Alert: The suicide rate grew 30% in social isolation. According to the WHO (World Health Organization), in 2014, 10.631 people committed suicide in España.
And, in the context of a pandemic, posts and publications about suicide have increased on Facebook and other social networks.
After a study done in Michigan, released by Loudwire, the rate of people who kill themselves grew by 32% during quarantine.
I was dismayed to see some comments on the internet from people who claim to be religious and, in practice, are not. Because of this, I would like to demystify the belief that suicide is something unforgivable and demonic, as some people say.
What is depression? And why is it so important to talk about it?
Depression, or depressive disorder, is considered a psychiatric illness that negatively affects most of the population. It has no cure, but it has treatment.
Why should we talk about depression? People who are not affected by this disease believe that those who suffer from depression are playing poor things when, in fact, the situation is very serious and deserves more attention.
We must inform you that depression affects our lives in many ways. These are the main symptoms, according to scholars:
constant sadness or depressed mood; loss of interest or pleasure in previously enjoyed activities; appetite changes—weight loss or non-diet-related gain; trouble sleeping (insomnia) or sleeping too much; loss of energy or increased fatigue; low self-esteem and the presence of feelings of guilt.
Why did I explain what depression was?
People who embrace religion end up not believing in science, which is absurd, because we can strike a balance between Faith and Science. I would like to present a thought that is defended by some religious groups.
“In the Middle Ages, we can observe that people who suffered from depression were labeled as possessed, and those who took their life would be eternally condemned to hell.”
This thinking gained strength because of the Roman Catholic Church, but the context has changed. The Church understood that it was a disease and not evil forces.
Does depression come from the devil?
We know that changing behavior and mood are sad fruits of depression. With that in mind, some “evangelicals” claim that depression comes from the Devil, and you may be possessed and in need of a release.
I would like to prove this thinking wrong, as depression is a psychological illness, not a demon.
As Jesus himself said: “I have said these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have afflictions; however, take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
I'm not saying that we will only have sadness in this world and that this was God's plan, on the contrary, through sin, death entered our world, so there is this context of misery.
What is the Devil's role in Christian thought?
An antagonist that exists and hides behind this terrible world. The bible refers to a being completely opposite to the divine will. He is sometimes called Satan or the Devil.
Saint Peter, in his first epistle, mentions the objective of the Enemy of Humanity:
“Be sober and watch. The devil, your enemy, prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).
Bible Commentary:
8,9:XNUMX: Be sober (calm) and watchful… your adversary
(opponent in a lawsuit)…walks around like a lion
that roars looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8-9).
This passage may be a veiled reference to Nero or his amphitheater with lions.
In short, it's a personal devil. I resisted him. Compare James 4:7. Christian determination provokes divine help. And the knowledge of what
brotherhood throughout the world suffers from the same afflictions tends to make struggling Christians firmer in the faith.
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For centuries, the belief that the Devil was in constant war with God spread lies. During the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church taught that the souls of those who killed themselves were in hell, and they considered suicide an unforgivable sin.
Remembering that, during the reading of the new testament, we perceive the movement of the Devil, in some passages. Just before Jesus began his ministry, he was tempted by Satan (Matthew 4:1-11, Luke 4:1-13).
Satan's failure is evident, but he was responsible for influencing other human beings to execute Jesus Christ (Luke 22:2-4).
The apostle Peter was a victim of diabolical actions (Matthew 16:21-23, Luke 22:31-32).
The Bible reveals a few things about the devil's filthy character. Christ said:
“You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to fulfill his wish. He was a murderer from the beginning and did not hold to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his own language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44).
Bible Commentary:
43, 44: The real reason for their failure to accept him was the
kinship they had with the devil. He was their father. that's why
acted accordingly (Matthew 23:15). His special sins were
lying (related to the temptation in the garden) and murder (in the stimulus
of Cain to kill his brother—3 John 12:XNUMX).
Por Willian Barclay:
(1) The devil's nature is to be a murderer. Jesus can be
thinking about two things. You can remember the old story of Cain and
Abel. Cain was the first murderer and received his inspiration from the devil.
