Faith in Practice: Shrewd as Snakes and Innocent as Doves
This article originally appeared in the December 2024 issues of FOCUS.
Disclaimer: Nothing in this article or issue of FOCUS constitutes legal advice. If you have specific questions on how to apply what you’ve read in your practice in the context of your particular College’s policies, please email communications@cmdacanada.org.
I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore, be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. (Matthew 10:16)
Much of this issue of FOCUS centers on an invitation to integrate your faith in your practice in specific, outward-focused ways. You are invited to share faith flags, take spiritual histories, share the Gospel, and pray with your patients. That is a daunting task, especially when we are “like sheep among wolves”.
During a keynote presentation, former Reform Party leader Preston Manning had his own take on this quote from the Gospel of Matthew. He invited his listeners to be “‘wise as serpents and gracious as doves’ not vicious as snakes and stupid as pigeons.” There’s applicable wisdom in Mr. Manning’s turn of phrase for us as we consider how to integrate the practices proposed in this issue of FOCUS.
As a people commissioned to “go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19), we are indeed called to “be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” (1 Peter 3:15) But what does it look like to do that with wisdom and prudence?
In our personal conversations outside of work, we can more readily speak of the Gospel with the primary caution being a potential social repercussion. We could experience a break in a relationship or a loss of status. Jesus did warn us that we “will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” (Luke 12:53) While we may mourn those losses, we can live in the hope of their restoration within God’s plan for salvation.
In a professional setting, there are different dynamics and challenges at play. An ill-timed or imperfectly presented attempt to share the Good News with a patient or colleague might lead to a complaint and action from your regulatory bodies. While we shouldn’t live in fear of being called before our College, freezing our heart against the sharing of the Gospel, there are ways that we can prudently approach speaking to patients about faith.
Dr. Melissa McConville, who has practiced as an Integrative Medicine specialist since before her conversion, has
been studying college policies for years to ensure she was operating within College guidelines. Before her encounter with Christ, her practice included holistic care, which could include prescribing yoga, reiki, and other complementary and alternative medicines. As a believer, Dr. McConville now considers that healing through Christ should also be considered a complementary and alternative therapy. Most Colleges across Canada have existing policies on the use of complementary and alternative medicine, so you have boundaries within which to potentially include this practice.
If you’re a physician or dentist seeking to include healing through Christ in your practice, we encourage you to carefully review your College policy. If you’re unsure about the interpretation or want to discuss what you’ve read, please reach out to the National Office staff. We can connect you with legal advice. By being shrewd as a serpent, you then have the opportunity to be innocent as doves with your patients as you seek to be docile to the invitation of the Holy Spirit in your practice.