Christian Response To Freud’s ID, Superego, and Ego Theory In Psychology

If you have had any kind of training in the discipline of Psychology, the chances that the name Sigmund Freud has come across your radar are very high. Freud is a very controversial figure in Christian circles because of his anti-Christian and sexualized views on the human nature. However, not everything Freud has taught was anti biblical. I believe that although he was an unregenerate man, he did have some keen insights into the human mind. But for those of who aren’t aware of who Sigmund Freud is, I will briefly explain him. Freud is considered to be one of the fathers of Psychology and Psychiatry, although his theories no longer are considered in modern Psychology and Psychiatry. I believe he was a Jewish man raised in the 1800’s but later rejected his Jewish heritage and all religion altogether and he even actively spoke against religion too. 

Anyways, so one of his theories that seems to hold any weight, at least scripturally is his theory on the ID, Superego, and Ego. What? Before I elaborate on this please let define what these terms mean. First off, Freud’s theory said that the human psyche is structured into three parts that are all developing at different stages in life and these three parts are systems and not parts of the brain. I will now tell how Freud defines these these three parts and then I will give the Christian Perspective On this theory. 

ID: Freud said that this is the primitive and instinctual part of the mind that contains sexual and aggressive drives and hidden memories. 

Superego: Freud said that this is our moral conscience of how we know right from wrong. He would say this tries to restrain the ID. 

Ego: Freud said that this is the realistic part that mediates between the desires of the ID and the Superego. 

As I have already said, I believe that there is some validity to this theory and so let’s see what scripture says. If we turn to Galatians 5:19-20, we will read, 

“Now the works of the flesh are evident:  sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these” 

This certainly sounds like a descriptions of Freud’s ID! Then, when we turn to Romans 2:14-16 we will read, 

“For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my Gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.” 

Now, this is Freud’s Superego! It’s pretty remarkable how the Apostle Paul spoke about this thousands of years before Freud came onto the scene. As for the Christian Response, I don’t believe we as Christians should be attempting to mediate between our ID and Superego. Actually, according to Paul in Galatians 2:20, 

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” 

And also, 

“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?” 

As Christians who have been given a new nature in Christ, we are not to live in such a way that gratifies the ID, or flesh. But instead, we are to live as if we are dead to sin and alive in Christ. This means we must daily deny our desires every day in every moment. This is difficult work and honestly it is only possible to do if we are dependent upon the Holy Spirit. If we try to do this on our own strength we will fail. Philippians 2:12-13 tells us, 

“...work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure” 

The Holy Spirit is what gives us the desire to do God’s will and it is the Holy Spirit who causes us to fulfill God’s will too. This is why the process of sanctification is Monergistic, not synergistic. 

Thank you for reading my blog and I hope that you were edified. Please leave your comments below. May the grace of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ richly bless you all! 

-David Lee Chu Sarchet

Christian Mental Health Advocate 

Please check out the Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry website: https://www.christcenteredmentalhealth.org/

My Testimony Of How Jesus Christ Saved A God-Hating, Mentally Ill Rebel

When I say that I share a personal affinity with the Apostle Paul, I am not in any way saying that I am on his level nor am I implying that I am exactly  like him. I have never murdered any Christians in an attempt to wipe out the Christian Church. However, I can definitely relate to him  in the sense that I used to despise His people. I hated Christians because I openly hated Him. But, I am getting ahead of myself right now. My story starts in London, England on June 17th, 1988. I was born to Ching Chu Sarchet (Later to be named Ching Chu Claus) and Brian Sarchet. I don’t know anything about their marriage because my parents divorced when I was two-years-Old and I was raised by my mother. My mother and father and later my stepfather all had no religious affiliation, however my mother was raised Buddhist. She did her best to raise me to practice some Buddhist rituals such as anscestral rites but then she would also take me to Chinese Christian Churches too. My childhood was very tulmutous but it did have some good times. I was always very close to my mother because she was my best friend. 

