Over the last few years mental illness has become such a prevalent topic of conversation. I recently finished reading Delight in Disorder by Tony Roberts; a post about his journey as a pastor in dealing with bipolar disorder. It got me thinking about how the church is engaging with mental illness.
I think the common thought of mental illness is no Christian should have a mental illness. Some Christians believe those with mental illnesses are demon possessed, aren't praying enough, or have sinned and this is the consequence of that particular sin. In my opinion this is pure ignorance from those who think this. I mean, really? To say the least, this really frustrates me.
What frustrates me even more is there are leaders right now proclaiming this to be truth from the Bible. Things like, depression is a sin, or those with other mental illnesses are living in sin are spoken, ostracizing those dealing with these illnesses from the one place they ought to be accepted and loved. In the middle of the Last Supper, after Jesus washes his disciples feet and before Jesus' rebuke of Peter, we read this by Jesus:
As Scripture says in 1 Peter 4:8, "Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins." I love this because it doesn't say opinions, or ideas, or anything else covers sin, but just love. Yet when it comes to mental illness and the Church, love seems to be missing.
Isn't it a shame the Church doesn't seem to be the place where those suffering from mental illnesses go to find love and acceptance? That the Church is a place full of stigma and gossip when it comes to mental illness? I believe it can be different.
Living in the city of Toronto I run into a fair amount of people who suffer from these illnesses. Sometimes it's scary, I'm not going to lie. There have been times I have been approached by a person and was scared, yet each time I remember love and acceptance is what I am called to give. I love encountering people, giving them a warm smile and saying hi, no matter who they are, what they look like, or what they are struggling with. But still, people think I am crazy and the sad part is most of these people say they are following Christ.
There are a lot of things the Church is spear-heading, but I think most of these things are not what we should be investing in! Shouldn't we be investing and leading the charge in things like these?
Yes this is a little bit of a rant, I get that, but reading Tony Roberts' story got me thinking a lot.
What do you think?
Comments are always welcome.
That's it.
I think the common thought of mental illness is no Christian should have a mental illness. Some Christians believe those with mental illnesses are demon possessed, aren't praying enough, or have sinned and this is the consequence of that particular sin. In my opinion this is pure ignorance from those who think this. I mean, really? To say the least, this really frustrates me.
What frustrates me even more is there are leaders right now proclaiming this to be truth from the Bible. Things like, depression is a sin, or those with other mental illnesses are living in sin are spoken, ostracizing those dealing with these illnesses from the one place they ought to be accepted and loved. In the middle of the Last Supper, after Jesus washes his disciples feet and before Jesus' rebuke of Peter, we read this by Jesus:
"So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for another will prove to the world that you are my disciples" (John 13:34-35, New Living Translation).Even if it were true that these illnesses were proof of sin (WHICH THEY ARE NOT!) followers of Christ are not to be identified by what they think sin is or not, but by their love.
As Scripture says in 1 Peter 4:8, "Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins." I love this because it doesn't say opinions, or ideas, or anything else covers sin, but just love. Yet when it comes to mental illness and the Church, love seems to be missing.
Isn't it a shame the Church doesn't seem to be the place where those suffering from mental illnesses go to find love and acceptance? That the Church is a place full of stigma and gossip when it comes to mental illness? I believe it can be different.
Living in the city of Toronto I run into a fair amount of people who suffer from these illnesses. Sometimes it's scary, I'm not going to lie. There have been times I have been approached by a person and was scared, yet each time I remember love and acceptance is what I am called to give. I love encountering people, giving them a warm smile and saying hi, no matter who they are, what they look like, or what they are struggling with. But still, people think I am crazy and the sad part is most of these people say they are following Christ.
There are a lot of things the Church is spear-heading, but I think most of these things are not what we should be investing in! Shouldn't we be investing and leading the charge in things like these?
Yes this is a little bit of a rant, I get that, but reading Tony Roberts' story got me thinking a lot.
What do you think?
Comments are always welcome.
That's it.
I agree with you Andrew..."the greatest of these is love". As you know I serve exceptional people with mental and physical disabilities. I think the most profound thoughts and deeds on inclusiveness, acceptance and love come from Jesus himself. Years ago I read a few books by Jean Vanier and so enjoyed them. Becoming Human and also Jean's memoirs are my favourite ones.
ReplyDelete