One thing I have learned in my life is that we will never have Heaven on earth. Heaven awaits us the moment we take our last breath and then and only then will things be absolutely perfect. Meanwhile we face various trials in the forms of temptation, illness, persecution, and the sin that so easily besets us.
Hebrews 12:1 Therefore since we also are surrounded with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily besets us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
Hebrews 12:2 looking to Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right of the throne of God.
Yet there are those among us who believe you can have Heaven on earth. Believers are indwelt by God’s Spirit. He empowers us to live the Christian life. God answers our prayers. He fills us with His peace. There is a promise in the Bible we can never be ignorant of because if we are our lives can be turned upside down.
John 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
The book of Isaiah in describing Jesus states the following.
Isaiah 53:1 Who has believed our report? And to whom is the arm of Jehovah revealed?
Isaiah 53:2 For He comes up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground; He has no form nor majesty that we should see Him, nor an appearance that we should desire Him.
Isaiah 53:3 He is despised and rejected of men; a Man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as it were a hiding of faces from Him, He being despised, and we esteemed Him not.
We see that in this life we can’t escape tribulation. It visits us all. Isaiah describes Jesus as a man of sorrows. As we read of His life He was faced with trials constantly including His agonizing death on the cross for each of us. If Jesus wasn’t immune from tribulation why should we expect to be? When life is going well we should be thankful but never use our good fortunes to measure the life of another.
We are the body of Christ. We weep with those who weep and we rejoice with those who rejoice. If we have a family member who has become seriously ill we in a sense enter into that pain with them. We don’t want them to suffer and it breaks our heart when they do. Our glory is ahead of us.
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
On a very subtle level is the danger of looking at our lives and thinking we really have it together. Things are going well. Our job is safe. The family is in good health. Our children obey without reservation. We serve at church and are well respected.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with being grateful for having a life as described above. The truth is there was nothing wrong with the life Job lived. Yet look at the suffering he endured. And look hard at those who came to tell him why his life was in shambles. They pretty much ripped Job to pieces. Great comforters they were!
The danger manifests when we fall for the lie that everyone else’s life should be as ours. The fruit of that attitude isn’t good and will rot in due time. As we allow pride to rear its ugly head we eventually see others whose lives don’t line up with what we see as a natural result of being a Christian we begin to judge them. As we judge our love and compassion diminish. Eventuallywe hurt someone as we share our “wisdom” with them. We minimize their trials and make them feel worse yet walk away smugly as we have now enlightened them.
How might this play out in real life? We had a nephew who died very young because of a rare genetic defect. His death was slow as his motor functions quit working one at a time. After his death a couple told my wife’s brother and his wife that if they had more faith their son would still be alive. I’m sure they walked away feeling they had shared wisdom. They became blind to their own pride and ignorance and the result was saying such a terrible thing to grieving parents.
When it comes to mental illness and the church we have a lot of growing up to do. With some it’s quite common to believe that Depression, among other things is more a matter of sin and other shortcomings of the one suffering.
As I’ve shared you might be told to be in the Word more, to have more faith, trust God, serve more, pray more, confess secret sin, or be told you are in sin and that your Depression is the fruit of that sin. Maybe you’re told your illness doesn’t exist and is simply an excuse for poor behavior.
Bob Dylan expressed my feelings quite well concerning those who seek to enlighten us. This wasn’t what he intended I’m sure but these lyrics sure fit.
Positively 4th Street
I wish that for just one time
You could stand inside my shoes
And just for that one moment
I could be you
Yes, I wish that for just one time
You could stand inside my shoes
You’d know what a drag it is
To see you.
If you haven’t been so depressed that you had considered ending your life or giving up hope completely, how can you so casually tell that person what their problem is? How can you live with yourself saying they are in some sort of sin when that person has reflected Jesus their whole life?
I’m sorry but that’s walking on ground you need to walk carefully on. I might even suggest you remove your shoes. Why? Because that person is indwelt by the same Spirit you are and He is not displeased with them. And quite frankly you need to realize you are at odds with God as you pass judgment on the innocent.
Thankfully there are those in the church who don’t operate in that fashion. They spend their lives trying to make life better for those whose affliction happens to be of the mind. Mental illness isn’t a dirty word to them.
