Towards A Christian Perspective On Mental Illness

 Mental Illness is a subject of taboo in many Christian circles. Many Christians prefer to not acknowledge mental illness. This is unfortunate because mental illness is actually very common. Recent studies have shown that over 50% of the population suffer with some form of mental illness. This means that more than half of the congregation may have a mental illness in any given church! If mental illness so common, then why isn't more evident? Well, mental illness is unlike physical disease like cancer because while we can visibly see the effects of cancer, the effects of mental illness is in the brain. This means that people cannot see how the brain is being affected and this is why mental illness is a disease that must be observed. Some people try to deny that mental illness is a chemical imbalance in the brain but that is just plain ignorance of medical science. The real questions that many Christians should be asking are: Why is mental illness so common? Where did mental illness come from? What is the purpose of mental illness? and How can the universal Church help mentally ill people? These are questions that I intend to answer in this blog and I hope that this will shed some light on mental illness so that Christians will have a way to view this topic from a Biblical perspective. This blog is not meant to answer each of these questions exhaustively (I will need to write a book for that purpose) but hopefully this will be enough to spark conversation amongst different Christians in all churches across America. Before I get started, I think I should define what exactly I mean by mental illness. The definition that I have grown fond of recently is that mental illness is "any thought, speech or behavior that is different from the norm and is severely disabling to one's daily living". This is the definition that I will be operating under for the duration of this article. 

Origins
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When discussing the origins of mental illness, one must go all the way back to the beginning when God created Adam and Eve and placed them in the Garden of Eden. The Bible says that Adam and Eve were in literal paradise where they had all of their needs met. Most importantly, though, they were in perfect communion with God and they were sinless. The Bible says that they were totally free to do whatever they wanted and to eat whatever they wanted but of "the tree of knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat, for the day that you eat of it you shall surely die" (Genesis 2:17). We do not know exactly how long Adam and Eve lived in the Garden before the serpent came to them but we do know that eventually the serpent did come and caused them to question God's intentions with the question, "Has God said, 'You shall not eat of every tree in the Garden?'" And then the Serpent followed up that question with an outright denial of God's word by saying, "You shall not surely die. For God knows that in the day that you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God knowing good and evil." It is quite interesting that the devil used the same temptation to make man fall that he was tempted with that caused him be cast out of heaven. That temptation was the desire to be like God Himself. Well, we all know how this story ends: Adam decided to rebel against God by eating the forbidden fruit. At this point, you may be wondering how this applies to us. Well, you see Adam was our Covenant representative and as our Covenant representative, he was our prophet, priest, and king. This means when he fell into sin, we all fell into sin because of him. As a result of Adam's sin, all of the created order was plunged into utter chaos and our every being was corrupted by sin. Dr. Matthew Stanford, a Christian neuroscientist, put it well when he said, 

"We also inherited from Adam, our biological father, a physical aspect of sin, what I like to call 'sinful DNA'. As a result of our sinful biology at birth, our physical and mental inclinations are only for self, and as we grow they continue to be self-focused. In relation to God, there is simply no good in us, neither spiritually nor physically. Our fundamental preference is toward sin. It is out of a mind and body corrupted by original sin that actual sins come forth." 

What is the point of all this? Well, sin has corrupted our body and our minds. This is why the brain can be diseased with a chemical imbalance that causes mental illness. Mental illness is not the result of demons or individual sin, but it is the result of original sin that has and is currently corrupting all of God's good creation. This is why Jesus had to come to die on a cross for the sins of humanity in order to restore us to a right relationship with the Father. This does not mean that mental illness will be healed right now because as Christians we still suffer the effects of the Fall but we have the hope that when Jesus returns He will make all things new by restoring Creation back to its original glory. 

Commonality
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This next question is one that a lot of people have on their minds. As I stated earlier, according to recent studies, over 50% of people have a mental illness. Now, this does not mean that everyone has been diagnosed with a mental illness. As a matter of fact, most people live their lives with undiagnosed mental illness. The reason mental illness is common amongst people is because sin has commonly affected everyone. Like I have already established, sin effects everyone physically and mentally. Currently, there is no cure for mental illness but with the help of psychiatric medication and counseling, a mentally ill person can and often do live functional lives in society. The only real cure for mental illness will be the return of Jesus Christ when He ushers in the New Heaven and New Earth. Only then will there be no more sin, sorrow, death, suffering, and mental illness. 

