God at the Top
Until the mid-1970’s graduates at most medical schools in the United States recited the Hippocratic Oath. In fact, I was in the last graduating class at my medical school to take this pledge. One of the tenets was Transcendence - the recognition of the need for God. The intended relationship looked like this:
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At times the position at the top of this triangle has been taken over by the doctor – not good! Today in the United States the position at the top is occupied by insurance companies with government vying - not far behind. Until God is returned to the top of the doctor-patient relationship the practice of medicine will always be in jeopardy.
Medicine is not the only sphere of society where God has been “demoted” from the top of the triangle. Education is another example. Harvard College was founded in 1638 by Rev. John Harvard to support training of Christian ministers. In fact the Harvard College “Rules and Precepts” of 1646 open:
“Let every Student be plainly instructed, and earnestly pressed to consider well, the maine end of his life and studies is, to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life (John 17:3) and therefore to lay Christ in the bottome, as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and Learning. And seeing the Lord only giveth wisdome, Let every one seriously set himself by prayer in secret to seeke it of him (Proverbs 2:3).”
Harvard and so many other educational institutions that were founded on Christian truths have lost their orientation. In their sphere of thinking God has been “demoted” (or even eliminated). People and institutions may think they can demote God, but in his prayer King David reminds us that:
Riches and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and it is at your discretion that people are made great and given strength. (I Chronicles 29:12 New Living Translation)
We, too, can act as if God is not at the top, but He is still rules over all. Will you join me in recognizing and reflecting His rule over every aspect of our lives?
Sharing the journey with you, 