Are You A Mary Or Martha In The Body of Christ?

 

I recently had a very interesting conversation with one of my brothers-in-law about working for God or resting in His sovereign rule. As a result, I immediately thought of Mary and Martha. For those of you who do not know who Mary and Martha are, they are literally the sisters of Lazarus, the man whom Jesus raised from the dead. I believe that in the universal Church, there are many "Marys" and there are many "Marthas" too. What I mean by this is that there are Christians who believe that they must do more work for God, while there are those Christians who believe they need to just rest in Christ. Don't get me wrong, I do believe in the value of hard work. Currently, I have been working tirelessly toward getting my Biblical Counseling certification, leading Bible studies, and I have even earned my Mental Health First Aid certificate. So, please do not mistake this blog as me promoting slothfulness. I am aware that as Christians, we should work with our hands diligently as we glorify God with what we do and with what He has given us. The purpose of this blog is to discuss how simply resting in Christ and learning from Him is more beneficial than trying to work for our salvation. I will base my blog on Luke 10:38-42, and I will give three reasons to support my thesis. In case you are not familiar with Luke 10:38-42, it says the following, 

"Now, as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, 'Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me". But the Lord answered her, 'Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken from her." 

As we can see from this text that Martha was "distracted" by her many works, while Mary was content to simply sit and listen to Jesus. I believe that Martha was an archetype of many Christians today because so many of us seem to have become distracted by "many things". These things may be good things, such as ministry work, charity work, and any other humanitarian work. However, when we start to focus on these things as a way to earn God's favor (which I believe many sincere Christians do), then these works become idolatrous. Another thing we see from this text is that Mary was spoken highly of by the Lord Himself. Jesus literally said that we really need "one thing". What was that "one thing"? Well, when we turn to Matthew 4:1-4, we read the following, 

"Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, 'If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become bread. ' But he answered, 'It is written, One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. 

Reason #1 

What do you think of when you read this verse? When I read this, I understand that man was not meant to work ourselves into the ground. We need more than merely working for bread. No, we need to listen to "every word that comes from the mouth of God". Learning from Jesus is the true bread that we all need in this life and the next. This is why Jesus told Martha that she chose what was the better thing. You see, Mary understood that she needed to actually hear from Jesus more than she needed to do work for Jesus. This is why Jesus showed her great favor. So many Christians out there feel that if they are not doing more for Jesus that they are being "slothful". Trust me, I completely understand this because when I feel like I am taking too long a break from my work, I tend to feel very guilty because I am being "slothful". However, in those times when we are feeling that way, we should draw closer to Jesus so that we can learn from Him concerning what He wants us to do. I believe that God puts us in what would seem to be "slothful" seasons in our lives because He wants us to take the time to really learn what we need to learn from Him. The Christian faith is not always about "Do Do Do" but instead it is about "Learn, Live, Learn" 

Reason #2

When Mary was content with sitting at our Lord's feet, she was showing true humility because she realized that she did not have it all figured out. Mary knew that she needed to depend on Christ. We all should be like Mary because we are all finite and frail human beings who are prone to sin. You see, Martha was guilty of the sin of pride. Martha believed that if she did enough work for Christ, then He would approve of her because He was pleased by her performance. However, this was not the case. In reality, Jesus favored Mary for her humility, while He reprimanded Martha for her pride in looking down on her sister. How many Marthas do you know in the Bride who look down on the Marys in the Bride? I am pretty sure that there are more Marthas than we care to believe there are. 

Reason #3

This story of Mary and Martha should show us that we are all equal before God. Sure, I said that there are many Marthas and Marys in the Bride of Christ, but I do not believe that all Christians are either Mary or Martha all the time. As we read in Romans 3, none are good because we have all fallen astray, so this means that any of us can fall into the Mary or Martha category at any given time. I know that in my own personal life, I tend to sometimes be a Mary (where I am content with merely learning from Jesus), and there are times when I am a Martha (where I feel like I need to constantly do more for Jesus).  So, the "Mary and Martha" paradigm I am using is more of a spectrum than it is a categorical system. I cannot stress enough that any one of us can fall into the Mary or Martha categories at any given time. When we feel we are more like Mary, it is because the Lord has us there so we can learn from Him. When we fall into the Martha category, we need to analyze our own hearts so we can see what our underlying motives are for doing the work we are doing. 