Purpose
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This is where things will get pretty controversial because my view on mental illness is going to differ from many other Christian's view on mental illness. I believe that the purpose of mental illness is to display the glory of God. This concept came to me one day as I was reading John chapter 9 about the man born blind. The disciples asked Jesus whether this man was born blind because of his own sin or his parent's sin. Jesus' response is quite profound. He says, 

"Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him" 

Now, I realize that Jesus was referring to the fact that He was going to heal the blind man in order to demonstrate His divinity and rule over Creation as God. However, I solemnly believe that there are significant ways that mental illness displays the glory of God. For a detailed explanation of how this is the case, please read my blog titled How My Schizoaffective Disorder Displays The Glory Of God. I believe that when the Apostle Paul says, "All things were created through Him and for Him" (Colossians 1:16) in reference to Christ that this also would apply to mental illness also. 

How can the Church help?
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This is the million dollar question that has really burdened my heart for the past decade. The reason it has burdened my heart is because the Church is really good at helping the homeless, the drug addicts, the alcoholics, the prostitutes, and even single parents and troubled families. However, when it comes to the mentally ill, the Church tends to ignore these people. In the past, the Church has done some pretty horrific things to mentally ill people and even today some individual churches do harmful things too. There are also some individual churches that do a lot of good, but overall the universal Church has failed in helping the mentally ill. I understand that many Christians and even pastors feel ill-equipped to handle the problems that those of us with mental illness pose. I also understand that because of this many Christians and pastors tend to feel like they should give the mentally ill people over to mental health professionals. However, if it is true that the majority of people in any given church are suffering with a mental illness, then it is imperative on the people in these churches to "Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2). This will not be easy because those of us with mental illness can and will be extremely challenging at times but we are your brothers and sisters in Christ and when one of us suffers we all suffer. One of the ways that the Church can help mentally ill people is by way of education. I do not mean just reading material about mental illness, although this is good, but I am talking about reaching out to us to hear our stories. If you reach out to us and listen to our struggle, then you will see that 1) we are humans and 2) you will gain a deeper understanding of what it is we go through on a daily basis. The second way the universal Church can help mentally ill people, is by supporting ministries that work to help mentally ill people. There are a lot of good organizations out there that work tirelessly to help mentally ill people. I think of NAMI (National Association of Mental Illness) and while they are secular they do a lot of really good work. Here in Toledo, Ohio there is the Thomas Wernert Center that provides peer support groups for the mentally ill. As for Christian organization, there is Caring For The Soul Support Group, Faith and Fellowship Support Group, Hope's Nest, Mental Health Family Support Group, Mental Illness Spiritual Support Group, Spirituality Support Group, and Spiritual Support Group For Mental Health & Wellness. I do know much about these groups but you can look up how to partner with them in order to help them do their work in helping out those who struggle with mental illness. Finally, the most important way you can help people who suffer with mental illness is by praying for us. There is power when Christians pray to the Lord Jesus Christ. God may not answer our prayers right away or even in the way we would like Him to answer us but He always does answer our prayers and we can trust in His sovereignty over our lives. 

I hope that this blog article helps you understand mentally ill people better and I hope that you now have a better understanding how you can help mentally ill people too. You do not need a professional license to show the love of Christ towards mentally ill people. You just need to understand God's grace towards sinners and how to demonstrate that grace in real tangible ways that radically affect people's lives. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog and may the grace of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ richly bless you all! 

-David Lee Chu Sarchet 
Christian Mental Health Advocate
567-343-3727
christcenteredmentalhealth@gmail.com


Lydia Sarchet: mrssccmh@gmail.com
Britton Garleb: britaingabriel@protonmail.com
Joe Roman: Twiztedmembrain@gmail.com
Scott AKA Johnny Kangaroo: scottsoconmhs@outlook.com
Dwayne McLeod: psyconatics@gmail.com
Veronica Talbot: vtalbot747@gmail.com
Amber Williams: shayneedm18@gmail.com
Chuck Ward: wcw50@aol.com
Sarah Olivia: sarahjesseolivia@gmail.com
Amber Marie: amarie0193@gmail.com
Zachary Uram: Netrek@gmail.com
 Joseph McDermott: jpmlovesjesus@live.com

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