Leprosy is one of the most enduring and ancient of diseases. It has been thought to be hereditary or a curse or a divine punishment. Even once its true cause had been discovered it is still often treated in separate hospitals call leprosariums where they live in colonies.
One tactic to diagnose leprosy was to slide a feather down the infected area and if the patient could not feel anything the diagnosis was confirmed.
Throughout history lepers had to wear special clothing, ring bells to let others know they were close and even walk on different sides of the street depending on the direction of the wind.
Leprosy is a degenerative disease causing disfigurement of the body and numbness.
By closing yourself off to others, by refusing to even care you are falling into what often develops into a spiritual form of leprosy which disfigures and numbs the soul.
No soul is considered uglier than a scrooge like emotional miser who is only concerned with their own welfare. Now we know that some of them are sociopaths but it can be a case of nature or nurture depending on the choices we make.
Jesus on the other hand was anything but a spiritual leper. He had nothing but infinite love for all. And He cared so much for all He met, He showed respect to sinners, and lepers and the poor and all the unclean and undesirables of His society. His approach to life was as radical in His day as it would be in ours.
Genesis 4:24 says "If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, then Lamech seventy and sevenfold."
Seventy and sevenfold is synonymous with seven times seventy and with infinity.
Lamech wanted infinite revenge for limited sin. He was uncaring and one of the most sinister characters in the Bible and certainly spiritually leperous.There is another example is scripture; Lazarus and the rich man. Lazarus is a beggar whose plight is consistently over looked by a very rich man who has more than enough, he could easily help Lazarus out but he does not.
This is a parable of Jesus.
19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,
21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.
27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house:
28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.
29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.
30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.
31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. (Luke 16:19-31)
Those tormented in life like Lazarus who do not lash out in return are rewarded in the here after whereas the rich man who rewarded himself and ignored the plight of Lazarus as he suffered is condemned.
Leprosy is outwardly disfiguring, leprosy or numbness of the soul is spiritually disfiguring. It leaves you corrupted due to your own self imposed ignorance of the emotional well being, the physical well being of others.
Anyone of us may do the same thing daily as we drive by the homeless with their signs in the freezing winter weather either not caring about their plight or indignant in the judgment of them being addicts or lazy or any of the other common myths and rationales for refusing to help others.
Gollum is a memorable character who became so numb to others and so self absorbed he physically transformed into a sickly monster. He was viscious toward anyone who intruded into his world, a cave, and saw every action as a threat regardless as to whether or not it really was.
Then we find that he is psychologically split between a good side and a evil side but the good side has not enough faith in the goodness of the world and believes everyne else is as sinister as he really is.
Addiction is a type of spiritual leprosy because once addicted you don't care about anything but your fix, you hurt those closest to you and all you care about is your fix.
This leads to all the tell tale signs of spiritual leprosy.
In Utah this last week a certain public school took the food trays of 30-40 children whose parents hadn't put enough money in their lunch money funds and threw the food away rather than letting children eat free.
This is a classic example of greed, of spiritual leprosy leading some to throw food away rather than giving it away for free and not caring whatsoever that children are suffering or emotionally wounded by your behavior, no the bottom line is all that matters.
People that suffer from spiritual leprosy have a disfigured soul but unfortunately they don't wear special clothing or ring bells when they approach us. The aren't isolated into sealed off communities. And they may be attractive rather than monstrous in appearance.
But their actions make them known. By their fruits shall ye know them.
The only thing that can soften a hardened heart, or reawaken feeling in a spiritual leper is love. Agape is the Greek word for unconditional love like the kind that Christ has for us. That is the only thing that can reignite the furnace of love in the hearts of those who have closed themselves off from the world. Those whose stony facade towers like a mid-evil castle. Love will bring those walls down like the trumpets brought down the walls of Jericho.
In modern times people are unbelievably numb to the plight, to the concerns or emotional well being of others, they care only for themselves and are even idolized for not caring.
This isn't just about showing others how dirty they are, this is about us going to the waters to cleanse ourselves as the ten lepers do after instructed by Jesus in Luke. Only one stays clean and praises God.
Spiritual lepers aren't to be feared as physical lepers are, neither one or the other but both should be embraced. Spiritual lepers need love more than most, it's more than what will cure them, it's likely the one thing they knew too little of in their lives.
Leprosy can be treated both the spiritual kind and the medical kind.
