David Brainerd—A man who didn’t take care of himself

David Brainerd died at the young age of 29. Early death in itself is not unusual, but might the young missionaries’ death been preventable?

Jonathan Edwards (author of Brainerd’s diary) explains,

“Another imperfection in Mr. Brainerd, which may be observed in the following account of his life, was his life, was his being excessive in his labors; not taking due care to proportion his fatigues to his strength.”

Yet I would encourage the reader to not be too critical of Brainerd’s imperfection. I believe there are three reasons for Brainerd’s recklessness.

Life was short at that time.

I have dealt with this issue in a previous post, addressing the grim realities for John Calvin and most humans in the last two millennia.  

“It is hard for the 21st century Christian to truly grasp the regularity of death for the 16th century person. Most children did not make it to adulthood (Calvin’s only son died two weeks after birth) and therefore, time for Calvin was against him and never for him. 

Calvin discusses his morbid outlook:  

“Embark upon a ship, you are one step from death. Mount a horse, if your foot slips, your life is imperiled. Go through the city streets, you are subject to as many dangers as there are tiles on the roofs. But if you try to shut yourself up in a walled garden, seemingly delightful, there is a serpent lies hidden. Amid these tribulations must not man be more miserable, since, but half alive in life, he weakly draws his anxious and languid breath, as if he had a sword perpetually hanging over his neck.”

(To read the rest of this post, click here:  http://cpletter.blogspot.com/2012/03/john-calvina-man-of-great-discipline.html)

The existence for Brainerd was no different. Time was not on his side so the sense of urgency was more acute. Why take care of yourself, if by providential means, a plague sweeps through the next day and kills ¾ of your town? For the 18^th century Christian, resting because of illness is often just viewed as possibly wasting the last few days of your earthly journey.

He was single.

A man with no wife or children tends to run harder since he is an undivided man. Monetary provision does not weigh him down nor the burden of physical protection his earthly brood. Like a modern day thrill seeker, Brainerd chose to live fearless and to some degree, reckless.

Heaven was inviting.

Do you (and I) really believe the familiar words, “To live in Christ and to die is gain.” (Phil. 1:21)? Without a doubt, Brainerd did. Not only did he believe it but he longed for the relief and perfect communion found inside the gates of Heaven. Therefore, death for Brainerd was an enemy, but not an enemy to be feared or avoided. In other words, why fear death when it simply leads you to your inheritance?

Let’s ask an important question: So why did Edwards (and Brainerd himself) view this as an “imperfection”? Or better yet, “How can we avoid this error”?

The answer to the first question is difficult to pinpoint. Brainerd’s ministry to the Indians was inherently harsh and difficult. Food was sometimes scarce, which only weakened his frail disposition. But Brainerd also neglected to listen to his body, the Holy Spirit and human counselors who encouraged him to take seriously his limitation

But what about us?

Principle #1—Check the motives of YOUR heart.

To begin with this principle is essential. Most American Christians won’t struggle like Brainerd. Pushing the boundaries of human limits is rare today in our lazy, self-indulgent, medicated society. Yet those individuals are not “off the hook”, but in actuality are in need of the same spiritual EKG (as the nobly reckless) to diagnose the idols of their idle, self-focused heart.

Principle #2—Working long doesn’t always produce effective results.

Even the most robust of our kind need rest. For example, I am writing this blog post at 4:30 AM, rather than at 9 PM, because I am more alert after 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Anxiety and pride keeps a man (or woman) working past their human limit. Ecclesiastes 5:12states that ‘sleep is pleasant for the one who works’, but unless the person can mentally shut it down, this proverb misses its divine intent.

Principle #3—Don’t be a Martha, be a Mary.

Here is the enigmatic part of Brainerd; clearly his journal showed he was like Mary (Luke 10:39). Day after day he sat at the feet of Jesus. Is it possible to be alone with God but still be a Martha? I think so. The Puritan ideal at times seems Martha-ish, rather than Mary-ish. Examine, memorize, confess, meditate, sing, pray. Examine, memorize, meditate, sing, pray. Sounds exhausting, doesn’t it? For the David Brainerd’s of the 21^st century it would behoove you to remember that busyness, whether spiritual or physical, can subtly become soul-taxing rather than soul-stimulating.

Principle #4—Temptations are more intense when you are weak, stressed or sleep-deprived.

The typically rebuttal to this principle is that God is faithful and will not give any Christian more than he or she can handle (I Cor. 10:13). No doubt this is true, but if we neglect the natural, providential or brotherly warning signals, then has God failed or have we? Is not our holiness worth a spiritual EKG exam?

Principle #5—God wants you to enjoy life and His creation.

I am a grinder. This fact is self-evident to those who know me or those who have worked with me. In the plan of God, superior intelligence was divinely withheld from me, but human persistence was not. The result: I see the trees, but rarely the forest.

Someone once told me there is a difference between laziness and enjoying your labor (Ecc. 3:13). To be clear, I am not advocating the modern maxim of “work hard, play hard”. This is often used as a justification for excess, not balance. But seriously, how do we enjoy life and His creation? Is the answer simply a 3-week vacation or a larger retirement account?

Again, stopping or slowing is not necessary slothfulness. The Saints of old regularly took walks (Jonathan Edwards) and planted gardens (John Calvin, William Carey). More than that, I believe a thankful heart produces in us a “wow factor” with not just the trees, but also the forest, both of which God created and upholds by His mighty hand.

Principle #6—Remember God doesn’t need you (or your wisdom).

Lately, a new friend of mine has challenged my thinking on humanity’s role in God’s drama. Our story purposely intertwined in His story. But doesn’t this principle violate or at least minimize God’s ordained plan for humanity? No, I simply think this reminds humanity that God’s ways are not my ways (Isa. 55:8) and His timing mayresponsibility is not always in tuned with our perception of time.

How myopic we often are, especially the type A Christians of the world? We think, “The gospel must be proclaimed, therefore, we ought to be constantly moving, right?” Wrong! Paul had great evangelistic success in prison during his 2.5 years in Rome. The first generation of Christian slaves must have thought, “We need to be free to be about the ministry of the gospel, right?” Wrong! Paul clearly states to stay in the condition in which you were called (1 Cor. 7:22). My point is that the mission includes rest and enjoyment, not the exclusion of it. What if the rest you need allows someone to serve you or provides you an opportunity for the gospel unbeknownst to you? 

  

Principle #7—Some people have weaker dispositions whether physical, mental or emotional.

There is no question Brainerd was physically fragile but apparently, he was even weaker on an emotional level. This specific deficiency, I will address in the next blog post.

Though Brainerd didn’t listen to his body, let us listen to our own. For example, my wife requires 8 hours of sleep or she is….well…a little off. Does her neglect of required sleep give her license to sin (i.e. grumpiness)? Of course not, but knowledge of her body is part of our earthly stewardship and required to properly live under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

In other words, some people are physically frail, some are prone to bouts of depression and some are trapped in the noise of their busy mind. Let us be militant to identify, plan and seek help and accountability for our frailties within the God-ordained means of the fellowship of the saints, which is specifically manifested in the local church.