Mental Illness, why is it treated as a sin?

[RedeemedByHim]

THanks Vickilynn for the prayers...It has been an up and down battle cause I know my body is the temple of God, yet I will do good for a while just to fall right back into it...

Shalom Anne,

Don't let anyone condemn you Sister. The L-rd is your strength, rest in Him and let Him take control of this area. Please know that Jesus understands the struggle that you go through and He can help you overcome it. I pray that the L-rd will intervene!

I try not to...but I get alot of condemnation from people in my church...again thanks for prayers..

Tina

[Northern lass]

I notice bi-polar isn't on your list................sin or disorder???????????????

Shalom Scarlet,

It is a real, physical illness and chemical imbalance. It is a "disorder", not a sin.

Thank you Vickilynn this whole thread has me so upset, I am sitting here crying, if you could only know my son, and one day I'm gonna loose him because of this................................horrible disorder, one day he'll succeed.

Scarlet I am also upset by some of the responses and I share your pain as you know Bipolar is a HORRIBLE illness.

I would also like to give the example of my husband who suffered a severe clinical depression a few years back. To say that this was because of sin is in my opinion utter rubbish! NO-ONE could have sought the Lord more, read the Bible more, trusted more, sought fellowship more than him during this period. He did absolutely everything in his power to come out of the depression but it remained. I felt very angry at the time at those Christians who seemed to think he could just "snap out of it" or repent and believe etc etc! He was doing his UTMOST to do all that! Eventually, he did come out of it, NOT because he suddenly stopped sinning. God took him through that dark experience to presumably bring him closer to Him and use this experience for others. Just as other people experience other difficulties and learn from God through them - are we then saying that all such problems are sin??

[Agape_CTL]

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 just opened this topic so I don't know what everyone else has said but I want to say I agree with Vickilynn. Love, prayer, and following Jesus should always be our response.

Some that Jesus healed were in need of healing because of sins they had done, others were suffering through no fault of their own. (Note: Everyone is in need of Jesus' forgivness, but I am talking about physical and mental problems.) The blind man that the disciples asked, is this man blind from birth because of his own sin or the sin of his parents? Jesus said the man was not blinded from his own sin or his parent's sin. He then healed the man to show the power and glory of the kingdom of heaven. In this world, in its fallen state, some suffer because that is the side effects of a fallen world. If only we could bring the power of the kingdom of heaven to them they would be healed.

Love should be our response.

[Scarletprayers]

Scarlet I am also upset by some of the responses and I share your pain as you know Bipolar is a HORRIBLE illness.

I would also like to give the example of my husband who suffered a severe clinical depression a few years back. To say that this was because of sin is in my opinion utter rubbish! NO-ONE could have sought the Lord more, read the Bible more, trusted more, sought fellowship more than him during this period. He did absolutely everything in his power to come out of the depression but it remained. I felt very angry at the time at those Christians who seemed to think he could just "snap out of it" or repent and believe etc etc! He was doing his UTMOST to do all that! Eventually, he did come out of it, NOT because he suddenly stopped sinning. God took him through that dark experience to presumably bring him closer to Him and use this experience for others. Just as other people experience other difficulties and learn from God through them - are we then saying that all such problems are sin??

You would be surprised how many times people in the family have told my son he could just "STOP" if he really wanted too????????? I was upset last night (alot of other things) and just let this thread get to me, but I'm feeling myself today. I don't really care what all of these people say about it just being a sin issue and not an illness. They are wrong, and one day they will know it. My son is sick, and he struggles every day to try and maintain what he thinks is normal. We just have to keep praying for them and loving them, and calling them on it when they are able to listen!

[Vickilynn]

I just opened this topic so I don't know what everyone else has said but I want to say I agree with Vickilynn. Love, prayer, and following Jesus should always be our response.

Some that Jesus healed were in need of healing because of sins they had done, others were suffering through no fault of their own. (Note: Everyone is in need of Jesus' forgivness, but I am talking about physical and mental problems.) The blind man that the disciples asked, is this man blind from birth because of his own sin or the sin of his parents? Jesus said the man was not blinded from his own sin or his parent's sin. He then healed the man to show the power and glory of the kingdom of heaven. In this world, in its fallen state, some suffer because that is the side effects of a fallen world. If only we could bring the power of the kingdom of heaven to them they would be healed.

Love should be our response.

Shalom Agape,

Amen, great post!

[Vickilynn]

Scarlet I am also upset by some of the responses and I share your pain as you know Bipolar is a HORRIBLE illness.