I hope that this blog has helped you better understand the Mary and Martha spectrum. Are you constantly working to obtain favor from the Lord? Or are you resting in His sovereign care? Or, are you right in the middle of the spectrum? Regardless of where you are, I do not cast judgment upon you. I understand what it is like to be a Martha because when I was younger in the faith, I felt like I had to always "do more". After all, I was afraid of becoming too "slothful". Back then, I did not trust God for His sovereign care, so I felt like I had to manipulate people and circumstances to be in my favor. However, as a more mature Christian who now understands and trusts in God's sovereignty, I realize that I can be more like Mary by resting and learning from Him. Thank you very much for taking the time to read my blog, and I'd like to know what you all think. So, please feel free to leave me a comment below and share this blog with someone who you think needs this message. May the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ richly bless you all! 

-David Lee Chu Sarchet 
Christian Mental Health Advocate 

Check out the Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website

Why Reading Books Are Good For Your Mental Health

 

Many of you already know that I am an avid reader of many books. Honestly, I have had a love for the written word ever since elementary school. I remember reading the Animorphs series in third grade. Also, my mother used to have me write letters to my sisters every week. This instilled in me a love for writing. It distresses me immensely that reading and writing seem to have fallen into disrepute. I believe that most of the issues that have led to the ignorance in society stem from the fact that people have given up on reading. There are far too many people who are glued to their screens, either playing video games or watching movies. To be clear, I am not saying that there is inherently anything wrong with playing video games or watching movies. I really do enjoy doing both of these activities. I believe that both of these activities can be beneficial. However, I do find it distressing how so many people in today's time seem to become addicted to being in front of screens. I would love to see people grow a love for reading books again. That is why I decided to write this blog. The purpose of this blog is to discuss the benefits of reading good books. As the great Reformed Baptist Charles Spurgeon once said, 

"Read many books but live in the Bible" 

As you can see, the Prince of Preachers acknowledged that we should be avid readers. I think he even realized that there are benefits to reading. I do acknowledge that he said that we should "live in the Bible," and I agree that the Bible should be the most important book we should read. However, that does not mean we are to throw out any book that is not the Bible. As a matter of fact, I would say that if we do that, we are, in essence, going against biblical teaching. Now, you are probably wondering how I can say that, right? Well, when we turn to Ephesians 4:11-13, we read the following, 

"The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for the building up the Body of Christ, until all of us come to unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ" 

As you can see from this text, Paul is telling us that the Lord has given us "pastors and teachers" as gifts to the Church in order to "build up the Body of Christ". I believe that this text could apply to books that various teachers have written. Does this mean that we can trust any and all books? Heavens no! We all need to be good Bereans and make sure all teachings line up with the Word of God. As long as we have good discernment, then we do not need to read many great books. Anyway, I will now go into the benefits of reading on mental health. I will separate these benefits into four categories: Critical Thinking Skills, Decreases Memory Loss, Distraction, and Stress Reduction. I know that there are many other benefits, but these are the main benefits that I'd like to cover for the sake of this blog. If you can think of any other benefits, please let me know in the comments below. 

Critical Thinking Skills 

I believe that when you are an avid reader, it really does sharpen your thinking skills. This is why there has been such a huge push to have people read less and to be glued to screens instead. As long as we do not read for ourselves, we will always be at the mercy of those who want to control us. When we take the time to really develop our reading skills, then our cognitive abilities will be strengthened, and we are less likely to be taken advantage of. One of my favorite movies is a movie called Idiocracy. The reason why I like that movie so much is that it shows where our country is heading if we continue letting books go. So many people, Christians included, are too eager to allow others to do their thinking for them. I find this to be tragic. As an old pastor of mine used to say, 

"You do not know what you truly believe until you have studied the very best arguments against what you currently believe." 

What he means by this is that for you to develop your critical thinking skills, you must be willing to do proper studying. If you are not content with just believing what you are told (even if it comes from an authority figure), then you should be willing to study all the different angles surrounding a certain topic. I believe that that is the only way to have a well-rounded belief system. 

Decreases Memory Loss 

This goes right along with the Critical Thinking Skills, but it is slightly different. Studies have shown that when people engage in reading activities, their memory loss declines by 32% and when people do not engage in reading activities, their memory loss declines by 48%. This is clear evidence that reading books strengthens your memory. I am not saying that if you read, then you will develop a photographic memory right away. However, by engaging in the act of reading, your memory muscle will become stronger. I use the metaphor of working out. When you work out, you cannot just start with a 500 lb weight set right away. No, you have to start by lifting 10 lbs and then 15 lbs and so on. Developing your memory muscle works the same way. You may not be able to read a full-fledged novel right away, but instead you may want to start by reading one paragraph, and then once you have that down, you move to the next paragraph. Sure, that method will probably get you through a book slower than average, but your mind will be satisfied. 

