Christians and suicide

Well, I am about controversy if nothing else!!

I have heard it said that for a Christian to kill him/herself it is at the lowest theft of something that doesn't belong to you as your life belongs to Christ. and at the worst self murder. Well Paul in Philippians 1:20 to 23 says:

"1:20 according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will in no way be disappointed, but with all boldness, as always, now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life, or by death. 1:21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 1:22 But if I live on in the flesh, this will bring fruit from my work; yet I don't make known what I will choose. 1:23 But I am in a dilemma between the two, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. "

Reading that I would say it is his choice. It is very similar to Hamlets, "To be or not to be!" Of course Paul chose to stay for the sake of others not for his own sake. Clearly if it were just him he would have departed by choice.

What if you don't have a clear line of vision into your future? Not many of us do, it has been bleak, it is bleaker and it looks to get bleaker still. Maybe it hasn't been so bleak. Maybe your life was getting somewhere. There are those who are just depressed and have suicidal thoughts. The biggest single killer of men aged 18 to 35 is suicide. The trouble is that as real as depression feels it isn't real. It is a state of mind and suicidal thoughts are a symptom of depression.

Then comes the "Life is over" suicide. Depression is bad enough. I have battled with that for years and got through. But in the words of the Pink Floyd song, you find yourself banging your head on some other mad buggers wall! Today of course, if you have a job and a family then things can be tough but the system isn't really noticeable. But supposing one day you hit up against the system. "No!" is a frequent and unfeeling answer the system gives to anyone who has nothing and wants help. It's hard.

Pain, regret, remorse, are all heavy burdens to carry. The thought that for the rest of your life you have to carry the pains and hurts. Not only do you know from experience that life is hard and needs and lot of energy to get anywhere, but you also now have this extra baggage to carry. It is all very well saying that you can leave it at the foot of the cross, but memories still linger.

The choice, as I see it, is mine and yours, but there have been people who have carried heavier burdens than us. Even Jesus couldn't carry the cross up the hill. He had to be helped. Job was not only desolate and didn't know what had gone wrong, but he was also put among people who who were no encouragement to him. Both Jesus and Job had Glory awaiting them at the end of their trials. Two things to know about Job, that most theologians miss. 1, that he did do something to cause the problem. It is said that he who worries is as he who breaks a hedge. Satan pointed out that Job had a hedge around him and Job worried and offered sacrifices on behalf on his kids. 2, it is often said that at the end Job didn't get back twice everything that was taken from him because at the end the number of kids he had was the same as before. The difference is that where kids are concerned they are still our kids. If he had 1 to start with and another 1 in the end then he had 2. Most theologians love to make out the Bible has an error and therefore can't be trusted.

King Nezzer (Veggie Tales fans!) went mad (well I think it was him!), he ate grass, but he recovered and was restored. This all requires a continuing faith. If you, like me, feel you have lost everything, then remember, God is the God of restoration. I made the mistake before of thinking things couldn't get worse, but then they did! I have tempted the devil before by saying that. No matter how bad things are they could be worse. And no matter how bad things are, God still knows where you are and Romans 8:28 is still true, that He works all things together for the good for those who love Him. "All things" even the hell you are in now. It is funny how when you think things can't get any worse, you claim the promises like this and then they get worse!! That must all be to test our faith and to test how much we truly believe it. As with Job, what the devil wants to prove is that you only love God because He is blessing you. God wants to prove that you love Him anyway. And He will restore double for your trouble! (Yuck, I can't believe I said that!)

I will add something that may sound boastful, God gives each a measure of faith. Each one a different measure of faith. Those who have a greater measure of faith are tested more than those with the lesser measure. Therefore take heart, the greater the test, then the greater the measure you have been given. And now look at the bit before Paul's dilemma concerning his life and death choice.

"1:6 being confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ."

We are his workmanship, not ours. He began the work and He will complete it. Sometimes when you do work on a person it involves pain to get to a better place. The same with having work done on the house. How much mess and upheaval is involved in the smallest renovation work?

I have felt recently that a lot of the mess I am in is because I was "over spiritualising" everything. But the devil wants to steel the word from us, Jesus showed that. God wants it to bear fruit in us!