But possibly Jesus is referring to something even more serious. he was the devil
who first tempted man, in the ancient Genesis account. O
sin entered the world through the devil, and through sin death came
(Romans 5:12). If there had been no temptation, there would have been no sin,
and if there had been no sin, there would have been no death. so that,
in a sense, the devil is the murderer of the entire human race.
Furthermore, in addition to the ancient accounts, the fact remains that Christ
leads to life and the devil to death. The devil kills kindness, chastity,
honor, honesty, beauty, everything that turns life into something
pretty. The devil destroys peace of mind, happiness and even love. THE
The essence of evil is destruction, the essence of Christ is to bring life.
At that precise moment, the Jews were making arrangements and plans to
kill Christ. They were trying to become successful murderers.
They took the devil's way.
(2) What characterizes the devil is the love of lying. The false word
false thinking, the distortion of the truth, the lie, belong to the
demon. Every lie is conceived and inspired by the devil and makes its
constructions. Falsehood always hates the truth and tries to destroy it. And so
that the Jews hated Jesus. When they came face to face with Jesus, the
false path met the true and inevitably the false
tried to annihilate the real.
Jesus accused the Jews of being children of the devil because their
thoughts were bent on destroying the good and maintaining the false. all
man who seeks to destroy the truth, does the work of the devil.
Later in Revelation, the apostle John offers important information:
The great dragon was cast out. He is the ancient serpent called the Devil or Satan, who deceives the whole world. He and his angels were cast down to earth (Revelation 12:9).
Satan "deceives the whole world." The verb “to deceive”, which John uses, is in the present tense, which means that he is still going on with his diabolical activities.
The Devil has influenced mankind from the beginning. The story begins in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve, representatives of the human race, were influenced by Satan and when they ate of the fruit, both were expelled (Genesis 3). We can also observe that the serpent was a “shrewd” animal and thus contradicted the woman (Genesis 3:4-5). Eve believed in the serpent and by eating she shared it with Adam and both allowed sin to enter the world.
As the Apostle Paul said:
“Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12).
Murderer from the beginning, Jesus referred to this incident, no doubt satan was "murderer." However, he did not harm Adam or Eve, only proving that by disobeying God, they brought consequences for Him (Romans 6:23).
In Christian thought, the world suffers because of sin.
Humanity set its own standard through Adam and Eve. Satan deceived both and, with that, we are left as slaves of sin, as the Apostle Paul said:
“Ye were dead in your transgressions and sins” (Ephesians 2:1).
In writing to the Church of Ephesus, Paul explains how our situation was before God, and we are able to understand that what happens in the world is because of us.
As the text of Romans 3:23 explains:
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
“Because of our sin, we suffered the painful consequences, but Jesus came for the sick” (Mark 2:17).
The world is full of miseries because of our action. We reap what we sow.
Conclusion:
The Devil is not the Creator of Depression, on the contrary, through his freedom, Adam chose to sin and, with that, sin entered the world.
God always warned that after sin people would be strongly influenced sooner or later.
“Your crime will punish you and your rebellion will rebuke you. Understand and see how evil and bitter it is to forsake the Lord his God, and not to fear me” (Jeremiah 2:19), says the Sovereign, the Lord of hosts.
When we look for the main reason for people's suffering and ours, we must look for the answers that are all around us. Christianity says that sin is a bad thing that affects all human beings; science claims that depression is a psychiatric illness that makes the religious narratives far from true.
With the conclusion of this article, I want to say that I am in favor of life, so I don't offer justification for suicide, on the contrary, I want to prove that the people who committed such an act suffered several reasons to make a drastic decision.
But every kind of judgment belongs to God, if you believe in Him. The human being must understand that we will not always have answers to our questions.
Loving Jesus does not always cure suicidal thoughts. Loving Jesus doesn't always cure depression. Loving Jesus doesn't always cure PTSD. Loving Jesus doesn't always cure anxiety. But that doesn't mean Jesus doesn't offer us companionship and comfort. He always do that.
— Pastor Jarrid Wilson (1988–2019)
Note: Jarrid was a sad victim of depression that couldn't handle the circumstances.
Rest in peace my brother in faith!