Distraction 

Now, this is one of my favorite things about reading. As most of you may know about me is I love reading books on theology, philosophy, and psychology. However, what most of you may not know about me is that I love reading a good fiction book as well. The reason why I love reading fiction books is that it is a great way for me to temporarily escape from the real world by going into a fantasy world. Currently, I am reading a book called Batman: Resurrection. I love how when I am stressed about something, I can pick up my Batman novel and just read that as a distraction from whatever is ailing my mind. I will forewarn you that this can be detrimental if you engage in it too much. Distraction skills must be utilized sparingly. It is good for us to distract ourselves from reality temporarily, but eventually we must come back to reality. 

Stress Reduction 

This skill goes right along with Distraction because when we read to distract our minds, it really does cause us to become less stressed. As a matter of fact, Dr. David Lewis tells us that when we read as little as six minutes a day, it can reduce stress by 60% by reducing heart rate, easing muscle tension, and altering our state of mind. This means that when you read when you are stressed out about something, the very act of reading will cause you to relax. I find it remarkable that Dr. David Lewis says that all we need to do is read for a mere six minutes! Since this is the case, imagine how relaxed people in our country would be if only we brought back reading for people. 

I hope that this blog helps you better understand why reading books can and will benefit your mental health. I know that reading for some of you is difficult, but I'd like to challenge you to just pick up a book, any book, and read for six minutes a day and let's see how you feel after about a month or two. I would be willing to bet that your cognitive functioning will increase and you will find yourself to be much more relaxed, too. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog, and I hope this encourages you to read more. May the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ richly bless you all! 

-David Lee Chu Sarchet 
Christian Mental Health Advocate 

Check out the Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website





 

My Journey Towards Writing A Fiction Novel (Part 1)

 

Most of you already think of me as a Mental Health Advocate who runs a full-time mental health ministry, who has written some books on faith and mental health for the sole purpose of reaching out to people who suffer from mental illnesses while educating Christians who do not properly understand mental illness. Most of my work until now has been serious work, but what you may not know about me is that I am a lover of a good fictional story. As a matter of fact, I really love superhero stories, especially when they pertain to Batman lore. Well, I'd like to introduce you to a new novel idea that I have decided to write. It has nothing to do with mental health, so this will be a challenge, but I am up for the challenge. The purpose of this blog is to give you a brief synopsis of what this story will be about without giving you any spoilers. In future posts, I will be documenting my journey. The reason why I want to do this because I believe that fiction stories can be good for mental health. I say this because sometimes it is good to get away from all the seriousness of life and just jump right into a different world. I know this from personal experience because in my life, it has helped me to get away from real-life drama. I suggest that this tactic should be utilized sparingly because it can cause you to lose track of reality if used too much. I will now proceed to tell you more about my story idea. But first, I'd like to give you the back story to how I came up with this idea, and I even want to explain the character biographies, too. 

It all started when I was a teenager in juvenile detention. I have always had a dark viewpoint in life. Well, during some of the darkest times in my life, I decided that I wanted to create a character who was an unbeatable villain.  The reason for this was that I was tired of seeing bad guys in movies always losing to the good guys. Yeah, I know that may sound like a horrible perspective because who seriously desires to see the bad guys win? Well, as a troubled young teen, I honestly did want to see that because at the time I was a little "antichrist" who thought I could beat God Himself, even though I believed that the devil was foolish for thinking that same thing! So, at this point in my life, I came up with an unbeatable foe that would utterly annihilate any good guy that comes across his path. His name is Dark Crow. However, I eventually scrapped the idea after becoming a Christian because I believed the idea was too dark for a Christian. After all, shouldn't we be about joy and peace instead of dark and dreary? However, in recent years, I have decided to revive my Dark Crow character, who is still very much unbeatable, but this time, there will be a heroine who will fight against him. Her name is Jessica Johnson. I will now get into their character bios. 

Character Biographies: 

Dark Crow

Age:37 

Ethnicity: African-American 

Powers: teleportation, telekinesis, superspeed, energy absorption, master of all martial arts, telepathy, reality changer, morph, soul-snatcher, mind control, immortal, and indestructible 

Weakness: being separated from his staff 

Purpose: Take over the world and make it submit to Satan 

Jessica Johnson AKA White Ninja 

Age:36 

Ethnicity: Asian-American 

Abilities: Master Martial Artist, agility, perfect aim with a golden faith gun,  and genius-level intellect 

Weakness: Overly Emotional 

Purpose: Save her husband 

Synopsis 

Jason Johnson is a rising lawyer who started his own law firm, Johnson & Johnson. His firm is such a success that his wife, Jessica Johnson, can retire from being the CEO of a Fortune 500 corporation to just be a housewife who takes care of their young son. Everything seems great until one day the devil sends an evil spirit to possess Jason and make him into his devilish servant. As a result of what the devil has done, God recruits Jessica to become a heavenly warrior called the White Ninja. As the White Ninja, she is to go to war with the intention of freeing her husband from the spirit of the Dark Crow. Can Jessica succeed in freeing her husband, or will she just become another victim of the devil? 