However, my mother has put me through a lot but later I would find out she suffered from a mental disorder called schizoaffective disorder. Schizoaffective Disorder is Schizophrenia mixed with a mood disorder such as Bipolar or Depression. She never once acknowledged her mental illness nor did she ever desire to seek treatment for it either. As a result, her mind slowly detoriated to the point where at the end of her life all she did was talk to her voices in her head and smoke cigarettes. But, she did live a full life because she managed to marry three times and even ran her own martial arts studio at one time and she traveled the world too. Anyways, I digress. 

One summer on my 13th birth year, I was staying with my sister Virginia and her husband Ben for a two week vacation and they took me to their church. I do not remember much about the sermon but I do remember at the end the pastor gave an alter call and my sister asked me if I would like to give my life to Jesus. I did not yet understand what that meant but I thought that she wanted me to do that so I said yes for her sake. So we approached the alter and the pastor came up to me and led me in the Sinner’s Prayer. As we were praying that prayer, I snuck a peak at my sister and seen her crying. I did not understand why she was crying because I thought this is what she wanted! Even though I didn’t fully understand what was going on, I believe that it was at this time the Lord took ahold of my life and led me on the path towards a sold out life for Him. 

One night after I returned home to my parents I remember I was eavesdropping on a phone call between my mom and a 9–1-1 operator and she was requesting an officer come by to give her and I a lethal injection. I didn’t know exactly what a lethal injection was at the time but I knew it had to do with dying. I decided at that moment that I wanted to die with my mom so I spoke up and told the dispatcher exactly that. She immediately sent out an officer at that moment. The officer eventually took my mom and myself to the local Colorado Springs, Colorado crisis center where we were both eventually put in mental hospitals. I was sent to Pueblo State Hospital and she was at a hospital called The Lighthouse. 

Eventually, I was sent into foster care where I was in the house of a man and woman named Randy and Carolyn Lugenbeel and all of a sudden I was around seven or eight other guys! This was a shock to me because I was used to being the only child so it took me a long while to adjust. In God’s sovereign providence, He made sure I was put into the custody of godly foster parents who always treated me well. However, this was the time my own hallucinations began. I would Frequently see a giant fly laughing at me. My depression really started to take affect too and I was eventually put on antidepressants. These did nothing for me, except cause me to gain weight. 

At the age of fifteen, I was sent into my biological father’s custody in California. I admit when I heard he lived in California, I had high hopes for a luxurious lifestyle because at the time I really glamourized California, but I was in for a rude awakening. My father lived in an old trailer that was dirty with my younger brother and two dogs. My half brother may have been younger than me but he was more mature than me and stronger than me so I instantly began to look up to him as if he were my older brother. I wanted to look, act, and dress just like him, which eventually got on his nerves. Needless to say, him and I would get into a lot of arguments which would end with him wanting to fight me and I would always back down. My father would frequently instigate us to fight each other. My father also kept boxes and boxes of pornographic magazines around the trailer where we had easy access to them. This is where I had my first experience looking at the naked female body and I became obsessed. My father also tried to get my brother and I to drink alcohol at one time he too. 

Eventually, my Depression came back because I started comparing myself to my brother. I literally felt inferior to him in every way. It was during this time I decided to attempt to take my life. After that failed and I came home from the hospital, I decided to start cutting my arms. The rush I felt when I cut my arms was exhilarating! Eventually, I was sent back to the hospital, where my father visited me and called me “f*kin stupid” in front of the whole hospital. I decided at that moment to tell the staff that if they sent me back to him I will run away. The staff notified CPS and since the State of California did not want to deal with that they sent me back to Colorado. I eventually went back to Randy and Carolyn. 

