Are you guilty of blaming everything on your mental status? ADD? ADHD? DEPRESSION? Why does the media push mental disorder as the cause of every tragic event? A man kills his girlfriend in a fit of rage and immediately the reason is some sort of mental disorder or drug addiction. A boy or girl struggles in school and immediately labeled with ADD/ADHD? Why is this happening?
Labels are easy. Change is not. Writing another prescription is easy. Therapy is not. There is nothing inherently wrong with labels or taking medicine, but are we labeling and writing the correct prescription? Evidently not with suicide increasing as well as murders.
Could there be another reason? Look at what the Lord sends: curses, confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking him. (Deuteronomy 28:20).
Amazingly, God sends confusion. A confused person is a dangerous person. When armies came against King Jehosophat in the Bible, God gave them confusion, so that the armies fought each other. These armies destroyed one another and King Jehosophat did not have to lift a finger. The reason the armies where confused is because they were ungodly. No ADD/ADHD! No DEPRESSION! No DISORDER! Their problem was SIN. Their problem was God sending the confusion.
There is a cure. Humble yourself before the Lord and he will heal the land. We often forget that SIN causes God’s judgment. The main reason is because his judgment is slow and progressive. An example would be sexually transmitted diseases. We know fornication, adultery and homosexuality is a SIN. STD’s are the judgment. The mortality rates of these diseases are long? It gives the victim plenty of time to change. Man has come up with some cures for some and medication for others. Unfortunately, this only fuels SIN. The cute commercial that comes on with an attractive girl with Gonorrhea leaves you feeling like its no big deal and you continue living the same. What happens? AID’s becomes an epidemic and 820,000 people in the US get new gonorrhea infections. This is just one example of many.
Take Home Message
Call on the Lord and refrain from sin. God protects and gives wisdom to those who ask and are obedient. Forsake him and your life, one way or another, will come to ruin.
picture by caesararum
rogertharpe.wordpress.com 
While you do make some good points, I can’t believe that God sends confusion to his people. 1 Cor 14:33 says He’s not the author of confusion… I suppose it’s fairly easy to get the Bible to read the way we would like it to. Yes there are consequences to sin, but any judgment was poured out on Jesus, not on me. Yes I get to choose to walk in his blessing and protection, or suffer the consequences of my own choices… but I don’t blame God’s “judgment” for such things… I blame me. Also, having a serious mental disorder, and taking medications as well as therapy, there are still days where confusion comes to me. It’s definitely not God sending it my way. But I do have to look to all the weapons He’s given me in those times, including, prayer, therapy, and medications. Thanks for the blog. I enjoy things that make me think. Have a wonderful day.
Please excuse my teeth, but your idea of God is wrong. God is to be feared. Why? “But I’ll tell you whom to fear. Fear God, who has the power to kill you and then throw you into hell. Yes, he’s the one to fear” (Luke 12:5). “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap (Galatians 6:7). Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and MANY enter through it (Matthew 7:13). They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie (2 Thessalonians 2:11). While Saul was living God rejected him and there was nothing he could do to keep his kingdom. God is love (1 John 4:8), but God is no ones plaything. He will save those who come under his care and will use various means to destroy those who reject him. Believe me, I could write a book on this, but for now I shall cease, lest I get too lengthy.
Thanks for your response. I know you mean well. I will likely never be good enough for a God whose waiting to zap me if I step out of line. Such a condemning view of God I don’t believe will make much difference in people’s lives over the long haul. There is no love in fear. The fear of the Lord is “respect” and I do believe that is something we must do. But if the law was good enough to save us Jesus would have been unnecessary. But it wasn’t. It points out our need for a savior. And thank God He gave us one. Many look at the Old Testament and see a fairly wrathful view of God. Jesus came on the seen to really show what God was like. A loving and approachable God. The way you interpret scripture makes God out to be someone we have to walk on eggshells around, hoping that Jesus was enough to keep his wrath away. And I’m sorry… I’m a better dad than that.. and I know He’s a much much better Dad than I am. I can tell you went to Liberty… I’ve met others. I wonder if you’ve ever explored other views on doctrine or have simply accepted with blind faith that which was taught to you. Either way, what I will celebrate with you, is that we serve a very BIG God, who is loving enough to accept all of our (mine) limited beliefs, knowing He has us in this life and the next as continual pupils continuing to learn and grow. I don’t have time to get into all the scriptures you quoted. To really take them in context, there is more than just quoting. Who were they originally written to, what was the historical context surrounding them, what was the author saying to them, what’s the original text say, and then how can it be applied today, amongst other aspects as well. Anyways,, been fun. Have a great one.
Grace will always beat out legalism
Ephesians 2:8-10 8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
That’s pretty simple to understand.. Hard to do always, it takes the power of the Holy Spirit in us to do it. And none of us will be perfect at it all the time. Thankfully My heavenly dad doesn’t put me under a curse when I miss it, He loves me through the process, helps me grow, and be more like him daily. The life of Grace tastes good. It’s light and easy to bear. Legalism and judgment, make us wonder always and forever… How good is good enough. That’s heavy and hard. That’s not God.
By the way, I have read many good things on your blog that I have enjoyed… just wanted to throw my two cents in on this one.. not my goal to offend… probably did. For that I do apologize.
You have not offended me. I seriously love people and that is why I am not afraid to speak the truth. There is a place for reasoning together.
To better understand my framework here is a principal thought of mine. It does not require an answer.
Why was Noah and his family the only ones saved in a land filled with people? Why were only Joshua and Caleb the only spies to enter the promise land? Why was Rahab and father’s family the only ones saved in the city of Jericho? Why was Lot and his two daughters the only one saved in the city of Sodom and Gomorrah? Why did many Israelites die in the wilderness? Why did the rich man who came to Jesus turn away sad? Why was Peter, John, and Paul’s life cut short? Why does it seem the majority have it wrong and the very few have it right? Has this pattern changed in the 21st century?