How did Jesus interact with His children when He walked this earth? With compassion. Peter actually denied Jesus three times. And then Peter wept. When Jesus had been raised on the third day Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Salome went to the empty tomb and an angel greeted them. Following is a portion of what the angel said to them.
Mark 16:7 But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee:
The angel made a point of singling out Peter. Why? Peter was probably feeling terrible for his denials of Jesus. Maybe he was a bit depressed??!! Peter had not been set aside at all and the angel speaking for God wanted Peter to know he was forgiven. And the man who denied his Lord three times went on to be a force for God beginning on the day of Pentecost.
David committed terrible sins including adultery and murder. He kept quiet for a year until Nathan the prophet who was sent by God confronted him. David repented and you can read about that in Psalms 32 and 51.
How might we have dealt with David and Peter? Maybe I should mention Moses, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? They had their moments as well. These men were guilty of various things yet God dealt mercifully with them. How different history would be if we had confronted each of these men in their guilt!
The reality is we are all human and capable of much worse than we might care to imagine. We so often don’t treat the guilty in a Godly way. We judge them instead of offering them mercy and grace, the very things we have been the recipients of. We forget how much God forgave us when we were saved. We forget that same grace and mercy is for those who are contrite. And if they’re not contrite do we simply kick them to the curb?
How must God feel when He sees us heaping condemnation and judgment on the innocent? We that are demanding the innocent needs to repent become blind to the fact that we are the ones in sin.
Stigma is a tough thing to live under the shadow of, especially when that stigma has invaded portions of the church. Fine Christians will find themselves in dark valleys. It has always been so. It will continue to be that way. How we respond to them can change. Do we have the humility to admit we have been wrong? I pray we do.
Filed under: Bipolar Disorder, Christianity, Christians and Abortion, Depression, Mental Illness, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Psychotherapy, Schizophrenia
” I’m sorry but that’s walking on ground you need to walk carefully on. I might even suggest you remove your shoes. Why? Because that person is indwelt by the same Spirit you are and He is not displeased with them. And quite frankly you need to realize you are at odds with God as you pass judgment on the innocent. ”
-thank you for speaking this…
For me, this also is very validating for the victim of the unfair judgment…….
Kenaniah, Sadly many victims of this type of judgment haven’t yet been validated by those in the body for different reasons. The more they hear truth the shackles of condemnation can be done away with and Lord willing, the path to healing can begin or in some cases accelerate.
You know, this is so hard, Allan, because I know that there is certainly very real and valid clinical depression (of all kinds) that is most likely a result of a chemical imbalance in the brain. For that there is no amount of “right” things that believer can do to be healed of that, unless of course, the Lord chooses to heal.
But there is another kind of depression that a believer can have that really is borne out of walking away from the Lord or from living in unconfessed sin. Now only the believer knows if this is true, and sometimes the believer isn’t always aware, but the Holy Spirit can make them aware.
And it is a crying shame when one believer judges another to be the latter when the former could be absolutely the case.
And for a person to ever tell someone else that a loved one died or is ill because of a lack of faith on their part…that person just needs to be slapped upside the head.
You know how I feel about mental illness, (at least I think you do!) but I do know that there are some believers who really have backslidden and a depression can come as a result. Again, not that we should ever judge others, but we can, and are told to, judge ourselves, and ask the Lord to show us where we may be amiss.
Hope that’s okay to say that!
In Christ’s love,
Dorci
Dorci, I’m glad you shared what you did. I’m reminded of the blind man in Scripture in John chapter 9.
John 9:2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind
John 9:3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.
King David in the year before Nathan confronted him wasn’t whistling dixie every day!
Psalm 32:3 When I did not confess my sins, I was worn out from crying all day long.
Psalm 32:4 Day and night you punished me, LORD; my strength was completely drained, as moisture is dried up by the summer heat.
I fully agree that depression can result from not confessing known sin in our lives. A person can also become depressed because of situations that take place in their lives.
A loved one dies. A job is lost and bills aren’t being paid. Your spouse has left you. This type of depression can be treated and overcome with proper counsel and the passage of time. That counsel can be Pastoral or in a group setting where you are free to express your feelings.