Later, my caseworker and guardian ad litem wanted to try to send me into the custody of my sister Virginia but when that failed, I felt utterly alone and rejected by everyone. I felt as if no one loved me and so I decided that the only way to get people to love me is by making them think I was a hero. So I decided to set a fire inside my foster home. I thought if I could rescue everyone then they would love me. As a result, I wound up in a juvenile detention center and later a youth treatment center for two and a half years. 

During this time, the Lord really was with me because even in detention He made sure I had some godly influence in my life. However, it was during this time that I was diagnosed with Bipolar Type 2 Disorder. I felt an immediate shame and anger. I was ashamed to be labeled as mentally ill and I was angry at my mom. But then later that anger turned towards God. I couldn’t understand why God would give me a mental illness. I knew I couldn’t do anything to Him so I decided to take out my anger on His people. I would go to the Wednesday night Bible study to play “stump the teacher” where I would intentionally ask him questions I knew he couldn’t answer in order to make him look foolish. I would make fun of and ridicule my peers who were Christian and I even would speak blasphemies against God. It was during this time, I suffered a delusion where I believed I was the antichrist and I would see a hallucination of a man named Tom. Tom would Frequently tell me to do things to get me in trouble with the staff. I also started cutting myself again. I also developed bisexual attractions too. 

After I got out of the treatment center at the age of 19, I had to go to a group home. This also was the Lord’s providence because at the time I was institutionalized for so long that I wouldn’t have made it very long if I was out on my own. The group was a former church in Canon City, Colorado so it still had a cross imprint above the front door and across the street was a church with a huge cross in its front yard. So every day when I would go outside or inside I would see the cross, which would annoy me. I ended up hating God even more while I was there. One time I yanked the Bible out of a staff member’s hands and ripped it up and threw it back at him. And I even manipulated a mentally disabled boy into snorting laundry detergent too. My hatred for God and people knew no bounds, but God was patient with me. Eventually, I was able to move out into my first apartment. 

One day I remember I was on the porch of my apartment complex when the Mormons came to visit me. I knew nothing about the Mormons at the time but I decided to study the Bible for the sole purpose of refuting them. However, the Lord used that point to draw me to Himself and I finally surrendered my life to Him. I started to attend a local Vineyard Church and I got plugged into a home Bible study where I made some connections with people whom I communicate with to this day. 

The Lord eventually led me into studying apologetics which in turn led me to Reformed Theology and now I attend a Reformed Presbyterian Church with my beautiful and supporting wife. 

I have recently been diagnosed with Schizoaffective Disorder Bipolar Type 1 but I am on the right medication that helps keep me stable. Through everything The Lord has been a faithful Father to me and He has proven His word to be true in my life. Romans 8:28 is my life verse because I now realize that all things do truly work out for the good of those who loved God. These days, I am a mental health advocate in the Body of Christ and I founded the Christ-Centered Mental Health ministry where we focus on bringing the Gospel to the mentally ill community while educating the Church on mental health awareness. My mom and stepdad have passed away but I had the privilege of leading them to the Lord before they died so I fully expect to be reunited with them one day. My biological father and I are not close but we still talk from time to time. I don’t hold any anymosity towards him but I do pray for his salvation all the time. God is good. The Lord has taken some one who was once a blasphemer and pursecutor Of His people and turned him into a sold out defender of the Gospel of Jesus Christ who loves the Lord as much as he can. My life isn’t perfect by any means but I look forward to His return when I will reign with Him on the New Heaven and New Earth where there will be no more sin, sorrow, suffering or death. What a glorious time that will be! Soli Deo Gloria! 

-David Lee Chu Sarchet 

Christian Mental Health Advocate 

Check Out The Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry: https://www.christcenteredmentalhealth.org/

watch the full version of my testimony here

What Is True Love?

