I received a question from one of my blog’s readers yesterday,let me share it here having gotten permission to do so:

Can we now say sickness is as a result of sin because my brother prayed that God should forgive a sister who had malaria, is it biblical?”

My response:

Sickness came into the world through sin.In Eden there was no sickness.Adam and Eve enjoyed divine health however with specific instruction not to eat a particular fruit.As explained yesterday,divine health is usually sustained by obeying specific instruction.Disobedience could lead to sickness that will necessitate divine healing.

Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s command and that opened the way for sickness.Remember,sickness is not just restricted to the body of a man,it could be spiritual,emotional,psychological,financial etc.In their case,it was initially a spiritual sickness.

Please,I know sin can open door to  sickness in one’s body but the case you mentioned was not necessarily a personal sin from the sister.

Malaria fever is endemic in sub- Saharan Africa and it is caused by Plasmodium parasites.The parasites are spread to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes.This doesnt have any connection with Adam and Eve sin! Yes it does not!

This is the carrier of the disease:

Eliminate it,and you won’t come down with malaria fever! Stop trading blame on Adam and Eve.

Do you know many countries have succeeded in eliminating malaria by putting up various public health measures? Are those countries immuned from Adam and Eve sins?

Let me analyse why malaria fever may still be endemic in Nigeria:

There are no good drainage system in many areas,there are various slums around and bushes that surround houses.Water is collected from streams and wells and left standing in open clay pots since there are usually no running taps.All these help in proliferation of mosquitoes.

Please if you live in this area below or you visit a relative living there,is it your sin that will cause you to have malaria fever?

Compare that with the rate at which people in this next image will come down with malaria fever:

Before accusing people of personal sins causing malaria fever,have we asked ourselves what could be the predisposing factors?

Rural dwellers cannot afford insecticide treated nets.Children  wear little clothing at night due to heat  thus leaving their bodies exposed to mosquito bites.No electricity,no fan! When people even have the malaria fever,many cant afford the antimalaria drugs,they prefer using herbs or better still run to church for prayers! Are these caused by Adam and Eve? Please can we leave them out of these? It is a system failure! 

If I were the brother,I would pray for divine healing for the sister,ask her to visit hospital,run malaria parasite test and get treated.Most importantly I would counsel her on preventive measures she should take to guide against future occurrence.

I know many religious folks will contradict me on this: “Why will you still ask her to go to hospital for test after prayers? Are you saying God cannot heal her? Do you still need to counsel her about preventive measures after her healing? Africans! May God deliver you from your ignorance camouflaged with religion.Amen

If I may ask you sir/ma,when does it become sin to check if truly God has cleared the malaria parasites in your system by running a test? Oh ok,it means you are doubting God? God will have mercy on you.All these ways of thinking are the reasons malaria fever is still ravaging Sub-Saharan Africa countries.

If you were sleeping let me wake you up with this statistics:

“Nigeria suffers the world’s greatest malaria burden,with approximately 51 million cases and 207,000 deaths(excluding children) reported annually.It is responsible for the deaths of an estimated 300,000 children per year and contributes to over 4,000 maternal deaths annually.”

I hope that woke you up!

Let me continue from where I stopped yesterday on how God ensured the Israelites enjoyed divine health in the wilderness:

WASTE DISPOSAL

“Have a place outside the camp and go out there, and you shall have a spade among your tools, and it shall be when you sit down outside, you shall dig with it and shall turn to cover up your excrement.”-Deut 23:12-13

Do you know that this command saved them from many diseases like cholera,gastroenteritis, typhoid,dysentery etc? Today modern medicine has opened our eyes to see the effects of direct and indirect contact with infected faeces.

Houseflies feed on fecal and moist decaying matter.

They regurgitate and excrete these wherever they come to rest and thereby mechanically transmit disease organisms.To prevent this,God said they should go outside the camp to relieve themselves and cover their faeces!

Many do not enjoy divine health today because they violate the principle of effective waste disposal.

How I wish many men and women of God would not just pray for the healings of their members but like God,teach them preventive measures that could make them stay healthy?

For other precautionary measures God instituted for the Israelites and their medical relevance today,contact the B-I-G Outreach:

Next post will focus on whether a Christian should use medications when sick or rely solely on God.

Stay healthy!