Regardless of the cause of the depression how are we as believers to respond? We certainly shouldn’t be thinking the worst and verbalizing it right off the bat. Maybe if you’re a Nathan and God has supernaturally spoken to you and given you your marching orders you can do so. I don’t see that happening too much these days though.
I’ll never advocate that all mental illness is the same. I would also say God can and does work differently in all of our lives. Jesus certainly didn’t heal in a cookie cutter fashion!
There is a huge difference between clinical depression and being depressed because your team lost the big game and you bet the rent on the game!
The church and those who make up the church should never be the source of condemnation based on ignorance. The damage we can do is not something God would be smiling upon.
So true, Allan..
I’m restraining myself from “going off”….not about anything in particular that’s been said, but just about being judgmental in general. I know some of us do it without thinking. But it has got to be an even worse thing when it occurs to someone obviously hurting (for whatever reason.)
I love what you said regarding Nathan…..and I don’t think many have really been called to point out someone’s sin, in a blanket response to a depressed individual.
“And for a person to ever tell someone else that a loved one died or is ill because of a lack of faith on their part…that person just needs to be slapped upside the head.”
I’m in agreement with Dorci on this…..that perhaps the Lord needs to wield a 2×4 to awaken a little compassion. Allright, I admit that is a little strong……
I guess my point is that the first response should be love and at least an attempt at understanding.
Kenaniah, The couple that said what they did to my wife’s brother and his wife were part of the word faith movement. I would have broken his nose and made him stand there and claim his healing which is his divine right.
We all need softer hearts because there are areas where we will trip up. For those who have been victimized by poor counsel or downright meanness, they understand the impact such words have.
ah, yes…I’ve had a little experience with word faith…..I’ve had to pray really hard for a soft heart after dealing with that kind of theology, too…..
But you’re right…..let some tragedy like that occur to them, and they will end of with a crisis of faith…and hopefully learn a little wisdom from it.
“How different history would be if we had confronted each of these men in their guilt! ”
Are you saying that if someone is sinning and/or causing others to sin, that you don’t talk to them about it? What about a pastor who is violating scripture? Do we just sit back and do nothing but pray, or do we speak the truth in love?
White Horses, I’m not saying that at all. If someone is in sin Scripture would have us approach them on the matter. You could use Matthew as your guide.
I will and have always stood for sharing the truth in love. My article was trying to make the point that in interacting with those who are suffering with depression, etc., that we must approach them in love.
Too often innocent believers are told they are in sin, their illness is a myth, or their Christian life is lacking in such a way that they are to blame for their suffering.
I have always stated that sin can very will be an issue for those who are suffering emotionally. But to speak to a person suffering with mental illness as if sin is the root is plain cruel.
I would say the examples you cite don’t fall in the same category I am discussing. I do fully agree that we should confront those in sin with my point being how we do that is very important to God. Hopefully I haven’t muddied the waters!
No, thank you. I agree with you. I think I just misread. I wasn’t relaying it to the depression issue.
Iam in total agreement with you about innocent believers being told they are in sin. I have depression and have been told that anxiety and worry is a sin; yet, it is not something I can always control. I know that I need to trust the Lord and not worry, of course! But I still worry anyway….some of it could be the sin of not trusting God and just giving all my concerns to Him, but I think some of it that I was born a worrier. It is part of my make-up, and I think there are lots of people who do not worry because it’s just not part of them. So distinguishing between what is actual sin in not giving my issues to God, and what is my chemical make-up can be confusing.
It’s like, I don’t want to blame everything on the fact that I have depression and anxiety. I have some accountability here, too; I just think that it is definitely harder for me than the average person to just lay everything at the feet of Jesus and trust simply because of my anxiety and depression.
Anyway, thanks for clarifying. Happy 4th!
White Horses, You and I are quite alike! I really don’t know anyone who never worries. It’s part of our makeup. Final exams, child moving away, spouse loses job, feeling unprepared to deliver a sermon/Bible study, unexpected illness…. the list is endless.
I think it would be wrong to blame everything on anxiety and depression as I would have to conclude you think you’re perfect otherwise!
At times we are guilty of over thinking things and we do confuse ourselves, been there, am there, and perfected it!
We must be open to sin in our lives as it relates to anything. At the same time we don’t beat ourselves up when God isn’t displeased.
Have a great day!! God bless!