I would also like to give the example of my husband who suffered a severe clinical depression a few years back. To say that this was because of sin is in my opinion utter rubbish! NO-ONE could have sought the Lord more, read the Bible more, trusted more, sought fellowship more than him during this period. He did absolutely everything in his power to come out of the depression but it remained. I felt very angry at the time at those Christians who seemed to think he could just "snap out of it" or repent and believe etc etc! He was doing his UTMOST to do all that! Eventually, he did come out of it, NOT because he suddenly stopped sinning. God took him through that dark experience to presumably bring him closer to Him and use this experience for others. Just as other people experience other difficulties and learn from God through them - are we then saying that all such problems are sin??

You would be surprised how many times people in the family have told my son he could just "STOP" if he really wanted too????????? I was upset last night (alot of other things) and just let this thread get to me, but I'm feeling myself today. I don't really care what all of these people say about it just being a sin issue and not an illness. They are wrong, and one day they will know it. My son is sick, and he struggles every day to try and maintain what he thinks is normal. We just have to keep praying for them and loving them, and calling them on it when they are able to listen!

Shalom to both of you,

Hugs and prayers. Please do not let people's opinions hurt you.

People with true mental illness CANNOT just "get over it" no matter how hard they try. And many DO try and try and try. And many good church people shun them and tell them to get over themselves. But that's not what Jesus says. He says He loves them.

We need to hold these precious ones in our prayers and help them as much as possible.

I too have people close to me with mental illness and while it's not easy taking care of them sometimes, it wasn't easy for my family to take care of me when I was very ill with cancer and cancer treatment. I see mental illness the same as other illness, a person needing help and compassion.

[Vickilynn]

Shalom,

With Yahsway's permission, I am copying her wonderful post from another thread on mental illness vs sin:

As I have read and re-read this entire thread I have become more troubled than ever. As a believer in Messiah Yeshua, and a minister in the assembly I also work as a mental health nurse in a mental hospital. I want to express my opinons here with the hopes that i maybe able to shed some light on this issue.

First let me say that it is true that the brain is an organ just like the kidneys, lungs, ect... It is a fantastic work, very complicated and sometimes not even understood by scientific doctors themselves.

We know that some people are born with brain-injuries, some aquire them thru accidents such as a fall, vehicle accident, gun shot wounds, assalts ect..

and sometimes the brain re-routes synapes for whatever reasons that can cause chemical imbalances leading to many different types of depressions and some organic diseases.

That said, we sit and wonder and as in this case discuss why are these things so?

As for my own personal experience of being around such people 6 days a week, let me try to explain what I have learned.

Many in the place I work are labeled, schizophrenic, parinoid, delusional, bipolar ect... and even half of them have been labled

criminally insane" which means they have murdered someone.

Yes they are given medicines, and many attend the several church services we have there and are able to hear the word of God. And many cry and want to be healed and I have seen 2 such cases in the past 4 years I have been there. They are now home and are leading "normal lives" if you will.

One thing I have learned about almost all of them, they were sexually abused as children, mostly from their own families, some were beaten severly in the head to almost death and have acquired brain injuries, some were in accidents involving the head, some were born with brain problems and the list goes on...

Some of them are also geneouses, some have been labeled autistic (awbergers) not unlike Albert Eienstien, Isaac Newton....

Whats that old cleche' "theres a fine line between genious and insanity?" I have seen it firsthand.

Of course I do believe that today, for the average housewife, the businessman, the general Joe, too many Doctors are over-prescribing anti-depressants. Not to say that some do not need them, for I was on Zoloft for 4 years and have been off it now for 10. It did help me, and I am grateful for modern medicine. I believe its a gift from God.

I caught a lot of flak and self-rightous judgement from my brothers and sisters at church, most saying i did not have faith ect... But that was not the case.

I told this to my doctor who is a christian and she said she treats the brain like she would treat any other organ of the body and that taking anti-depressants had nothing to do with my "spiritual walk" with my Lord. And I agree. It did not keep me from being saved or walking in holiness with my God, it did not turn me into some sinner, it simply balanced out the seritonin in my brain and i was able to finally sleep at night, and i did not have a thousand thoughts running in my mind at one time but was able to focus and think clearly. I have now been off Zoloft for 10 years and havent had any problems since.

This also tends to be heridetary. My sister is bi-polar, before she was placed on the meds she now takes, she would not sleep for days on end and then she would not get out of bed for weeks. She would cry at the drop of a hat and would not quit crying for hours. She said she could not understand what was happening. She was a very active member in her assembly, has a wonderful clothing and food ministry for the poor in her city of residence and there was nothing she did to make this happen. It just did. She ended up in a psych ward for 6 weeks, and has been out now for 5 years, takes her meds and functions very well. She is a stay at home mother raising 1 grandchild and works out of her home and makes $10,000.00 per month. She is very bright and a hard worker and has such a heart for the poor and is able to give so much to the needy in her community. She is a Christian and she takes 2 medications daily for her bi-polar. Now, do I judge her on this? Absolutely not! For I see the hand of God on her life and how she is able to give so much to others, I wish at times that I was financially able to do what she does.

