Placebo Faith – The Real Thing!
Part 1
Scriptures: Matthew 18:3; Hebrews 11:1, 6; Proverbs 18:21; 23:7a
Introduction
In Matthew 18:3 Jesus says, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.”
Hebrews 11:1,6 says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen….And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”
As most of you know, I have been in the medical field for over 36 years. During this time I have been on both sides of the aisles in that I have dispensed medicine as a medic in the Air Force and I have marketed medicines in my current job role. From these experiences I have learned that there are times when a patient really does need medicine in order to be healed of an illness and there are times when they do not. It is the responsibility of the treating physician to determine if the patient needs medication to treat their illness or if they just need to change how they think about their “supposed” illness. In other words the physician must determine if the illness is “medically” verifiable or if it exists solely in the mind of the patient. When a physician determines that an illness exists in the mind of the patient and the patient truly believes that they are ill, the physician will attempt to treat the patient’s illness with treatments that have no real medical value except than to the patient. In other words, the physician is not treating the patient’s illness, but the patient’s thinking. The physician gives the patient what is called a placebo pill/treatment which oftentimes heals the patient. I want you to know this morning that this method of treatment confirms what the Bible says about faith and the power of our minds. The title of my message this morning is “Placebo Faith – The Real Thing!”
I have shared with you before that the human mind is a powerful thing that affects every aspect of our life. People get confused when you talk about the human mind versus the human brain. Some people think they are the same, but that is not the case. The mind is not the brain (organ); the mind is spiritual and the brain (organ) is flesh. So when you hear me speak of the mind in this series understand that I am not talking about your brain but that part of you that is spiritual. With that understanding, consider the fact that the mind has the ability to heal afflictions as well as cause them. Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” Remember, the tongue speaks what is in a person’s mind (heart). The tongue speaks what the mind believes! So if you listen to a person talking they will tell you what they believe and thus what is in their heart. Proverbs 23:7a says, “For as he thinks within himself, so is he.” In other words a man becomes how he thinks! Let me give you an example.
How many of you have ever heard of the condition called pseudocyesis? Pseudocyesis is normally referred to as “false pregnancy” and can happen when a woman believes so strongly that she is expecting a baby when in reality she is not. I need you to hear me out because this will show you how our minds influence the world around us. A woman with this condition will have many, if not all, symptoms of pregnancy - with the exception of an actual fetus. Some men experience a related phenomenon known as couvade, or sympathetic pregnancy. They will develop many of the same symptoms as their pregnant partners, including weight gain, nausea, and backache. Only recently have doctors begun to understand the psychological and physical issues that are at the root of pseudocyesis. Although the exact causes still aren't known, doctors suspect that psychological factors may trick the body into "thinking" that it's pregnant. When a woman feels an intense desire to get pregnant, which may be because of infertility, repeat miscarriages, impending menopause, or a desire to get married, her body may produce some pregnancy signs (such as a swollen belly, enlarged breasts, and even the sensation of fetal movement). The woman's brain (organ) then misinterprets those signals as pregnancy, and triggers the release of hormones (such as estrogen and prolactin) that lead to actual pregnancy symptoms. These symptoms can last for just a few weeks, for nine months, or even for several years. A very small percentage of patients with false pregnancy will arrive at the doctor's office or hospital with what feels like labor pains. This is an example of how powerful our minds are when it comes to our health. In this case the mind (spiritual) caused the brain (flesh) to act upon the body as if the woman was pregnant. When our beliefs and faith are aligned, the body will respond because the mind is now controlling the brain.
As I said earlier, in medical cases where a patient truly believes they have an illness they will show signs of that illness and the treating physician will treat them with a placebo. Placebos are important to the development of actual medicines because clinical trials are designed to prove that the new medicine is better than doing nothing at all (placebo.) But what can happen during these clinical trials is that some patients will respond to the fake pill as if they received the real thing. When this happens it is called a placebo effect. Clinical trials are conducted to collect data regarding the safety and efficacy of a new drug and/or device development. Phase 1 studies the safety of a drug while phase 2 studies the efficacy of the drugs. Many compounds do not make it past Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials because they prove to be no more effective than a placebo – doing nothing different. The placebo effect that is seen in clinical trials is actually proof of faith in action – “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1). Faith brings the non-existent into existence. Let me explain.
A placebo is anything that seems to be a "real" medical treatment - but isn't. It could be a pill, a shot, or some other type of "fake" treatment. What all placebos have in common is that they do not contain an active substance meant to affect health. Researchers use placebos during studies to help them understand what effect a new drug or some other treatment might have on a particular condition. For example, some people in a study might be given a new drug to lower cholesterol while others would get a placebo. None of the people in the study will know if they got the real treatment or the placebo. Researchers then compare the effects of the drug and the placebo on the people in the study to determine the effectiveness of the new drug and check for side effects. Sometimes a person can have a response to a placebo and the response can be positive or negative. For instance, the person's symptoms may improve or the person may have what appear to be side effects from the treatment.