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog, and I hope that it has generated interest in you to want to read my novel. Please pray for me as I work on this, too. May the grace of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ richly bless you all!

-David Lee Chu Sarchet 
Christian Mental Health Advocate 

Check out the Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website

How To Honor Your Father & Mother When They Are Toxic

 

"Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you"

As some of you may know that I did not have the model parents. My mother was a chronic schizophrenic who refused to treat her mental illness. As a result, my mother has caused a lot of drama in my life, but I never stopped loving her because I know that she couldn't help herself. As for my father, I suspect that he is a chronic narcissist who is a pathological liar, too. It is for this reason that my relationship with my father is virtually non-existent. Every time I would attempt to have a relationship with him, he would always become disrespectful by either starting arguments with me or by insulting my faith in Christ. However, I do understand that as a Christian man, I am obligated to honor my father and mother. The Scripture above commands us to do so. It does not say that we should only honor the parents who were good to us, but instead it just tells us to honor them regardless of whether or not they deserve to be treated. I know that this is difficult to do, especially when we do not have good parents. As you can tell, the Scripture above belongs to the Ten Commandments, not "Ten Suggestions", and it is the only commandment that has a reward attached to it. I believe that the promise means that if we honor our parents, even when they do not deserve our honor, God will bless our lives. Trust me, I know that this is difficult, and this is why I decided to write this blog. The purpose of my writing this blog is to help you better understand how you can honor your parents, even if they are toxic. Now, I am not saying that you need to bring your toxic parent back into your life. As a matter of fact, I will argue that you can honor your parents from a distance without even talking to them again. As you read this blog, please think about what I am saying and try to think of how you can apply what I am saying to your daily lives. For the sake of this blog, I will focus on three ways that you can follow the command to honor your toxic parent(s), but there are many other ways, though. If you can think of other ways, please feel free to comment below. The three ways you can honor your toxic parent(s) are the following: 

1) Never Say Anything Negative About Them 

2) Always Pray For Them 

3) Don't Allow Yourself To Be Consumed With Anger Toward Them 

As I said earlier, these are not the only ways you can honor your toxic parent(s). I will now elaborate on each of these points. 

Never Say Anything Negative About Them 

When we turn to Proverbs 15:1, we read the following, 

"A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger" 

Believe it or not, how you speak about your parent(s) can be dishonoring to them. I am not saying that you cannot report when they mistreat you, but it does mean that you should never say anything slanderous about them. For example, I may have had bad experiences with my father, but you will never hear or read anything where I have said that "my father is a moron," or that "my father is an idiot," or any other variation. The reason I will never say anything demeaning about my father is that, as a Christian, I believe it is my ultimate duty to represent Jesus Christ accurately to the unbelieving world. I know unbelievers can have toxic parent(s), and so I need to show them what it looks like to show their poisonous parent(s) honor and respect. It is part of my testimony to an unbelieving world that needs to see an accurate representation of Jesus, who prayed to the Father while He was on the cross to forgive His enemies. I would like to add that if you are merely reporting to someone what your toxic parent(s) have done to you, then that does not count as speaking slanderously of them. If you need to let someone know what they have done to you, then do not feel guilty about it, as long as you do not speak a word of slander against them. 

Always Pray For Them

If we turn to 1 Timothy 2:1-3, we read the following, 

"Therefore, I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth." 

Now, I know that this is one of the prooftexts that Arminians use to justify their position that God wants every single individual in all of humanity to be saved. However, this would be a gross misunderstanding of what Paul is saying. If you read this text in context, Paul is clearly saying that God desires all kinds of people to be saved, but I digress. As you can see, God wants us to "pray for all who are in authority". I believe that this command is not only for professional authorities but for personal authorities as well. Your parent(s) are still over you regardless of whether or not they are toxic. This means the command to pray for all authority still applies. Paul never said, "Only pray for those in authority who are good to you". Keep in mind, when Paul penned these words, he was under arguably the most heinous rulers known to mankind. So, we have no excuse to not pray for those who rule over us. I know that this is a difficult teaching for those of us with bad parents to grasp, and I know I will ruffle some feathers with this blog, but it is what God's word teaches, and I am constrained by His Word to be faithful it His teaching. As Christians, we are commanded to pray for the well-being of our parent(s) simply because they rule over us. And when we follow this command, God promises us that we "may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence" 

Don't Allow Yourself To Be Consumed With Anger Toward Your Toxic Parent(s) 

When we turn to Ephesians 4:26, we read the following, 

"Be angry and do not sin, do not let the sun go down on your wrath..." 

