Medical doctors are like any of the rest of us. There are things about their jobs that get under their skin. So, what ails a doctor? In a forum published by the Faculty of Medicine for Doctors and Medical Students, several patient comments are shared that push doctors to the edge. Have you ever said any of these things to your doctor?
“I Googled my symptoms and I think I have…” Dr. Google can turn an individual into a hypochondriac very quickly! Patients who self-diagnose undermine the doctor. Information can be a blessing or a curse, depending on how you use it.
“I need this test because my friend had it.” A friend with a similar issue doesn’t mean that you need the same test. Similar and same are not the same thing. Each doctor has their own way of doing things. One doctor may come to a conclusion based on a particular test while another doctor may come to the same conclusion without the test. Remember, the M.D. is after their name, not yours. An afternoon talking with a friend or reading WebMD articles is not the same as a doctor who has been training for the last 10-15 years.
“Why are you so late?” We’ve all experienced a wait in the doctor’s office and the longer we wait, the more annoyed we get. We have voiced – either aloud or internally – “If I’m expected to be on time for my appointment, so should the doctor be on time!” That comment, though, reveals just how self-centered we are. WE were our only patient and we obviously think we are the most important. The doctor, on the other hand, had many. When they come in to see us, we expect them to spend half the day with us if we need. Did we ever stop to think that every patient wants that? A doctor who spends time with a patient and listens to them without giving them the bum’s rush is a doctor who is going to run late most of the time. Just remember, though, that your appointment made them late for whomever came after you.1
“I don’t know why I’m not getting any better?” This is often said by the person who did NOT follow the doctor’s instructions. They didn’t fill the prescription. They didn’t follow the diet regime. They “tweaked” the doctor’s instructions to meet what the patient wanted to do. Since the self-diagnosis and self-medicating measures failed, they now sit across from a doctor who is wondering, “Why do I bother!?!”
Do you ever wonder if the Lord feels that way?
In Esther 3:1-6, we read a familiar Bible story. “After these things did king Ahasuerus promote Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes that were with him. (2) And all the king’s servants, that were in the king’s gate, bowed, and reverenced Haman: for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence. (3) Then the king’s servants, which were in the king’s gate, said unto Mordecai, Why transgressest thou the king’s commandment? (4) Now it came to pass, when they spake daily unto him, and he hearkened not unto them, that they told Haman, to see whether Mordecai’s matters would stand: for he had told them that he was a Jew. (5) And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence, then was Haman full of wrath. (6) And he thought scorn to lay hands on Mordecai alone; for they had shewed him the people of Mordecai: wherefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even the people of Mordecai.”
Why is this happening to the Jewish people? Roll the clock back to about 400 years prior to Esther 3. King Saul was given some specific instructions in 1 Samuel 15:3. “Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.” The instructions seem very clear. However, 1 Samuel 15:8-9 records, “And he [Saul] took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. (9) But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.” Saul chose to adapt and adjust God’s prescription for eradicating the land of the enemy. And even though Samuel took care of Agag, it’s obvious that some of his descendants escaped because Haman in the book of Esther was an Agagite!
I have to believe that doctors are trying to help us. No, they aren’t perfect and will get it wrong sometimes. However, the majority of the time, they are spot on and we need to 
follow their instructions to the letter.
Certainly, God is trying to help us when He gives instructions in His Word. Unlike doctors, though, God is always right in His diagnosis and treatment plan. We need to take 1 Samuel 15:22 to heart. “And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.”
1https://forum.facmedicine.com/threads/what-patients-say-that-frustrates-doctors.78361/
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