Hippocratic Oath

Our motto as men should be the same motto as medicals doctors “First do no harm.” At the least,if we can’t leave the world a better place than we should strive to not make it any worse.
In the documentary film, a Flight From Death, the film makers propose that when a man is in search of creating his own version of paradise on earth, he usually does so at the expense of someone else. That is to say that when we create our own heaven we produce someone's else hell for what we really want is to be our own god. We want complete control in order to protect our pleasure.

But as men,we can choose not make someone else's hell. We can choose not too participate in the sex trade, or to abstain from getting drunk so that we don't drive drunk. We can choose not too litter.

Even before a doctor ever attempts to make an intervention he must ask of himself, “Am I going to cause more harm to this patient than good even if they are only sitting in the waiting room?” The doctor must reason that his intervention will not put his patient under any further distress or compound the seriousness of the situation. He must weigh the risk of healing over the risk of maintaining the patient’s condition and then, and only then can he act.

Like doctors, we should seek to avoid harming members of our faith, our congregation, our families and ourselves by the messages we preach both in the pulpit and in our daily lives. We need to protect the name of Christ from anything that is not true which means we must be willing to un-root anything that can cause potential harm. How many lives could be spared of pain, regret, and remorse if the men in our lives would just fulfill this one mission?

But the work of a doctor is never done. There is always someone who needs healing. There are bones that need mending and skin that needs grafting. The workers are few but the needs are great. Because the needs are so great, it is quite easy for them to forget. Doctors are notorious for lacking self care. Attending to the needs of others, they forget to attend to their own needs whether it be spiritual, physical, emotional, or relational.

Doctors get tired. They get angry. They get hungry. And they get lonely. If they fail to acknowledge these human needs, they put their patients at greater risk. That is, they are more likely to forget their first oath. With well meaning intentions, they attend to each client’s needs making decisions that neglect or reflect their own needs.

No matter how well intentioned the doctor may be, if he causes the patient more harm than good he will be accountable. If brought before a judicial board of his peers, he will always be asked about the Hippocratic Oath.
Throughout each day we must ask ourselves, have I at least, not harmed myself, my family, or my faith?