I feed them healthy foods, make sure they get enough sleep, give them vitamins, protect them from sunburns, insect bites, make them wear seatbelts, bicycle helmets, and give them medicine when they are sick. Knowing that there are serious epidemic diseases out there without a cure, I immunize my children to greatly decrease the risks of needless suffering which could even lead to death.

Does this mean because I do these things I don’t trust God will take care of my kids, or that their lives are not in His hands? Of course not! I’ve learned in the six years living here the truth of Psalm 4:8b “For thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.” I do however have the responsibility to take care of the children He has given me to the best of my ability.

Are immunizations harmful or dangerous?
When they first come out, admittedly they might have had some flaws and side effects but they’ve been around for 100’s of years now and tested over and over again.

What about the MMR vaccines relation to autism?
According to Wikipedia, “Claims of a connection between the MMR vaccine and autism were raised in a 1998 paper in The Lancet, a respected British medical journal Later investigation by Sunday Times journalist Brian Deer discovered the lead author of the article, Andrew Wakefield, had multiple undeclared conflicts of interest and had broken other ethical codes. The Lancet paper was later fully retracted, and Wakefield was found guilty by the General Medical Council of serious professional misconduct in May 2010, and was struck off the Medical Register, meaning he could no longer practice as a doctor in the UK. Scientific evidence provides no support for the hypothesis that MMR plays a role in causing autism"

The diseases themselves are VERY dangerous however. Measles for example, can lead to viral pneumonia, acute encephalitis and corneal uleceration. It can cause death or birth defects in unborn babies, small children, the elderly, and those with compromised immune systems. In poor countries like Haiti the potential death rate of measles is as high as 28% for those who aren’t vaccinated!

Then I have to ask myself; how can I put my children and others at risk, knowing there are safe methods to protect them from potentially deadly harm? How can I watch my child or others suffer, or even die, with the knowledge that I hadn’t taken a simple precautionary method to protect them, and assume that somehow glorifies God?