In a previous blog, I presented a compelling case establishing how unbelievers are incapable of real genuine love according to the Bible. However, the question that should be raised is “Well, what is real love?” As I have said before we live in a culture that uses the word “love” very flippantly without regard for its actual meaning. We say we “love” just about anything or anyone these days. Although, we use the word all the time in our language, many of us do not even have a proper knowledge of what love is while at the same time we idolize the concept of love. Many in our culture seem to think that love is only mere emotion and others seem to believe that love is some kind Of ubiquitous force that is “bigger than the two of us”. My concern in this blog is to present what God’s word says real love is and that is what I intend to do here. Pastor Voddie Baucham once said, 

“Biblical love is an act of the will, accompanied by emotion, that is directed onto its object” 

Love, according to biblical standards is first and foremost a choice not emotion but that doesn’t mean it is devoid of emotion. The text that I would like to cover in this blog is 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. I am sure you’re familiar with this passage but I think we should look at it again with fresh eyes and then I will break it down for you afterwards. I would like to note that as I am going through text, you may get discouraged because you will realize that you don’t love the way God says you should love. That is perfectly fine because for those of us who are in Christ there is no condemnation (Romans 8:1). We need to keep our eyes on Jesus Christ because as God He perfectly embodies exactly what love truly is. As we keep our focus on Him, and let the Holy Spirit sanctify us, we will naturally become more loving. Anyways, so 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 says, 

“Love is patient; love is kind, Love does not envy; is not boastful; is not conceited; does not act improperly; is not selfish; is not provoked; does not keep a record of wrongs; finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.” 

I will now expound on each of these point by point: 

•Love Is Patient 

Real love requires us to always remain calm in every and all circumstances and to make every attempt to see the other person’s perspective as more important and valid than our own. 

•Love Is Kind 

Real love requires us to never speak a mean word to another, either out of anger or joking. Actually, real love requires that we never get unrighteously angry towards another. 

•Love Does Not Envy 

Real Love requires us to always consider others as more important and more deserving than ourselves. 

•It Is Not Conceited 

Real love requires that we always remain humble and teachable in all circumstances. 

•Does Not Act Improperly 

Real love requires us to always behave in an appropriate manner and with honesty and integrity in all circumstances Coarse joking and crude humor really has no place in real love. 

•Is Not Selfish 

Real love requires us to sacrifice ALL our needs and desires for another person. Love demands us to consider others as much more important than ourselves and that we never think more highly of ourselves than we ought. 

•Is Not Provoked 

Real love requires us to always maintain self-control and never lash out in anger. We should never be prone to unrighteousness anger. 

•Does Not Keep A Record Of Wrongs 

Real love requires us to always be quick and ready to forgive another regardless of whether or not they ask for forgiveness. 

•Finds No Joy In Unrighteousness, But Rejoices With The Truth 

Real love requires us to never be happy with sin and will never encourage nor lead one into sin. The whole “ride or die” mentality is not real love. 

•Bears All Things 

Real love requires that you continue to love another regardless of of circumstance. 

• Believes All Things 

Real love requires you to look to the best in another  person at all times and never to focus on their negative traits. 

•Hopes All Things 

Real love requires you to always remain optimistic about the other person and the future. 

•Endures All Things 

Real love requires that you continue loving no matter regardless of how you are treated. 

•Love Never Ends 

Real love requires you to remain consistent in your love. You shouldn’t be loving one day and then take a break the next day. Love needs to remain consistent. 

I know this sets the bar really high and it’s meant to show you that absolutely none of us actually fulfill this standard perfectly. I know I sure don’t. However, this is why we all need Jesus Christ because as the man who is fully God He demonstrated for us exactly what real love is when The Lord took our punishment upon Himself on the cross. Afterwards, the Lord rose from the dead in order to give us new life in Him. Anyone be trusts in Jesus Christ will become a new creation with a new heart and desires. Only then will we be able to love people and love God the way we were created to be. 

I hope you found this edifying to you and I thank you for taking the time to read this blog. Please leave your comments below. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ richly bless you all! 

-David Lee Chu Sarchet 

Christian Mental Health Advocate 

Check Out The Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website: https://www.christcenteredmentalhealth.org/

Do Unbelievers Love People?