First, I'd like to make the obvious point that being angry is not sinful. I say this because if anger were sinful, Paul would not feel the need to clearly separate being angry from sin by telling us to not sin in our anger. So, please do not allow yourself to feel condemned if you struggle with anger toward your toxic parent(s). However, just as it says, "do not let the sun go down on your wrath", do not allow yourself to become consumed with wrath toward them. I understand that this is easy for those of us with toxic parent(s) to do, but we need to resist that temptation by any means necessary. When we allow ourselves to be consumed with wrath, it will only harm ourselves because our parents are most likely not even thinking of us. Why should we allow our toxic parent(s) to rent space in our heads any longer? As I stated earlier, Jesus asked the Father to forgive His enemies while He was on the cross. As people who claim to follow Jesus Christ, we are commanded to do the same thing. We should be willing to forgive the toxicity of our parent(s) even if we choose to never talk to them again. That is what God would want from us. 

I hope that this blog helps you better understand how you can honor your parents, even when they are too toxic for you. We are commanded to always forgive, but forgiveness does not always mean reconciliation. If you cannot reconcile with your parent(s) for any reason, then just remember these points, so that you can understand how you can still follow the command to honor your father and mother. Thank you very much for reading this blog, and may the grace of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ richly bless you all! 

-David Lee Chu Sarchet 
Christian Mental Health Advocate 

Check out the Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website

Smoking & Schizophrenia

 

Smoking cigarettes is a common addiction for those of us who suffer from Schizophrenia. As a matter of fact, studies have shown that about 70-80% of people with Schizophrenia smoke cigarettes, according to the National Library of Medicine. This means that over half of the people suffering from Schizophrenia have a nicotine addiction. I know that in my own personal life, I have struggled with smoking myself.. Actually, I have been going on and off from cigarettes since I was 19 years old. And now I am 37. So, believe me when I tell you that I completely understand what it is like to deal with a nicotine addiction. Actually, I have heard that quitting smoking is a lot more difficult than quitting heroin, and I believe that to be a fact, even though I have never done heroin. I know that for those of us who deal with nicotine addiction, it is very difficult to not feel deep shame concerning the addiction. After all, doesn't the Bible tell us not to be mastered by anything? I believe that it does; however, the same Bible also tells us that we are no longer condemned. If we turn to Romans 8:1, we read the following, 

"There is therefore NOW no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus..." 

Let that sink in for a minute. Paul is telling us, in the present tense, that we are no longer condemned. Why can he say this? It is solely because of what Jesus has done on our behalf. If we turn to 2 Corinthians 5:21, we read the following, 

"For our sake, he made him to be sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" 

Theologians have referred to this as "The Great Exchange." What this means is that when Jesus went to the cross on our behalf, God literally made Jesus sin, and then He made us righteous in Christ. He did this for us based solely on His grace. He did not have to do this. As a matter of fact, if God had never sent Jesus to the cross for us, He would still be holy, just, and loving. So do not think that God saved you because you were somehow more special than anyone else. God freely chose to lavish on us His grace and mercy and love, and it had nothing to do with anything we did. I know this is hard for us to grasp because grace is not something we can easily grasp. We are hard-wired for law: we do some work and we get payment of some sort. That makes sense to us. But God flips that upside down on us by saying we did not do anything, yet He is giving us everything. So, if you are struggling with a nicotine addiction, please keep this in mind. 

Another thing I'd like to address is the fact that some people think that smoking cigarettes is sinful. I personally do not think smoking is sinful because there is nothing in Scripture that either explicitly or implicitly condemns smoking. If there is an act that is not explicitly or implicitly condemned in Scripture, then you are free to engage in that act because it is not sinful. However, if we turn to 1 Corinthians 6:12, we read the following, 

"All things are lawful for me, but not all things are beneficial for me. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be dominated by anything" 

As you can see from this text, all things are "lawful" for me, but not all things are "beneficial" for me. What I believe this means is that while we are free in Christ to smoke cigarettes without fear of condemnation, smoking cigarettes will not be beneficial. We may be free to smoke cigarettes if we want to, but we will suffer the consequences of smoking cigarettes. We are not condemned for lighting up a cigarette, but we should not allow it to master us. What are some of these consequences? 