There are some conditions like depression, pain, and sleep disorders in which a placebo can produce results even when people know they are taking it. Research on the placebo effect has focused on the relationship of mind and body. One of the most common theories is that the placebo effect is due to a person's expectations and or beliefs. If a person expects a pill to do something, then it's possible that the body's own chemistry can cause effects similar to what a medication might have caused. For instance, in one study, people were given a placebo and told it was a stimulant. After taking the pill, their pulse rate sped up, their blood pressure increased, and their reaction speeds improved. When people were given the same pill and told it was to help them get to sleep, they experienced the opposite effects; they went to sleep. Experts also say that there is a relationship between how strongly a person expects to have results and whether or not results occur. The stronger the feeling, the more likely it is that a person will experience positive effects. The same appears to be true for negative effects. If people expect to have side effects such as headaches, nausea, or drowsiness, there is a greater chance of those reactions happening. Have you ever seen a medical product commercial? The next time you watch one, see how much time they spend talking about the side-effects of the drug versus what the drug actually treats. Physician’s hate these commercials because if they have a patient taking one of those products, the patient will often come in and complain about the side-effects that they saw on TV even though they had been taking the drug for years with no problem. It’s a problem for them now because they “think” it’s a problem! The fact that the placebo effect is tied to expectations doesn't make it imaginary or fake. Some studies show that there are actual physical changes that occur with the placebo effect. For instance, some studies have documented an increase in the body's production of endorphins, one of the body's natural pain relievers when a patient took a pill thought to relieve pain.
Now here is an unknown fact that those outside of the medical community would likely not know. If during Phases 2 & 3 of the clinical trials a new drug proves to be marginally more effective than the placebo, that drug would probably never make it to market. In order for a new drug to come to market it has to be statistically better than placebo and/or what is currently on the market for treatment of the same condition. For example, a drug from one of my former employers was very effective in lowering cholesterol. For some people it reduced their cholesterol better than anything else that is currently being sold. However, during the clinical trials it was not statistically better than placebo so the company chose not to bring the product to market. My neighbor contacted me wanting to know if I knew of any way he could remain on the product because he was a hyper responder but it could not be done. My point is this, the placebo effect is very real and if we understood that it really is our faith in action, we could truly channel that faith in many areas of our lives.
When a person thinks they are taking an actual medication, their faith is channeled into the potential benefit that they will get from that placebo. At the point of belief, the mind (their faith) kicks in and does the rest. “For as he thinks within himself, so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7a) The patient does not require proof that the drug will work, they are only going by what they have been told which they accepted as truth. Our faith should be like that patient taking the placebo pill – we believe without any proof. Jesus told Thomas, who needed proof that Jesus had risen from the dead, “…Because you have seen Me have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see and yet believed.” (John 20:29) Many exercise faith in what they know and can prove. Placebo faith is what is exhibit when we actually do not have any proof but yet we choose to believe.
Let’s turn back to Matthew 18:1-5. “At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, ‘Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, ‘Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me” Many refer to Jesus’ response as being “childlike faith” even though this term does not appear in the Bible. However, the idea of childlike faith can be inferred from these verses. Jesus’ disciples may have been discussing who was the greatest among them and thus who would be in heaven. They could also have been discussing those of the Old Testament and thinking how they compared with them since they were the “chosen one.” Regardless, Jesus’ response to their question gives us insight into what’s really important in our relationship with Christ.
First and foremost we have to come to Him in the manner of a child. I have told you before that children are taught how not to be childlike. They are taught to disbelieve and require proof. They are taught to seek their own desires versus carrying about the needs of others. They are taught self-importance versus the importance of others. What Jesus describes in his answer is what we used to be before we learned how to operate in this world. I know that our Savior understands what we are facing, but we must also recognize what is required of us. We must have the type of faith that comes from the humility of the knowledge that we are nothing. As long as I think I am something my humility ceases and my faith struggles because I should be able to handle things because of who I am. However, when I accept that I am nothing and I come to the one Who is everything, I believe because I willingly place my faith within Him. You see, those patients place their faith in that unknown pill. That pill becomes the conduit that channels their faith into belief. Once channeled, their belief causes their body to respond. We place our faith and channel our beliefs in a known God. We have to stop questioning Him and believe without doubting. When a child trusts someone, they believe in that person. They will accept what that person tells them without proof. You tell a child the Easter bunny is real, that child will believe and tell their friends. They believe because they have not been taught that those they trust will deceive them. This is how we come to Christ. Believing that He is and that He will never deceive or forsake us.
Let me close this out this morning with Hebrews 11:6. Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” That word impossible means just what it says, impossible. Without faith it is impossible to please God. Why? Because we must believe that He is and that He rewards those who seek Him. We cannot fake faith – either we exercise it or we ignore it. We all have some measure of faith but how we exercise it is dependent upon what we believe. It is impossible to please God without faith. The fact that you are here and that you have accepted Christ as your personal Savior is proof positive that you have faith! Now what you do with it now is up to you. I will continue this next week.
Until next time, “The Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance on you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