Could the false preachers and teachers of the Bible, like in Paul’s day, be around today? How do I identify them?
Why is fear important?
And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles (Acts 2:43).
My answer: have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh (Jude 1:21-22).
I feel like your message is a little skewed here because there are valid issues with dyslexia, ADD/ADHD, bipolar, autistic, depression, and the like. Rejecting science is too easy. Understanding that we are all imperfect and that some people have more challenges than others is important. The labels that are out only scratch the surface of the nature of our Flesh. The problem isn’t labeling it’s embracing the label. We have depression, anger, lust, laziness so therefore we will give in instead of fighting when trials of various kinds come my way. The problem isn’t the labels it’s using the labels to justify sin.
I know I struggle with anger. So when anger is a problem to me can I give in and then just excuse myself by saying “I have an anger problem”? Absolutely not! I have to be keenly aware of each time I might get angry and force my body against it’s will not to react. My sister is dyslexic. She is still in college and studies double or triple that of a normal student just so she can pass some of her classes. She could easily blow stuff off, fail the class, and blame it on her learning disability. She doesn’t. She won’t accept that being dyslexic means she cannot graduate from College.
The flesh has to be beaten into submission. Sin, the flesh, and the devil have to be overcome in our day to day label infested lives. I think it’s less about confusion and more about finding the way out of the label that we know God has provided (1 Cor 10:13).
I appreciate your comment. It allows me to peer into my writing once again and see how you came to your conclusion. I careful used the word, in the beginning, “everything” and “every.” This suggests that some cases of mental issues are valid. I believe your sister would benefit from my book. I was diagnosed with ADD. http://www.amazon.com/Journey-through-Desert-Soldiers-Journal/dp/1934561010/ref=?ie=UTF8&m=AUZI98FXWF96Q
These are hard words for some to hear, but many times God’s truth is hard to hear. So many today, not wanting to offend, try to replace God’s truth with Political Correctness and therefore criticize those who speak the truth. God bless you for speaking God’s truth.
I must. I truly love people and want to see them saved. I also, selfishly know that if more and more people operate in love, the world would be a nicer place to live.
I agree with the idea that we are too quick to label and look for easy answers, and with the idea that we should turn to God. But the rest of it seems misguided. It is folly to pretend to know the mind of God, even worse to assume one’s own righteousness or another’s sin. None are without sin and no one knows the mind of God. The story of Job illustrates this well, as does Christ’s admonition about removing the log from our own eye before removing the speck from another’s. Things happen, we seldom know why, yet we deal with them the best we can – hopefully turning to God for strength and guidance. I pray that is what you meant in loving support of your fellow man.
9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. 10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God (1 Corinthians 2:9-12).
For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? but we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16).
Matthew 7:1. Good luck with that. I’ll be praying for mercy on both of us.
A much needed word bearing common sense for our people!
This was very good but I can’t agree that God sends confusion. God wants nothing but good and peace for the world but because of satan questioning His right to rule He has allowed satan reign over the Earth and givin us free will to CHOOSE His way. YES He has ALL power and we should fear Him but He does not punish us. He allows our choices in life to take us down His path of rightousness or the devil’s path of mischief. When we choose His(God’s) path the devil will do what he can to cause us to stray because in the end he wants to try to prove that given the choice we will not choose God’s way.
Your “take home message” is WONDERFUL!
There seems to have been much debate focusing on whether God sends confusion or whether he doesn’t send confusion and I have to be honest here and say that both positions do have biblical merit.
In Genesis 11:7 in respect of the Tower of Babel we learn from the King James Bible that God ‘confounded’ their language. In the NIV it states that He ‘confused’ their language. (Personally the NIV interpretation doesn’t sit comfortably with me).
In 1 Corinthians 14:33 we learn that “God is not the author of ‘confusion'” as the both the NIV and the KJV put it.
But isn’t there a third (and forth…) possibility here? Doesn’t Job and other examples within the scriptures – Paul’s thorn in his flesh for example -teach us that God certainly does allow things in our lives in order to discipline or teach or strengthen us etc? Or because through doing so He can use it for His greater glory?
And haven’t we learned from scriptures and indeed our very own life lessons that very often our own actions – following our own ways instead of God’ – bring confusion and hardship to us and indeed to our loved ones?
As someone who suffers with mental illness I fully accept that there is evidence that some mental health issues can be medical – often neurological. Likewise I fully accept that some can be psychological or emotional.
But as a Christian who experiences mental illness I have to ask, “Regardless of the source of any mental illness, does that, should that, exclude our considering it from a spiritual perspective? Have not many, many, physical ailments been healed by faith and through the power of prayer?”
Does the source of any mental illness somehow exclude God from the situation? Likewise, does it remove our responsibility to love that person, to pray with and for that person, to speak the truth and invite God’s sovereign will into that situation? Or in the case where it is we ourselves who are experiencing the mental health issues, does it remove our responsibility for our own walk, our own actions, our own obedience to His will?
It truly saddens me when I do something – as a result of my mental health or not – which does not glorify God or which is outside of His will for me or for others and I yield to His loving discipline when that happens. BUT I do so in the sure fire knowledge that He knows me and He loves me and He always does what is best for me.
My mental health issues do not define who I am in Christ or how I serve Him. Who I am in Christ defines how I serve Him even with my mental health issues.
Kind Regards and God bless you.
Kevin.
Kevin, Beautiful comment and great perspective.
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Thank you LadyJsVoice, that is very kind of you.
Kind Regards and God bless you.
Kevin
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