Mental Illness, why is it treated as a sin?

[Vickilynn]

Shalom,

This is a spin-off from a thread about Narcissism and whether that is a physical or spiritual condition.

My topic here deals with a wider range of mental illnesses and what should be our Biblical response to A CHRISTIAN with a mental illness and they display sinful, selfish and even destructive behavior.

Do we blame them?

Do we condemn them?

Do we accuse them?

Do we shun them?

Do we treat them as unrepentant sinners?

OR

Do we love them?

Bear with them?

Forgive them?

Help them get more of Jesus, the Word, prayer?

Tell them the truth of what they are doing? (most are unaware and if they are aware, they are usually unable to stop the behavior)

Do we try to help them by being patient with them, even when their behavior hurts us or damages us?

Do we love them as Jesus loves them and tells us to love them?

My friends, I have first-hand experience dealing with Christians with mental illness and have seen what some Christians do with their judgment and condemnation. I believe that is NOT the Biblical response.

Ask yourself, should Christians treat Christians with mental illness any differently than a Christian with any OTHER type of illness, say diabetes or cancer?

Sometimes, the cause of the person's mental illness is physical / chemical. Sometimes it is spiritual. Sometimes it is a combination. The point is, as with all things, we cannot see the person's heart, only their actions and if we judge them to be unrepentant sinners when in fact, they have a chemical imbalance and need medication, we are wrongly judging them.

I believe we need to love these people and try (if we are able) to get them help. If they are saved and know Jesus, we should help them get into the Word and a regular prayer life with accountability.

Perhaps Christian counseling and/or medication may help.

Most of all, WE Christians need to love them and bear with them, not turn our backs on them, shun them or accuse them of being unrepentant sinners. G-d knows the heart, we don't. Our responsibility is to love.

Matthew 22:

36"Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" 37And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets."

[Scarletprayers]

My oldest is bi-polar and Christians and his own family, have treated him worse than those who are supposedly in the world. Whats that saying "Christians are the only group that eats their own wounded" its very sad, I'm surprised he is still a believer.

[Vickilynn]

My oldest is bi-polar and Christians and his own family, have treated him worse than those who are supposedly in the world. Whats that saying "Christians are the only group that eats their own wounded" its very sad, I'm surprised he is still a believer.

Shalom Scarlet,

I have heard it said like this:

"Christians are the only group that shoots their own wounded."

I have seen it so often in the Body and it's SO wrong!

What damage Christians have done to other Christians with mental illness is nothing short of sinful. SO many Christians, in their pride decide they can judge the heart and treat these people as unrepentant sinners when in fact, they are ill and need more Jesus in their lives!

Luke 5:

31 And Jesus answered them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.

While this verse is in the context of salvation, I believe it applies here as well. Those of us who are ill with mental illnesses need more Jesus! More love, more grace, more forgiveness, more patience than those of us who are not ill.

[Scarletprayers]

Amen!

[Scarletprayers]

Luke 5:

31 And Jesus answered them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.

While this verse is in the context of salvation, I believe it applies here as well. Those of us who are ill with mental illnesses need more Jesus! More love, more grace, more forgiveness, more patience than those of us who are not ill.

Must.... bite... tongue.......

Pick.... and choose.... my battles....

gggaagggagakkckckak

Please, don't turn this into one of your debates, if you had a family member with mental illness, this wouldn't be funny to you. And if you notice she said, that verse wasn't really about this issue.

[Northern lass]

I agree whole-heartedly that we must love them and have INFINITE patience with them. NO-ONE knows what it is like in their heads for those who suffer, unless they have had the same thing themselves. However, I do believe too that we need to lovingly confront them about wrong choices (I too speak from experience of a family member). It doesn't always work though, and in that case we need to GO ON loving!!

[Vickilynn]

Luke 5:

31 And Jesus answered them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.

While this verse is in the context of salvation, I believe it applies here as well. Those of us who are ill with mental illnesses need more Jesus! More love, more grace, more forgiveness, more patience than those of us who are not ill.

Must.... bite... tongue.......

Pick.... and choose.... my battles....

gggaagggagakkckckak

Shalom Thoughtful,

Nice call. Thank you for not derailing this thread on that side-issue. It is appreciated

This is a very important topic.

