This is a continuation of my blog series where I critique the second sermon of Mr. MacArthur's sermon titled "Anxiety-Free Living". This is not a personal attack on him, but I do think that these sermons are harmful to Christians who suffer from mental illnesses, such as anxiety disorders. Mr. MacArthur's ideas concerning mental illnesses are disturbing because he blatantly trivializes the struggle of millions of Christians around the world. My fear is that since he has such an influence worldwide some Christians may walk away from hearing his sermons and will think there is something inherently wrong with themselves. Worse, they may even be led to believe that they are second-class citizens in the Kingdom of God. According to Scripture, those with less honor should be treated with more honor (1 Corinthians 12:23). Mr. MacArthur bases his two sermons on Luke 12:22-34. In this passage, Jesus is telling us not to worry because God is sovereign and He cares for us. Jesus uses the analogy of the birds and lilies. He says that the birds and the lilies neither toil nor spin, yet God takes care of them. He then tells us that we are much more valuable than they are and that we should seek His kingdom first above all other things. I have no issue with Mr. MacArthur's interpretation, except for the fact that he is insinuating that we can "stop worrying" on our own. The truth is, we can only stop worrying because of the strength the Holy Spirit gives us. Apart from the Holy Spirit, we are powerless to overcome worry and anxiety.
The next portion of this sermon that I'd like to address is where Mr. MacArthur says the following,
If you do know your God and you worry anyway, this is not about ignorance, this is about distrust. This is a sin. To be needlessly ignorant is sinful, but to be willfully distrusting of the God who has revealed Himself is a serious sin. So when you look at your life and you see anxieties and fears and worries, the question then is: Am I ignorant of my God or do I just not trust Him? So let’s go back to some basic things, okay?
Here we see Mr. MacArthur blatantly accuse those of us with mental illnesses, such as anxiety disorders of being either ignorant or committing "serious sin". Keep in mind that in these sermons, he is referring to anxiety disorders, such as PTSD, OCD, and other anxiety disorders. Mr. MacArthur is telling his listeners that if they are dealing with PTSD due to trauma, for example, they either do not trust God or that they are willfully ignorant. This is an extremely heinous thing for him to say because he is basically saying that someone who deals with PTSD is in some kind of serious sin. The truth is, a Christian can trust God wholeheartedly and still need to do work in overcoming some traumatic event in their lives. As for OCD, people who suffer from this disorder, according to Mr. MacArthur, just need to "trust God more". This is the blatant trivialization of OCD. The truth is, someone can completely trust God but they will still need to do therapy to deal with the fact that they are feeling compelled to perform certain rituals over and over again to prevent something bad from happening. PTSD, OCD, and other anxiety disorders have nothing to do with intentional sin or even with being "willfully ignorant".
The next portion of this sermon that I'd like to address is where Mr. MacArthur says the following,
In this passage, our Lord unfolds this whole issue of why we are not to worry and be anxious and be afraid, either in the material or the immaterial, the physical or the spiritual, the earthly or the heavenly realms. Number one, worry is a failure to understand God’s priority. Worry is a failure to understand God’s priority, verses 22 and 23. “He said to His disciples, ‘For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious for your life as to what you shall eat nor for your body as to what you shall put on, for life is more than food and the body, than clothing.’”
As I have previously stated in an earlier blog, it is easy for him to simply say, "Do not worry" when he has a net worth of $14 million. This is not a judgment against him, but I bring this up as a way to make the point that it is very convenient for him to condemn worrying when he lives such an easy lifestyle. I have to wonder if he would change his opinion if he were to one day lose everything just as Job did. Again, he makes the claim that "worry is a failure to understand God's priority", but what he is doing here is setting up a false dichotomy. He is saying that you either trust God wholly or you are ignorant of God's priority in your life. Again, keep in mind what he is referring to here. What he is essentially saying is that if you are dealing with PTSD because of some traumatic event, then you do not understand God's priority in your life. He is simply making the assertion that if you truly understand God's priority, then your PTSD or OCD will immediately go away. Unfortunately, it is not that simple, Mr. MacArthur. The truth is, PTSD is a lot more complex than what he is making it out to be. And someone can truly understand God's priority in their life and still need to undergo the intense work needed to overcome their anxiety disorder. Sometimes this work will take the rest of their lives, but over time things will get easier as long as they continue doing the work needed to improve their mental health.
