WHY GOD AND CHIROPRACTIC?

   In my very first clinic we put up white boards that said, “I move the bone, God does the healing.” Patients carried big files around with them back then with a number on them, which was the order they started care in the office. My 4th patient ever, “Patient #4” said to me, “Why God and chiropractic? Don’t you know you’re going to go out of business if you mix business with religion?” My answer was, “Then I guess I’ll be out of business.” The result; we saw over 100 new patients per month every month for my first year and had 5 clinics open in the next 3 years. I guess we didn’t go out of business.
   Chiropractic is a science and healthcare profession. Personally, I do everything for God, not just my profession. I was the General Editor of a devotional Bible. We broke down Psalm 16:2 which says, “You have said to God, ‘You are my Lord, I have no good apart from You.’”  Psalm 16:2
   “No Goodness, zero goodness – this is a big deal to understand! It helps if we see the literal rendering of this verse.  “My goodness is not apart from You.” Why is this important?  Because the difference in the word order shows us what is emphasized and what conclusions must be drawn.
    Notice that the first thought is my goodness.  The Hebrew is tovati.  The root is tovah (tov), means good, well-pleasing, proper, prosperous, convenient and morally correct.  That covers it, doesn’t it?  What else is there to goodness that isn’t captured in this word?  Nothing.  In other words, whatever claim I might have about being good, proper, prosperous, moral or beneficial - all of my goodness - is summarized under this word.
   But what does David says about my goodness?  None of it belongs to me!  In Hebrew, bal-aleika.  Apart from You, Lord, it means nothing!  Whatever I might claim as goodness depends entirely on You.  You are the source of my morality, my well-being, my proper actions and my prosperity.  My goodness is not separate from You.  I do not stand apart, claiming my own rights, proclaiming my own merit.  Unless you give me the merit badges, I have nothing at all.
   This comes from the mouth of a king. When the most powerful human being in the land falls face down, expressing his worthlessness before the Sovereign Lord, we can hardly consider ourselves exempt from such humility.  The servant is not greater than the master.  And if the king is a servant, what does that make us? We would settle for just a little goodness dust to fall on us. But the Bible won’t allow it.  “There is none righteous, no, not one.”  How hard it is to come to terms with God’s judgment.
    SUCH GOOD NEWS. We have no goodness apart from Him, but He loves us and values us nevertheless.  In fact, He values us so much that John 3:16 is a reality.  My goodness is a myth, but His love is not.  It is His love that credits me with goodness, not my goodness that credits me with His love.
   Today, see if bal-aleika can sink just a little deeper into your thought.  Today, worship Him because He first loved us. Make your home His home, your family His family, and your business your Father’s business. Like patient #4, not everyone will like this, but it’s not their business; it’s His.

With God, all things are possible,

Dr. Ben