Love is such a popular word in our culture. Everyone throws around the “L Word” so Frequently that it has almost lost its meaning anymore. People say they “love” their spouse and they “love” their cat and they “love” their car. However, when you ask these same people what exactly is love and very few people will be able to give you a cogent answer. Some people think that love is a feeling. These people talk as if one can be “in love” one day and then the next day they may “fall out of love”. Other people define love as some kind ubiquitous force of nature. These people talk about love as if it is something that just overwhelms an individual and at that moment they may act irrationally. Romantic comedies are notorious for portraying this version of love. However, what exactly is Love? Well, God’s word gives us a completely different picture of what love actually is. In a later blog, I will talk about how the Bible defines love but for the sake of this blog, I will focus on whether or not Unbelievers are even capable of the kind of love that God defines is love. In order to do this I will use the Heidelberg Catechism as my guide. In Lord’s Day 2 it says, 

Q. Can you keep all these things (referring to the law) perfectly? 

A. In no wise, for I am prone by nature to hate God and my neighbor 

Now, my question for to consider is this: if this is true for a regenerate believer who has been born again of the Spirit, how much more true is this of the unregenerate who does not have the Spirit of God? 

However, I know that you probably want to see what Holy Scripture has to say on this subject. Very well, then, let’s turn to 2 Timothy 3:1-5 which says, 

“But understand this, that in the last days, there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, nor loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness but denying its power. Avoid such people.” 

If this isn’t enough for you, let’s read Romans 1:28-32 which says, 

“And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, coveteousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practiced them.” 

In just these two texts we see that the Apostle Paul is describing all of humanity but especially the unregenerate. As we can see the unregenerate are not capable of actual real love as defined by God. What is this love? As I said earlier, I will talk about that in my next blog, but for now it will suffice for me to share with you the scripture that most famously talks about what real and genuine love is. Later I will expound on this text though. The text I am referring to is 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 and it says, 

“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.” 

As we can clearly see that the unregenerate are characterized as being the exact opposite of what God’s word defines love to be. In other words, Unbelievers do not love anyone nor are they capable of loving anyone. As a matter of fact, Unbelievers hate everyone, including their own family and friends. Why do Unbelievers have such a strong hatred for human beings? It is because they know that human beings are made in the Imago Dei and they hate God Himself. I fully understand that this is a hard pill to swallow because it’s difficult to think about how one’s own unbelieving family and friends hate them but it is what is clearly taught in Holy Scripture. Does this mean that unbelievers are incapable of doing nice things for people? Absolutely not! Unbelievers do nice things for people all the time. However, even when they do nice things for someone, the charitable act is always tainted by a heart full of wickedness and hate for the person and they only do nice things for people for recognition either from their friends and family and/or their overall society.  For example, an unbeliever can help an old woman across the street and that seemingly innocent act is good but at the same time the unbeliever is secretly hating that old woman. The only reason that unbeliever may be helping her is so that later he can relate that story to his family and they can tell him how much of a wonderful person he is. If it was not for the Holy Spirit restraining the evil hearts of man, that unbeliever would just as quickly murder her in cold blood. 

You may ask me, then, how should we then respond to our unbelieving friends and family who hate us? Fortunately, both Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul answer this question for us. In Matthew 5:44-45 Jesus says, 

“But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust” 

And Paul takes this thought further in Romans 12:14-21 when he says, 

“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them... repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to what is honorable in the sight of all... Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay’ says the Lord’. To the contrary, ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink, for by doing so you will heap burning coals onto his head’. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” 

