Tag Archives: suicide

You Never Know

Church Bulletin, Culture

You never really know what is in the heart of someone, do you?

We have the trite cliché that “you can’t judge a book by its cover.” Scriptures say it differently: “…man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). You and I may have an idea of what is going on in someone’s life, but only that person and the Lord know the truth.

A famed food critic died Friday. He killed himself. Anthony Bourdain had won almost every award in his field including the famed Peabody Award for reporting. He was a food critic that rose to the top of his profession and gained famed for an award-winning series on CNN entitled Parts Unknown, which had just begun its 11th season. Bourdain had what many would consider the greatest job ever: travel the globe and consume every delicacy prepared by the great chefs of the world.

Bourdain’s glass was empty. Friday, he hung himself in a hotel room in France.

I don’t know much about culinary arts. My gastronomic expertise extends to the grill on the patio. I’ve never watched Parts Unknown, and I probably cannot pronounce half the foods Bourdain consumed. But I can learn from his tragic ending.

We never really know what’s behind someone else’ face.

Judas was a corrupt and scheming man who betrayed the Lord of Life. Yet, only Jesus knew of his dark heart. As he dined with Jesus and the others apostles at the Last Meal, no one knew the depth of his sin except Jesus. He hilled himself too, just hours before Jesus died.

We never really know what’s behind someone else’ face.

Don’t you know of people who seemed happy and even carefree but then ended their own lives? We are left to clean up after their decision. We are the ones left with the guilt of wonder if there was anything we could have done to save them. Probably not.

We never really know what’s behind someone else’ face.

Suicide is an incredibly complex decision. There is much we do not understand about those who kill themselves. But we do know that suicide is rising. Suicide is now the 10th leading cause of death in the United States. In Alabama, it is the 11th leading cause of death claiming about 750 lives in the state each year.

We never really know what’s behind someone else’ face.

Why are people so hopeless? Why is life so dark? They have surrendered to the prince of darkness. They no longer know or trust Jesus and his people.

Jesus said, speaking of the devil, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” ( John 10:10). You and I must search for those who hurt and share the love of Jesus with them. Sometimes the task is hard and the hours long but the reward of soul saved is so worth it! Is there someone you can touch today?

We never really know what’s behind someone else’ face.

 

Is Suicide A Sin?

Culture, Daily living,

Depressed_(4649749639)If you know me, you know I do not judge the eternal destiny of individuals. That is God’s job and I am happy to leave it to him. My knowledge is never complete so I observe and warn but do not presume to judge.

That’s especially true with suicide victims.

There are some who teach that suicide is always a sin and that since those who commit that sin cannot repent and seek forgiveness they must be lost eternally. I’m not so sure. In my thinking, death by suicide may be no more condemning than death by heart attack or stroke.

We know that suicide is an occasional outcome of severe clinically diagnosed depression. Such depression is a medical condition much like heart disease, cancer, stroke, etc. When someone dies because of cancer, we grieve over their loss and we never suggest their death was their own fault or their own weakness. May I suggest we view mental health issues in the same way.

I have lost at least two people I cared for to suicide. They were clinically depressed yet hid that depression beneath a veneer of calm and caring. They loved people and seemed to be fine. They did not want to be pitied. When word came that they had taken their own life it shocked those of us who knew them. We never saw it coming.

Perhaps the death of Robin Williams will ignite a conversation about the realities of depression.

Now before some self-righteous know-it-all wants to pounce on me for these thoughts stop and think. Choose your words carefully. Not all suicide is the result of clinical depression. But if the will to survive is the strongest innate mechanism in the human psyche, what does it mean when it breaks? What does it say about a person’s ability to choose and be responsible when the very foundation of their emotions are shattered? Have the answers before you rebuke me.

As for me, I will leave the judgement to our God.