Smoking Breaks Down Your Medication

It is a known fact that when you smoke a cigarette, the nicotine will break down your medication in your system. This means that the medication will not work to its fullest potential. This is why a good psychiatrist will encourage you to quit smoking because they want you to be at your best. 

Smoking Cigarettes Will Cause You To Urinate Out Your Medication

This is another known fact in the mental health world. When you smoke cigarettes, it will make you have to urinate much more than usual, and when this happens, your medication will be coming out of your body. This means that your medication will no longer be in your system, and then you will be more susceptible to psychosis. As a result, you may have to be hospitalized if your psychosis is severe enough.

I hope that this blog helps you to better understand what it means for someone with schizophrenia who suffers from nicotine addiction. If you are in this boat, please do not feel condemned, but realize that there is hope at the end of the tunnel. There are resources out there to help you quit smoking, such as the 1-800-QUIT-NOW line. That is a free program where they will set you up with a coach who will talk to you once a week to give encouragement and support on your quit journey. The program will also give you free nicotine patches, gum, or lozenges. Do not give up on quitting smoking because if you succeed at this, then you will greatly benefit. 

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog, and may the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ richly bless you all! 

-David Lee Chu Sarchet 
Christian Mental Health Advocate 

Check out the Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website

Life Update 09/17/25

 

It has been a while since I last updated you all on my current status. Normally, I do these life updates in video format, so this is the first time I'm doing it as a blog post. The purpose of this blog is not to draw attention to myself by glorifying my mental illness. The purpose of this blog is to give the reader encouragement to know that it is all right for a Christian to deal with a mental illness. I understand that mental illness is still very much a taboo subject in the Body of Christ. The reason for this is that many Christians do not want to expose themselves as a mentally ill person, or they are ashamed of a loved one who deals with mental illness. As a mental health advocate, it is my duty to help Christians become more comfortable acknowledging their problems instead of feeling like they are outcasts in the Body of Christ. It is a shame how so many Christians are quick to help someone homeless, drug addicted, or a prostitute, but they ignore those of us who suffer with an "invisible disability". I will try my best in this blog to be as open and transparent with you as possible. This blog will be separated into three categories: Hallucinations/Delusions, Mania/Hypomania, and Medications. Again, I am not bragging or boasting about my disability in this blog. I just want to highlight for people my experience in the hopes that it will help someone who is dealing with something similar. I also want to help someone better understand what someone like me is going through, too. As the Scriptures say, we are to "weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice" (Romans 12:15).  I believe that this verse is telling us to be in relationship with other believers so closely that we literally can experience what each other is experiencing. I know that no two people will completely understand what someone is experiencing fully, but as we grow closer to one another, we can better identify with one another. I will now elaborate on my three categories. 

Hallucinations/Delusions

This is a situation that I deal with quite frequently, but it is exacerbated in church settings. Some of you may already know this, but I deal with hallucinations telling me that I am God and that people are praying to  me. When I am not properly medicated, it is especially difficult for me to sit through an entire church service without being bombarded with these hallucinations. However, since I have been on this cocktail of medications, the hallucinations and delusions seem to be kept at bay. I still sometimes hear breakthrough hallucinations, but they are much easier to ignore these days. Sometimes I will hear breakthrough hallucinations whenever I am talking to someone whom I care for, and they tell me to hit them in the face. These hallucinations have become easier to ignore, too. My psychiatrist once told me that if I were able to quit smoking, then the medication would do its work a lot easier. I praise God that he seems to have been correct. 

Mania/Hypomania 

This is something that I frequently deal with, mostly these days. As a matter of fact, I deal with mania and hypomania more than I deal with depression. In case you are wondering what these words even mean, "mania" is characterized by extremely high mood fluctuations to the point of becoming delusional. "Hypomania" is characterized as a milder form of mania, and it can lead to high-risk behavior, such as overspending and sleeping around. The last time I really became manic was a couple of years ago, after I got out of a really bad argument with my father that led me into this manic episode. As a result, I did things such as calling the police to brag about how I "personally heard from Donald Trump," and I did other really bad things during that episode. I ended up going to the mental hospital for a few days because of that.  These days, I have not really dealt with any mania episodes, but I have still been dealing with some hypomania. It is for this reason that I leave my wallet at home when I go out to places because I know that if I have my wallet on me, then I will be tempted to blow through all of my money. I need to learn to give my wife my debit card whenever I fall into this episode, though. 