You can start a new thread on Scriptural applications if you like and I will respond there.

[Vickilynn]

I agree whole-heartedly that we must love them and have INFINITE patience with them. NO-ONE knows what it is like in their heads for those who suffer, unless they have had the same thing themselves. However, I do believe too that we need to lovingly confront them about wrong choices (I too speak from experience of a family member). It doesn't always work though, and in that case we need to GO ON loving!!

Shalom NorthernLass,

Exactly amen. In the OP I said:

Do we love them?

Bear with them?

Forgive them?

Help them get more of Jesus, the Word, prayer?

Tell them the truth of what they are doing? (most are unaware and if they are aware, they are usually unable to stop the behavior)

Do we try to help them by being patient with them, even when their behavior hurts us or damages us?

Do we love them as Jesus loves them and tells us to love them?

We must not condone or enable sinful behavior. We must lovingly tell them the truth from Scripture if they are sinning, but we must understand that sometimes these Christians are unaware and unable to control their behavior without help.

[Northern lass]

I agree whole-heartedly that we must love them and have INFINITE patience with them. NO-ONE knows what it is like in their heads for those who suffer, unless they have had the same thing themselves. However, I do believe too that we need to lovingly confront them about wrong choices (I too speak from experience of a family member). It doesn't always work though, and in that case we need to GO ON loving!!

Shalom NorthernLass,

Exactly amen. In the OP I said:

Do we love them?

Bear with them?

Forgive them?

Help them get more of Jesus, the Word, prayer?

Tell them the truth of what they are doing? (most are unaware and if they are aware, they are usually unable to stop the behavior)

Do we try to help them by being patient with them, even when their behavior hurts us or damages us?

Do we love them as Jesus loves them and tells us to love them?

We must not condone or enable sinful behavior. We must lovingly tell them the truth from Scripture if they are sinning, but we must understand that sometimes these Christians are unaware and unable to control their behavior without help.

[RedeemedByHim]

Shalom,

This is a spin-off from a thread about Narcissism and whether that is a physical or spiritual condition.

My topic here deals with a wider range of mental illnesses and what should be our Biblical response to A CHRISTIAN with a mental illness and they display sinful, selfish and even destructive behavior.

Do we blame them?

Do we condemn them?

Do we accuse them?

Do we shun them?

Do we treat them as unrepentant sinners?

OR

Do we love them?

Bear with them?

Forgive them?

Help them get more of Jesus, the Word, prayer?

Tell them the truth of what they are doing? (most are unaware and if they are aware, they are usually unable to stop the behavior)

Do we try to help them by being patient with them, even when their behavior hurts us or damages us?

Do we love them as Jesus loves them and tells us to love them?

My friends, I have first-hand experience dealing with Christians with mental illness and have seen what some Christians do with their judgment and condemnation. I believe that is NOT the Biblical response.

Ask yourself, should Christians treat Christians with mental illness any differently than a Christian with any OTHER type of illness, say diabetes or cancer?

Sometimes, the cause of the person's mental illness is physical / chemical. Sometimes it is spiritual. Sometimes it is a combination. The point is, as with all things, we cannot see the person's heart, only their actions and if we judge them to be unrepentant sinners when in fact, they have a chemical imbalance and need medication, we are wrongly judging them.

I believe we need to love these people and try (if we are able) to get them help. If they are saved and know Jesus, we should help them get into the Word and a regular prayer life with accountability.

Perhaps Christian counseling and/or medication may help.

Most of all, WE Christians need to love them and bear with them, not turn our backs on them, shun them or accuse them of being unrepentant sinners. G-d knows the heart, we don't. Our responsibility is to love.

Matthew 22:

36"Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" 37And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets."

I am going to be upfront here..I have struggled with an eating disorder on and off for several months now. I have lost my best friend due to it and I have had the question thrown at me that if I really loved God and was secure in my faith, I wouldn't struggle with this...well guess what? I do love God and I am thankful for what He has done in my life, but yes I still struggle with this. Today I ate the first actual meal in about two and a half weeks. and God has sent a wonderful person in my life to help me who has been through this and she is a Christian. So yes, in answer to your question, we need to love them as Christ would.