A Book Review from Books At a Glance
by Michael D. Mock
Joseph Whiting has written a book for all people, because all people get sick. In fact, and it was not as if I planned it this way, I read this book during a weeklong sickness. I found the timing quite providential, to say the least. Whiting has written briefly, so I plan on reviewing briefly. In short, this book on sickness is helpful but also in need of some improvement.
Helpfulness
In his book, Whiting is helpfully clear, counter-cultural, and committed to the Bible. His clarity runs throughout the book, of course, and he begins by categorizing causality (chapters 1-2). For half of the book, Whiting explains clearly the cause of sickness and the various aspects of this causality. Sin is the foundational cause of all sickness. Without sin, there’d be no sickness. He goes on to explain that not every personal sickness can be traced back to personal sin. Still, we might become sick because we’re being disciplined by God, we’re being stirred to repent to God, we receive the natural consequences either of our own sin or the sins and sufferings of the world, and/or we realize our thinking needs some more fine-tuning. Wrong thinking as a source of sickness is Whiting’s longest section, which demonstrates this feature of causality to be a significant contributor to affliction.
I particularly appreciated Whiting’s counter-cultural posture (chapter 3). He acknowledged upfront how odd it might sound to our ears when told that there’s such a thing as “beneficial sickness.” This language did strike me as odd, ironically. Nevertheless, although Whiting doesn’t believe that sickness in itself is beneficial, it can be used by God to bring much spiritual benefit to the one who suffers by faith in God. Whiting urges us to put on the mind of Christ, to take all our thoughts on suffering captive to the obedience of Christ, and to change our perspective based on God’s Word on our pain.
The other half of the book is spent offering six benefits of sickness (chapter 4). Drawing from the Bible, Whiting encourages afflicted hearts and suffering bodies that our sickness is ultimately to glorify God. I valued especially his emphasis on holiness over health (page 70). Another purpose in our sickness is to grow to be more like Christ. For instance, pointing us to Jesus, Whiting says, “Being sick does not absolve us of the responsibility to obey God. It just makes it more difficult” (77). The Lord Jesus subjected himself to all manner of trial and affliction and was the example of obeying God in the face of suffering. Third, we become sick as reminders of our own mortality and fragility (78). We won’t last forever, and it’s helpful to be reminded that we’re not invincible. God also benefits our suffering souls through his Spirit-wrought comfort (94ff). Leaning on 2 Corinthians 1, Whiting reminds the reader that we can draw comfort from God even while (rather, especially when) we’re sick. Finally, the Bible comes out again when Whiting shows us that we can minister to others even when we’re in great pain. He asked, “Do we view our body as ours or on loan from the Lord to be used for His purposes?” (102). The Bible tells us that we can be useful to others even when (rather, especially when) we’re not pain-free. What was refreshing in this section was his view on Paul’s thorn in the side. In a book on sickness, Whiting could have easily taken the common view that the thorn in Paul’s side was a physical affliction. However, Whiting doesn’t go this route, because he sticks to reading the Bible in context. A strong case can be made for this thorn being people, not pain. He summarizes this case well (103). All in all, the book does help us to clearly categorize sickness according to the Bible and contrary to worldly ways of thought.
Improvement
Whiting wrote helpfully, but there remains room for improvement. There are some features that were more distracting than useful, whereas other features of the book could have been easily remedied by an extra 30 pages or so. As to the former, Whiting seemed to trail off on topics not directly relevant to his subject. For instance, in the section on natural consequences, he spent some pages writing about Big Bang cosmology and carbon dating. I found their placement in this book a little odd. I looked at them and said, “Why are you here?” Moreover, when Whiting addressed wrong thinking as a feature of causality, he wrote on fearing God over man and not being anxious (43ff). The content was solid, but again its placement seemed peculiar. Finally, at times Whiting’s writing required more doctrinal precision. Two examples stood out to me. More than once, Whiting spoke of the immaterial aspect of the person (i.e., our spirit or soul) as “the real you” (31, 36). The inner man is the real you. Indirectly this assessment minimizes the other aspect of the image-bearer, namely, his/her body. I take this emphasis to be misguided, even if popular. The real you is the embodied you, the soul/spirit and body properly integrated. Another aspect of doctrinal imprecision (or deviation) was found near the end of the book. Whiting rightly encourages us that God cares for us in our sufferings. However, in a footnote, he is rather unclear concerning his view on the impassibility of God. Does God suffer or have emotions, or not? What is his relationship to them? He writes in part, “[God] is in complete control of His emotions while holding them all simultaneously in perfect harmony under the umbrella of His holiness” (97, note 26). I regret to say that I have no idea what this means. Clarity or deletion would improve this footnote.
As for the latter, this book could be improved by some thoughtful additions. Whiting admitted that the six benefits of sickness weren’t the only benefits, but it would have been encouraging to read more. As I read, three came to mind: appreciating more our union with Christ, longing for heaven, and anticipating lasting healing. More could be added, which would only improve the quality of the book and thereby the stability of the suffering soul. Furthermore, it would have been especially useful to see more of the practical nature. By this I mean that he could have added recommended resources, quick action steps at the end of a section or chapter, and some discussion questions to think through individually or with a group. Moreover, to engage the reader more, Whiting could have used more illustrations: personal, historical, and biblical. That is, Whiting majored on the mind and left fairly alone the affections. Through his explanation, he featured the intellectual aspect over the affectional component of the person. I found this weakness to be the missing link in a book like this. In truth, people need solid answers to their questions related to pain. But pain is not experienced intellectually as much as it is affectionally. To address this reality, moving illustrations, powerful anecdotes, and energizing exhortations would have captured not only the mind but the affections of an afflicted saint. I hope that Whiting comes out with a second edition and that it includes some or all of the improvements mentioned above. It is a good book that I’d love to see better, for the sake of glorifying God and encouraging the suffering saint.
Michael D. Mock