[Darris McNeely] None of These Diseases is a book that is still in print, and talks about the fact that the hygiene and health laws of the Bible would prevent, and do prevent, a lot of the diseases that have plagued mankind through the years. They were forgotten for centuries but in modern times have been rediscovered and have contributed a great deal toward keeping disease down. It’s a very enlightening book because it validates much of what we find in the Old Testament, especially the books of Exodus and Leviticus, regarding how cities and communities should conduct themselves in terms of sanitation and other forms of conduct.

I recently did a program, a Beyond Today Daily, on the fact that the rate of suicide has been increasing among middle-aged white men, and the fact that these matters are serious and we need to take them seriously. And I had a comment from a viewer who sent along an article that I found to be fascinating because the article was showing the story that goes back now more than two years of the suicide of the comedian Robin Williams, who took his life, and the great deal of publicity and concern that was raised, and the heightened awareness, again, about suicide and what was the possible cause of it. Since then, it’s been determined that Mr. Williams did not – was not under the influence of illegal drugs or substances at that time, but as his widow has brought out in articles since then – and this is what the viewer was showing to me – what he did have was a very rare disease that is called Lewy body dementia, or LBD, which is a progressive disease caused when normal proteins in the brain begin to aggregate and interfere with the brain’s ability to transmit signals. Mr. Williams knew that he had this, it seems, and possibly took his life so as to not to have to deal with the growing consequences in his own life.

Here’s the point: there – because of the complications of our modern world and the interactions of so much neurologically, chemically in our lives, even in our brains, science is becoming quite aware of diseases that you and I have no idea exists out there that sometimes just cannot be dealt with or properly treated. And so, when it comes to how people are dealing with that – and again, the point of my earlier Daily was that if you know somebody who is struggling with depression, struggling with pain, struggling with chronic illness, take it seriously, help them, help them get help, stay with them and do what you can. Sometimes people get to a point where even their best efforts and intentions are not going to be enough, and another person going alongside can help. That’s in essence at the heart of what God said when He said He would put none of the diseases of the Egyptians upon His people (Exodus 15:26; Deuteronomy 7:15). If we show that love, if we can get to the very heart and core of the commandments and the teachings of God, which is love, concern for others beyond ourselves – when it comes to the problems, the diseases, the afflictions of our own time and our own age, perhaps then we might be at the point where we learn something about compassion and caring for those who do suffer. Don’t take it lightly. Help those who need help. Help them get help, and help them as much as you can.

That’s BT Daily. Join us next time.