Medications

Ok, this is where things become quite controversial because I know that a lot of professing believers really have some issues with someone like me taking psychiatric medications. I used to feel the same way that they do. As a matter of fact, I used to be so ashamed of taking medications that I would refuse for many years. It is because of that that my illness gradually became worse over time. This is why I am so adamant in telling Christians who struggle with mental illnesses to keep taking their medications, because I do not want them to fall into the same dilemma that happened to me. I know that someone with a mental illness may feel fine without their medication for a while (even many years), but their mental health is gradually getting worse the longer they refuse to take medication. The way that I see it, there is no shame in taking psychiatric medications. People would never tell a diabetic person that it is shameful for them to take insulin shots because they know that if the diabetic person does not have their shot, then they could die. Well, in the same way, if someone with a mental illness does not take their medication, then they can end up either dead or in prison. I am not over-exaggerating. This is a life and death situation when it comes to us taking our medication. If you feel like the medication you are currently on, or if you do not like the negative side effects, then tell that to your psychiatrist. The more honest and transparent you are with your psychiatrist, the easier it will be for them to help you. And do not feel discouraged if you cannot find the right medication right away. It took me over a decade to find the right medication that works for me, but it was all worth it in the end because not only does my medication work, but there are very minimal side effects, too. In case you are wondering what medication I am on, I will list them here: 

Morning

Lamotrigine 100mg 
Olanzapine 10mg 

Evening 

Oxcarbazepine 600 mg 
Quetiapine 400 mg 
2 Olanzapine 20 mg 

I am glad that you took the time to read my blog, and I hope that it helped you to better understand the mindset of someone like me. If you are someone with a mental illness, then I hope that this blog helped you realize that there is absolutely nothing wrong with you. "Normalcy" is relative anyway because every single human being has their own unique struggle in life. All we need to do is keep our eyes focused on Jesus Christ, and He will guide our paths through this life. Thank you very much for taking the time to read my blog, and may the grace of Christ richly bless you all! 

-David Lee Chu Sarchet 
Christian Mental Health Advocate 

Check out the CCMH Ministry Website

How Mental Illness Has Affected My Marriage

 

Marriage is a difficult relationship to manage in life. The reason for this is that we are all sinners. When you get two sinners living together for life, it is difficult for the two to learn how to deal with one another. This is made even worse when mental illness is thrown into the mix. According to the AI Overview, 

"Couples with a history of mental illness, whether in one or both partners, face a higher risk of divorce compared to couples without mental illness. Studies indicate this increased risk can range from 20% to 80% higher, depending on the specific mental disorder and its severity." 

This may sound daunting, but there is real hope for marriages that are built on a solid foundation centered on Christ. In this blog, I shall discuss how my mental illness has affected my marriage but then I will give some advice that has worked for me and my wife. The purpose of my writing this is to show you that marriages that deal with mental illnesses can work out, despite what the statistics say. I want to give you hope so that you will not feel discouraged from pursuing marriage. A godly marriage is a beautiful thing that God has blessed us with on this side of Heaven. I firmly believe that the Lord has someone for everyone. If you have a desire to be married, then God will grant you the desires of your heart. I believe this because Psalm 37:4 tells us, 

"Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will grant you desires of your heart" 

Did you notice what the Psalmist is saying here? He basically is saying that if you find your delight in God, then He will grant you your heart's desire. I believe that this means we must find our ultimate fulfillment in Christ, and once we do that, then our desires will become His desires. When our desires become His desires, that is when He will give us what we want because we will want what He wants. I sincerely hope that this makes sense to you. We just need to trust in His timing to reveal who our spouse is. Trust me, it took me over a decade to find my wife, but once I found her, I realized that upon meeting her, it was literally the best thing to ever happen to me. But, I digress. Let me explain how my Schizoaffective Disorder has affected my marriage. I will reference three ways, but I want you to know that there definitely are more ways, though. These are just three ways I would like to cover for the sake of this blog. These three ways are: Leadership, Financial, and Sacrifice. I will elaborate on each of these points now, and then afterwards, I will give you some encouraging words of advice that will help you make your marriage successful. 

Leadership

This has probably been the hardest barrier for me to understand. I believe that part of the reason it has been so difficult for me is that I never had a godly man teach me how to lead a wife before I became a Christian in my 20s. However, this is only part of the reason. The main reason is that my mental illness causes me to be extremely lazy. This is a symptom called anhedonia. In case you're wondering what anhedonia is, it is a symptom that decreases one's interest in things that they once found pleasurable. My anhedonia causes me to no longer enjoy leading and spending time with my wife. It is for this reason that sometimes my wife has had to step up to tell me what I must be doing as the man of the household. For example, I know that I should be leading my wife in our weekly Family Worship times, but sometimes all I want to do is read my books or watch movies and TV shows on Netflix. It is for this reason that I sometimes discourage myself from leading us in Family Worship, and my wife will have to bring it to my attention. 

