Christians just
don’t talk about depression. By our
silence we suggest that Christians don’t suffer from depression. But Christians do suffer from it ranging from
low grade depression to acute depression of the clinical variety. By our refusal to talk about it we sentence
out brothers and sisters living in that dark place to shiver in the sinister shadows
of the soul all alone.
Recently, a
ministry leader suggested to a group that a speaker on the subject of
depression be enlisted to minister at their next event. The idea was quickly dismissed. Their reasoning? ‘’That would be too depressing.’’ We don’t want to go there. However, many believers have been there and
many remain there and we exacerbate their pain but declining discussion of the numbing
reality called depression.
A quick read
of the Psalms along with the deep inky darkness of Job and you will be convinced
that God does not consider depression the taboo stigma we do. Christian history has had its share of
notables who suffered from this ghoulish punisher. Accomplished hymn writer
William Cowper was menaced throughout life by such inner torment that he sought
to end his life. Preacher extraordinaire
Charles H. Spurgeon was pained by chronic gout which often bled over into a
depression requiring extended stays in warmer climes for recovery. Magisterial reformer Martin Luther was given
to melancholy moods nothing short of morose.
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, royal physician turned pulpiteer, considered
spiritual depression one of the greatest maladies impacting the church.
Elijah would
have been voted by the best of us ‘’Most Likely to Succeed.’’ We would think him inviolable to such dark
demons as those associated with depression.
He is, however, the quintessential biblical case study in
depression. 1 Kings 19 tells his bitter
struggle with the typical cluster of psycho-spiritual-physical symptoms of full
blown depression. Erratic eating and sleeping
patterns, a persecution complex, isolation from others, a preference for dark
places and spiritual inertia were all waded up in his experience.
By our
silence we have left members of the family of faith to seek all their help from
the medical and mental health community.
No thoughtful Christian would deny the important role these groups play
in diagnosing and addressing the pain of depression. It is also true that thoughtful Christians
recognize the ministry to the miserable which can only be offered in a
believing, caring community of saints.
I am not asking
that we become experts in the subject of depression; only that we quit lying to
ourselves and our fellow church members and offer the soul solace they need. They may need us during the holidays more
than any other time.
This post previously appeared as a column in the Daily Press.