But I work in a mental health institute. I told her when I got the job there that I work in a "nut house". Boy did she ever rake me over the coals for saying that. She told me that she met some wonderful people in the short time she was in the psych ward and that it was awful for me to refer to it as a nut house. That taught me a big lesson.

My heart and prayers go out to these people. They need God yes! They also need love and compassion from us as believers in Messiah Yeshua. If you have never been depressed then thank God! If you have never been diagnosed with a mental health issue then thank God! If you know someone who has mental health issues then please pray for them, love them, visit them, encourage them, be a friend to them. In this way you will be as one whom the Lord said what you have done to them you have done unto Him as well.

[Scarletprayers]

Scarlet I am also upset by some of the responses and I share your pain as you know Bipolar is a HORRIBLE illness.

I would also like to give the example of my husband who suffered a severe clinical depression a few years back. To say that this was because of sin is in my opinion utter rubbish! NO-ONE could have sought the Lord more, read the Bible more, trusted more, sought fellowship more than him during this period. He did absolutely everything in his power to come out of the depression but it remained. I felt very angry at the time at those Christians who seemed to think he could just "snap out of it" or repent and believe etc etc! He was doing his UTMOST to do all that! Eventually, he did come out of it, NOT because he suddenly stopped sinning. God took him through that dark experience to presumably bring him closer to Him and use this experience for others. Just as other people experience other difficulties and learn from God through them - are we then saying that all such problems are sin??

You would be surprised how many times people in the family have told my son he could just "STOP" if he really wanted too????????? I was upset last night (alot of other things) and just let this thread get to me, but I'm feeling myself today. I don't really care what all of these people say about it just being a sin issue and not an illness. They are wrong, and one day they will know it. My son is sick, and he struggles every day to try and maintain what he thinks is normal. We just have to keep praying for them and loving them, and calling them on it when they are able to listen!

Shalom to both of you,

Hugs and prayers. Please do not let people's opinions hurt you.

People with true mental illness CANNOT just "get over it" no matter how hard they try. And many DO try and try and try. And many good church people shun them and tell them to get over themselves. But that's not what Jesus says. He says He loves them.

We need to hold these precious ones in our prayers and help them as much as possible.

I too have people close to me with mental illness and while it's not easy taking care of them sometimes, it wasn't easy for my family to take care of me when I was very ill with cancer and cancer treatment. I see mental illness the same as other illness, a person needing help and compassion.

so very true! Greg beat himself up for years because he was told that if he REALLY believed, he wouldn't still be having these problems, so he doubted his faith and God's love, because of it. While God could have chosen to heal him, in Greg's case (so far) He has not, but He has given Greg the peace to know that He still loves him very much and is always with him, even when he isn't able to deal on his own! Oh, and all the scars and tats that cover Greg's body..........they are ALL old, he hasn't physically hurt himself in years, Praise GOD!

[Vickilynn]

so very true! Greg beat himself up for years because he was told that if he REALLY believed, he wouldn't still be having these problems, so he doubted his faith and God's love, because of it. While God could have chosen to heal him, in Greg's case (so far) He has not, but He has given Greg the peace to know that He still loves him very much and is always with him, even when he isn't able to deal on his own! Oh, and all the scars and tats that cover Greg's body..........they are ALL old, he hasn't physically hurt himself in years, Praise GOD!

Shalom SP,

I rejoice with you that Greg has not hurt himself in years! Praise the L-rd!

You brought up the main point of this thread. Treating people that are ILL as if they could heal themselves!

My husband's father went for prayer for a serious back issue and was told that if he had enough faith, he would be healed. When months later he was practically paralyzed because his very real medical condition worsened, even with prayer and faith, my father-in-law became bitter and left the church, and struggled with his faith until the day he died.

When our son was 3 1/2 years old, he died suddenly one day. He had a previously undiagnosed heart condition and it just stopped one day. About a week later, after his obituary appeared in the local paper, we received an anonymous letter telling us if we JUST BELIEVED that our son would have lived, he would have and in fact, his death was OUR fault for not having enough faith.

And relating to mental illness, I'd rather not go into detail, but I have several people close to me with mental illness and again, they are treated as if THEY can heal themselves, which they cannot. They've been told their illness is Sin and just to "repent and get over it" and they tried and tried and failed and failed, not realizing that G-d did not call their affliction a sin, but man did. And they've been told that seeking Christian professional help and/or taking medications are also a sin!

Well, I am a diabetic and I know I would most likely be dead without medication. So would these people who are ill with mental illness.

So, again, I believe it is WRONG to treat people will illnesses such as medical or mental as unrepentant sinners when that MAY not be the case.

[Northern lass]

Vickilynn, THANK YOU for your posts!