Financial

This is the second most important barrier that has affected our marriage. You may or may not already know this, but my wife is the primary "bread-winner" in our household. It is for this reason that sometimes I feel like I am "less of a man" because I am not currently working a traditional 9-5 job. I try to encourage myself by saying that I am doing the best that I can, despite having a mental disability, but it does not always work. However, this is why I am working so hard in this ministry and why I am working so hard in my Biblical Counseling Courses too. I know that as long as I am faithful in glorifying God with the work He has given me, then eventually He will bless the work that I do. I am just glad that my wife believes in the work that I do. This is one of the reasons why I feel blessed to have my wife. 

Sacrifice

This is the third most important barrier in my marriage. I say this because sometimes I feel like my wife has and is making more of a sacrifice for me than I am making for her. After all, she is the one who left her home to come be with me. I know that she was willing to make that sacrifice because she believes in me, but I feel like I should have done more for her. Even to this day, I still feel like I should be doing much more for her. It is for this reason that I try my best to do the little things around the house just so I can ease the burden off her shoulders. I know that she does appreciate that I do that, too. 

 Now that I have explained how mental illness has affected my marriage, I shall give some godly advice for how you can live in a successful marriage centered around Christ, even though mental illness is prevalent. If we turn to Proverbs 18:22, we read the following, 

"He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the Lord" 

Husbands, if you want a successful marriage, you must take this verse to heart. You must see your wife as the good thing that is displaying favor from God. I personally look for every opportunity to show my wife that I truly do appreciate her. Do we have the perfect marriage? Of course not! But I do my best to show my gratitude for her, and I am always thankful to the Lord for showing me favor by giving her to me. If you want a successful marriage, you need to do what I am doing. 

If we turn to Ephesians 5:25-28, we read the following, 

"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, in order to make her holy by cleansing by the washing of water by the word, so as to present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind--yes, so that she may be holy and without blemish" 

As you can see from this text, brothers, it is our duty to love our wives the way Christ loves His church. How did He show us this example? He displayed His love for us by sacrificing Himself on the cross and thus, bearing our sins and our punishment that we deserved. Theologians call this "The Great Exchange". What this means is that when Jesus went to the cross, He took all of our sins upon Himself, and His perfect righteousness was imputed onto us. It is for this reason that we, as His bride, can stand before God as holy and blameless in His sight. If Christ was willing to take the ultimate sacrifice for us, then how much more should we be doing for our own wives? Husbands, this means that if your wife had a long day at work and she wants to rest, then maybe you should take care of the dishes instead of making her do it. The same applies to other household chores too. If your wife wants to spend time with you, but your "boys" want to hang out, then you should be able to tell them no because your wife comes first. If your wife tells you that she does not want to cook dinner one night because she had a hard day at work, then you should fend for yourself on those days. You should also offer to give her a back rub. The bottom line is this: you should be willing to do more for your wife than she is doing for you, even if you do not feel like doing anything. Anhedonia is no excuse to disregard the commandment that tells us to lay down our lives for our wives. Also, anhedonia is no excuse to neglect Family Worship. I personally understand that anhedonia is difficult to overcome, but if you want a successful God-honoring marriage, then you must do whatever you can to overcome anhedonia. We can accomplish all things through Christ, who gives us strength (Philippians 4:13). 

For those of you who feel condemned because you have failed at being a "bad" husband for your wives, I would like to leave you with one last word of encouragement. When we turn to Romans 8:1, we read the following, 

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus..." 

I personally find this scripture comforting, especially when I consider my own failures in being a "rotten"  husband. It helps me to understand that no matter what I am not condemned by God because He has borne my condemnation already. It is for this reason that you and I can celebrate, despite our failures. If you have let down your wife in any way, shape, or form, please understand that it is alright. You do not need to feel like God is punishing you or even that your wife should love you any less than she currently does. All you need to do is acknowledge your failure to God and your wife, and then pick yourself back up so that you can do better next time. 

I hope that this blog really helps you understand how you can be a better husband for your wife, even if you are dealing with a mental illness of any kind. I pray that you will not feel condemned by this blog, but instead, the Lord will use this blog to give you encouragement to be the best husband that you can be. It will not be easy, and some days you may even feel like giving up, but on those days, you need to give it all to the Lord, and He will direct your steps (Proverbs 3:5-6). Thank you for taking the time to read my blog, and may the grace of Jesus Christ richly bless you all!

-David Lee Chu Sarchet 
Christian Mental Health Advocate 

Please check out the CCMH Ministry Website