Let's Talk About Mental Health

Let's talk about mental health. According to studies, 1 in 5 adults are currently suffering a mental illness and almost half of adults will experience mental illness during their lifetime. But here's the most surprising statistic: 59% of those who suffer from a mental illness receive no treatment.

And that means you likely know someone with a mental illness. It could be your husband or wife. It could be your child or parent. It could be a close friend or someone at church. It could be you. But what's even more likely is that, though you know the person, you don't know they're suffering from a mental illness.

You see, unlike physical illnesses, mental illness can be easy to hide. And most of us see a good reason to hide it. After all, who wants anyone to think you're crazy? There's a strong stigma against mental illness in our society. This stigma is based on the idea that only the mentally or morally weak become mentally ill.

How easy can it be to think, "If that person had more faith or more willpower, he wouldn't have become an alcoholic?" Or to think, "She just needs to stop worrying. What's she got to worry about anyway?" Or to think, "They must have done something to deserve it."

This stigma is the same stigma that hates salvation by God's grace alone. It's a stigma that tries to prop up or puff up those who hold onto those ideas. "If they were strong like I am, they wouldn't drink so much." "I have the same problems, but you don't see me worrying about them or getting depressed."

In John 9, when Jesus' disciples saw a man blind from birth, they asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" They had to blame someone for this.

But Jesus said, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him." Jesus reveals that it's because it's not your fault you get a mental illness. It's the result of living as a sinner in a sinful world.

How much more offensive is that! That means not even you can escape the threat of mental illness. A mental illness, which in some ways much more than physical illness, can lead you into all kinds of sins. When you take a closer look at mental illness, you see that utter lack of control we have over our own lives. How much control sin can have.

But this happens so that the works of God might be revealed in us. When we realize our lack of control, there's only one place to turn. We go back to the cross, where Jesus defeated the control sin had over us. We rely on him completely to save us our sinful souls from this sin-filled world.

If you are suffering from a mental illness, I encourage you to talk to me. My office is always open. Whether it's depression, anxiety, alcoholism, anorexia, whatever may be going wrong, I'm here to listen and talk through God's Word with you. We will talk about your spiritual and mental health.

But in addition to our talks, I encourage you to seek professional help from a mental health professional. I am not trained in this field, but there are many men and women who are. If you need assistance finding help, I will do my best to help you find it. We can even find you a Christian therapist to help you. God has provided these professionals to help us. Rely on Jesus for your salvation and to provide help in your struggles, whether spiritual, physical, or mental.

So, let's talk about mental health. How are you doing? We'll ignore society's stigmas. We'll talk about the soul as well as the mind. As we always do, we'll talk about Jesus.