tional and spiritual needs. When these basic needs are met we enjoy good health. When they are continu- ually unmet, the human organism may have to make certain adjust ments and compensations. Such pro longed conditions can result in ser ious illness. Other things being equal, when we accept Christ as our personal Saviour, and when we walk humbly with Him according to His Word. Our basic needs (most of which we are prob ably unaware) are satisfied as God intended them to be. We can be sure that we are not complete outside of Christ. “And ye are conplete in him, which is the head of all principality and power” (Col. 2:10). IN H E R IT A N C E Q. 1 have an eleven-year-old daugh ter who has received some money through the death of her uncle. She was very small at the time of his death, and I put the money away in a savings account for her. I have never told her about this money which is hers. My problem is: How and when would it be best to tell her of this money? I’m afraid if 1 tell her about the amount of money in her name, it may make her feel independent. She may also tell others about it. A. When your daughter is in high school, you can mention to her that there is a savings for her college edu cation, and that it will be left in an account to help her with some of her college expenses. Tell her of the Lord’s goodness in providing this and explain that it is to be used for His glory. Encourage her to attend a fine Christian college or Bible institute where she can de velop for Him. This procedure should help her to draw closer to Christ and to under stand her stewardship responsibilities.
well. Men and women who have bor ing jobs compensate by doing inter esting things on off hours. Those who are seriously physically handicapped may compensate to the extent that they achieve unusual success. P SY CHO SOM A T IC ILLNESS Q. Would you please explain the term psychosomatic illness? A. A psychosomatic illness is one which is caused primarily by psy chological factors. Prolonged emotion al disturbances can produce many types of illnesses. In fact, next to the common cold, psychosomatic illnesses are the most frequent. These illnesses are not imaginary, but very real. Pro bably all of us suffer from them to some extent. Yet surgery and medi cine may not be the sole remedies for psychosomatic illness. In more serious cases it is impor tant to get to the causes. Very fre quently this calls for considerable counseling. It has been found that this type of non-pill therapy can pro duce lasting results. Only recently I knew an outstand ing young man who experienced 9 severe breakdown, and was conse quently confined to bed. Careful medical examinations revealed no special causes for the sicknes. The at tending physicians recommended that the patient have counseling therapy. After several sessions some improve ment was noted, and within a few months he had resumed all of his us ual duties. The patient attributed his recovery to the professional counsel ing therapy. In such cases, patients who discover the causes of their illness and who construct new patterns of living are not so likely to have a recurrence of the ailment. It is an interesting fact that God’s creative product, the human being, has certain physical, mental, emo
W H Y PEOPLE A C T L IKE T H A T Q. What are Compensation Mechan isms? A. All of us act in certain ways. Those who know us best can usually predict how we will react to given situations. These somewhat regular and distinctive patterns of behavior are called mental mechanisms. There are ways of reacting to our environ ment, to our problems, and to other people. There are devices we use to make adjustments to our environ ment. We know that compensation usual ly refers to the pay, salary, or reward that is received for various types of services. In psychology “compensa tion” is referred to as the way people make up for the lack of some specific ability. Many people who feel insecure or inferior devise ways to compensate for such feelings. Adults as well as children who feel that they do not enjoy the physical size or appear ance equal to others, may make themselves conspicuous and loud to make up for their felt lack. People who feel outclassed in one field of endeavor, but who make up for it by becoming expert in another, are com pensating too. Some people work much harder than is actually necessary because of feelings of inadequacy. Strive as they may, they seldom feel that they are competent and worthwhile. A dangerous kind of compensation is substituting gifts or special favors for time and attention. What young people, children and adults desire much more than a compensating gift or reward, is our personal attention and our personal association. There are also favorable attributes to compensation mechanisms. We do not feel badly about doing something poorly if we learn to do another thing
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THE KING'S BUSINESS
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