I want to thank you for taking the time to read my blog series and I sincerely hope this series helps you to better understand mental illnesses, such as anxiety disorders. Mr. MacArthur truly is wrong concerning this issue and I hope that you know that not all Christians hold to his harmful and ignorant views. May the grace of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ richly bless you all.
Stay Tuned For Part 14...
-David Lee Chu Sarchet
Christian Mental Health Advocate
Check out the Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website
The next portion of this sermon that I'd like to address is where Mr. MacArthur says the following,
If you do know your God and you worry anyway, this is not about ignorance, this is about distrust. This is a sin. To be needlessly ignorant is sinful, but to be willfully distrusting of the God who has revealed Himself is a serious sin. So when you look at your life and you see anxieties and fears and worries, the question then is: Am I ignorant of my God or do I just not trust Him? So let’s go back to some basic things, okay?
Here we see Mr. MacArthur blatantly accuse those of us with mental illnesses, such as anxiety disorders of being either ignorant or committing "serious sin". Keep in mind that in these sermons, he is referring to anxiety disorders, such as PTSD, OCD, and other anxiety disorders. Mr. MacArthur is telling his listeners that if they are dealing with PTSD due to trauma, for example, they either do not trust God or that they are willfully ignorant. This is an extremely heinous thing for him to say because he is basically saying that someone who deals with PTSD is in some kind of serious sin. The truth is, a Christian can trust God wholeheartedly and still need to do work in overcoming some traumatic event in their lives. As for OCD, people who suffer from this disorder, according to Mr. MacArthur, just need to "trust God more". This is the blatant trivialization of OCD. The truth is, someone can completely trust God but they will still need to do therapy to deal with the fact that they are feeling compelled to perform certain rituals over and over again to prevent something bad from happening. PTSD, OCD, and other anxiety disorders have nothing to do with intentional sin or even with being "willfully ignorant".
The next portion of this sermon that I'd like to address is where Mr. MacArthur says the following,
In this passage, our Lord unfolds this whole issue of why we are not to worry and be anxious and be afraid, either in the material or the immaterial, the physical or the spiritual, the earthly or the heavenly realms. Number one, worry is a failure to understand God’s priority. Worry is a failure to understand God’s priority, verses 22 and 23. “He said to His disciples, ‘For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious for your life as to what you shall eat nor for your body as to what you shall put on, for life is more than food and the body, than clothing.’”
As I have previously stated in an earlier blog, it is easy for him to simply say, "Do not worry" when he has a net worth of $14 million. This is not a judgment against him, but I bring this up as a way to make the point that it is very convenient for him to condemn worrying when he lives such an easy lifestyle. I have to wonder if he would change his opinion if he were to one day lose everything just as Job did. Again, he makes the claim that "worry is a failure to understand God's priority", but what he is doing here is setting up a false dichotomy. He is saying that you either trust God wholly or you are ignorant of God's priority in your life. Again, keep in mind what he is referring to here. What he is essentially saying is that if you are dealing with PTSD because of some traumatic event, then you do not understand God's priority in your life. He is simply making the assertion that if you truly understand God's priority, then your PTSD or OCD will immediately go away. Unfortunately, it is not that simple, Mr. MacArthur. The truth is, PTSD is a lot more complex than what he is making it out to be. And someone can truly understand God's priority in their life and still need to undergo the intense work needed to overcome their anxiety disorder. Sometimes this work will take the rest of their lives, but over time things will get easier as long as they continue doing the work needed to improve their mental health.
I want to thank you for taking the time to read my blog series and I sincerely hope this series helps you to better understand mental illnesses, such as anxiety disorders. Mr. MacArthur truly is wrong concerning this issue and I hope that you know that not all Christians hold to his harmful and ignorant views. May the grace of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ richly bless you all.
Stay Tuned For Part 14...
-David Lee Chu Sarchet
Christian Mental Health Advocate
Check out the Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website
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