You may ask me now, “If unbelievers hate everyone, does this include my psychiatrist and psychologist”?  Well, according to God’s word, yes it does if they are not saved. However, this shouldn’t discourage you from trusting them to treat you well though. I say that you can trust your mental health professionals to still provide you with good service for mainly two reasons. The first reason is because the Holy Spirit is currently restraining the evil in their hearts so that they cannot unleash all their hatred all at once. Since they have the Natural Law written on their hearts and minds, they are still capable of knowing what is morally right and wrong and how to live according to what is right. The second reason you can still trust them is because as selfish individuals they care immensely about their pocketbook and their own reputation. This means that they will do their best to offer you good service in hopes that you in turn will give them a good review and that will keep people coming to see them and thus continue earning them a paycheck. I know this sounds bleak but until the Lord Jesus Christ decides to regenerate their hearts that is where they are at, but this is why we should be all the more eager to share the Gospel with our mental health professionals! 

Thanks for reading this blog and I hope that this has been a blessing to you. Please let me know your thoughts in the comments below. 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: https://www.christcenteredmentalhealth.org/

How The Gospel Addresses The Looking Glass Self Theory

If you have been through any kind of mental health service, the chances that you have encountered the Looking Glass Self Theory are pretty high. Even if your therapist, or other mental health professional, doesn’t expressly tell you this theory by name, they most likely will teach you it’s concepts. As a Christian, I do have some serious issues with this concept and in this blog I will tell you what they are. Afterwards, I will tell how the Christian worldview responds to this theory. First, it would be helpful if I explain what The Looking Glass Self Theory is. This theory was first formulated by a man named Charles Cooley in 1902. Cooley was attempting to explain how human beings formulate their views about their own identity. He postulated that we form our view of ourselves based on how we perceive others perceive us. This perception may or not be correct, but he would say that how we think others see us will determine how we will view ourselves. For example, a teacher may grade a student’s paper harshly because the teacher sees the potential that the student can exhibit and they think that the student needs an extra push for them to achieve their potential. However, the student may internalize the harsh grade as if they think the teacher sees them as a bad student and then they will think they are a bad student. Cooley tells us that we all ask ourselves three questions: 

1) How do I appear to other people? 

2) What must other people think of me? 

3) How can I revise what I think of myself? 

There is mainly one huge fundamental issue with this theory. It is:  

1) It is inherently man-centered, not God-centered— the core belief in this theory is that man determines the worth of an individual. When we base our identity on what we perceive others to have of us, we will inevitably be in a state of constant anxiety which will ultimately lead us to despair. I say this because our perception of what others think of us will be subject to Change based on our feelings and experience. 

You are probably wondering what is it that I propose in order to solve this dilemma. First, I freely admit that Cooley’s theory is descriptive of human beings but I think the Gospel offers a prescriptive solution to escape this fear of man’s judgement. If you will allow the truth of Holy Scripture to sink deep into your psyche, then you will no longer care how other people perceive you because you will only care how God sees you and the word of God never changes no matter how we are feeling or what we are experiencing. I propose three questions that human beings should ask themselves instead of Cooley’s three questions. These questions are the following: 

1) How Does God view me? 

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them”  -Genesis 1:27 

“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well” -Psalm 139:13-14 

2) Who Am I In Jesus Christ? 

But, you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a  holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy” -1 Peter 2:9-10 

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace which he has blessed us in the Beloved” -Ephesians 1:3-6 

3) How should I revise my view of myself based on what God says about me? 

This should give us a real positive image of ourselves because we know that no matter what I do or say or feel that God sees me as one who displays His glory and majesty as I am wonderfully created in His image. For those of us who are in Christ, God sees us as holy, blameless, and royal as we are redeemed by the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ, in order so we can give Him glory by proclaiming His gospel to all those whom we come in contact with. These fundamental truths are always true no matter what we feel,think, say, do, or experience because God’s word holds true in all places across all times. 

I hope and pray that this blog has edified you as you keep looking to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I thank you for taking the time to read this and please feel free to comment below in order to tell me how this has helped you view yourself. Soli Deo Gloria! 

