Giving Credit Where Credit is Due

I have a bone to pick today, and it came up partly due to reading the aforementioned threads.

In one of them, someone thanked God for saving them from something or other in the past. I have no idea what the history was (she doesn't give further info), but I know of at least a few other people who, after being found by a Rescue team or saved by a Surgeon cutting out a tumor, thank God.

Excuse me? Did God get on his cell and dial up the Coast Guard when your ship toppled, or was it the engineer who installed the radio which allowed you to ring them up in the first place? And did God jump in the water and pull you out? No, Lieutenant Somedude did.

When getting that necrotic appendix out, is no credit given to the doctor who diagnosed it in time? Or the surgeon who managed to remove it? Or the fact that both of them went through years of medical school? Any of them get any credit at all for saving your rear?

No, they get shafted and get no credit because obviously God made it easy for them in order to be in place to save you (and others, I guess). To me, that belittles them to mere pawns in the hand of God. I know I'd feel a bit disenfranchised when someone would say, "You survived that brain tumor! I prayed so hard for you!" Sure, it may life the patient's emotional health, but who really get dirty and saved the crux of the problem (because let's be honest: being in perfect emotional health is pretty pointless when your heart refuses to beat).

I'm not saying God should be marginalized or ignored or anything. I just think it's offensive that people forget those who enabled the miracle in the first place. People who dedicated their lives to making our lives easier.

Please, share the kudos.

And of course, I'm sure I'll get people who will reply that only God can cure some things and some things will be beyond the reach of any science. I highly doubt it. Just a few years ago, getting HIV was akin to a fast death sentence and being a virus, it didn't seem likely that could ever change. Now, we have drugs which can delay and improve the quality of life for AIDS patients dramatically and research into anti-virals, while still a long way off, are becoming promising.

Sure, some things may be in God's hands only today. But every day, we get a little closer to sharing the power. Whether this is due to His designs or what, it's not fair to shaft the people, the human beings involved, when dealing out the kudos.

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