Why John MacArthur Is Wrong About Mental Illness (Part 10)

 

In this blog, I shall begin to critique Mr. MacArthur's second sermon titled "Anxiety-Free Living". Again, I must reiterate that this is not a personal attack on him. I greatly respect the man but I feel his views against mental illness are ignorant and thus harmful toward Christians who suffer from mental disorders. As Christians, we need to be careful not to hold any teacher so far up on a pedestal to make them unable to be criticized. No one is above criticism and that includes our favorite Bible teachers. My fear is that any Christians who suffer from mental illnesses will hear these sermons by Mr. MacArthur and will walk away feeling like worthless Christians. My intention in writing this series is to help those Christians understand two things: 1) not every Christian believes what Mr. MacArthur believes. And 2) there is absolutely nothing wrong with Christians who suffer from mental disorders. If my series accomplishes these two things, their purpose has been served. The passage that Mr. MacArthur bases his two sermons on comes from Luke 12:22-34. For the sake of clarity, I shall post this passage so that you can see it in its full context. Our Lord Jesus Christ says the following, 

"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? If then you are not able to do a small thing like that, why are you anxious about the rest? Consider the lilies: how they grow, they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed as one of these. But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom and these things will be added unto you. 
Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with the treasure in the heavens that do not fail where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" 

This is a beautiful passage, isn't it? I agree with Mr. MacArthur's interpretation of this text. Jesus is essentially telling us to so trust in the sovereignty of God and that we do not need to worry about what we will eat and what we will wear. He tells us to seek God's kingdom above all and He will take care of us. Jesus uses the analogy of the birds and lilies to demonstrate God's sovereign care for His creation. If we truly understood this passage, we should never worry again. While Mr. MacArthur is right in his interpretation of this text, he is wrong in how he applies this text to mental disorders, such as anxiety disorders. The first portion of his sermon that I'd like to address is early in the beginning. He says the following, 

Our Lord told people they should not be anxious, they should not worry, and they should not be afraid. Anxiety-free living, worry-free living, fear-free living is part of what the Lord offered those who put their trust in Him. It is not just heavenly bliss and heavenly peace and heavenly joy, but here and now there is peace and joy to be found.

If you will notice the emphasis of this passage comes in three particular commands. Verse 22: “Do not be anxious.” Verse 29: “Do not keep worrying.” Verse 32: “Do not be afraid.” They could all be translated with the word “stop.” Stop being anxious. Stop worrying. Stop being afraid. This passage, by the way, parallels our Lord’s teaching in the Sermon on the Mount back in Matthew chapter 6, verses 19 through 34, where He said essentially these very same things on another occasion much earlier in His ministry in a different place (this is in Judea, that was up in Galilee).

I find it very disheartening how Mr. MacArthur presents the solution to anxiety as being as easy as just saying, "Stop worrying" or "Stop being afraid". He demonstrates that he truly does not understand how crippling anxiety disorders really are. People who deal with anxiety disorders truly are suffering and I am sure if it were as easy to turn off their anxiety simply by saying "stop worrying" or "stop being afraid", then these people would be doing this all the time. The fact that they cannot shut off their anxiety so easily is evidence that simple platitudes do not work. Also, I do not like how Mr. MacArthur insinuates that anyone who suffers from an anxiety disorder is not truly trusting the Lord. As I have said previously, a Christian can wholeheartedly trust in the Lord's sovereignty and still deal with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. There is nothing sinful about these two disorders. It does a huge disservice to Christians who suffer from these disorders when someone like Mr. MacArthur gaslights them into thinking there is something inherently wrong with them. The truth is, there is nothing with the Christian who suffers from OCD or PTSD and they do need to feel that they are less worthy to be inside God's kingdom. 

The next portion of Mr. MacArthur's sermon that I'd like to address comes when he says the following, 

There really are only two categories in which you can direct your worry, your fear and your anxiety: either into the material side or the spiritual side, right? You’re either going to be concerned about something physical, material, earthly, or you’re going to be concerned about something spiritual, immaterial, and heavenly. Those are the only two categories. You are a physical being and a spiritual being. In that sense, you’re two, an inner man and an outer man. And worry can be attached to both, but in the case of one who belongs to the kingdom of God, worry in either sense is unnecessary.

I wholeheartedly agree with him that there are only two realms in which you can worry: the physical or the spiritual. All of our worries will either be about the physical realm (what we will eat, what we will wear, how will we pay our bills?) or about the spiritual realm. He is right when he says both types of worries are unnecessary. However, please keep in mind the context of this sermon. When he refers to "worry" and "anxiety", he is not merely talking about normal worry and anxiety. No, what Mr. MacArthur has been harping on in these two passages concerns anxiety disorders, such as OCD, PTSD, GAD, and others. What he is essentially saying here is that anxiety disorders are unnecessary and thus people should just "turn them off". What he fails to understand is that anxiety disorders are not something that people can simply turn off by the flip of a switch. If it were that easy, then no one would ever suffer from anxiety disorders. It seems to me that Mr. MacArthur thinks that Christians who suffer from anxiety disorders want to suffer from their anxiety disorders. In a sense, it seems like he thinks Christians who suffer from anxiety disorders are committing idolatry. This couldn't be further from the truth. One has to wonder if Mr. MacArthur has ever held a loved one in his arms who was just brutally murdered. Or if Mr. MacArthur ever considered what it is like to feel such a compulsion to perform some ritual to prevent a loved one from dying. I do not think he has because if he did, then he would understand the stronghold that OCD and PTSD bind some Christians in. 

This concludes this section of my blog series. Please stay tuned for Part 10.. 

-David Lee Chu Sarchet
Christian Mental Health Advocate 

Check out the Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website