-David Lee Chu Sarchet 

Christian Mental Health Advocate 

Please Check Out The Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry website: https://www.christcenteredmentalhealth.org/

My Fears About Living With Schizoaffective Disorder

The purpose of this blog is to share with you what some of my fears of living with schizophrenia and how I deal with them in order for you to be edified. I believe that it’s healthy to share our fears with those whom we love in order to show people that it’s ok to not have everything together. We live in a world that says we should have the picture of perfection and because of that we hate anything that is flawed. Christianity says that we are lost and sinful and therefore we are desperately in need of the Savior who is also our Lord. We do not need to be perfect in this life and so it’s alright for us to admit our fears and failures too. After reading this blog, please let me know what some of your fears of living with Schizophrenia are. My hope and prayer for this blog is that after reading this you will be encouraged in your faith in Christ, regardless if you have mental illness or not. If you don’t have mental illness, then maybe you will walk away understanding those of us better. 

Fear #1: Not Being Able To Live Up To My Responsibilities As A Biblical Man For My Wife And Children 

I freely admit that this is my worst fear because I understand just how important biblical manhood is. I have a strong desire to be a provider, protector, and leader for my wife and future children. However, I understand that my schizophrenia often makes me slack on my responsibilities. Too often am I timid and weak. I don’t always fulfill my biblical obligations towards my wife. 

Fear #2: Embarrassing My Wife In Public 

This is my second most common fear because I know that there will come a time when I will inevitably have a Psychotic Episode in public that will draw stares of strangers who will then look at my wife. I wonder to myself, “How will she respond when this happens?” 

Fear #3: Passing My Schizoaffective Disorder Onto Our Children 

This fear causes me to vaccilate between wanting children and not wanting children. On the one hand, I want to fulfill my obligation to “fruitful and multiply”. On the other hand, I know that the statistics say that when one parent has schizophrenia, the chances that a child will have the same disorder is increased by 10%. Schizophrenia runs on both my side and my wife’s side so the chances are even higher! 

Fear #4: My Friends And Family Abandoning Me 

 This fear keeps me up at night because I know that many people with mental illness have been abandoned by their support system and are left all alone. The reason for this might be because the mentally ill person may have become too unbearable for his friends and family but I am afraid that that will be me one day because I know that I have already put them through so much. 

Fear #5: Having More Psychotic Episodes As My Mental Illness Progresses 

This fear really frightens me because I hate having experiences of psychosis and I know that my illness is steadily getting worse over time. My medication may slow the progression, however, I know that there will come a day when medication will no longer work because my mind will be totally gone. I am afraid that when this happens, I may do something I may not normally do such as deny God or blaspheme the Lord. I already have blasphemous thoughts and hear blasphemous voices. 

What Encourages Me: 

 

“And we know that all things work together for the good of those that love God, who are called according to His purpose” -Romans 8:28 

This is the most comforting promise of God for those who trust the Gospel of Jesus Christ. According to the God’s sovereign decree, the Lord is literally working all things for our good. I may not fully grasp or comprehend this, but I accept this truth by faith. I know that no matter what happens in this life, God is working for my good. I can rest in that fact because I know that God cannot lie. 

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels or rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord”  -Romans 8:37-39 

This is another marvelous truth that nothing in all of creation will ever separate me from God’s love that is found only in Christ. This means that not even my mental illness can stop God from loving me! Even if everyone in the world were to forsake me, I am still alright because God is for me simply because I belong to Jesus. For this reason, I love Him all the more and all I want to do is praise His name for The Lord is worthy! Soli Deo Gloria! 

-David Lee Chu Sarchet

Christian Mental Health Advocate 

For 24 hour peer support, please call the Christ-Centered Mental Health ministry line at 567-343-3727 or email me at christmentalhealth@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 

Roselyn Morgan (Christ-Centered Mental Health Christian Counselor): RoselynMorgan53@yahoo.com

Check Out The Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry: https://www.christcenteredmentalhealth.org/