One of the dilemmas facing our city is the number of people suffering from mental illness. It has brought heartache to families and to our entire country. I realize that there is not one solution or that the solution is simple. But the Bible offers one explanation that is left out of the current discussion.
In Mark 5, Jesus confronted a man who definitely was suffering mental anguish. He had been bound a number of times, but exhibited supernatural strength and broke the chains. He terrorized the community, so no one felt safe around him. He lived in the cemetery. “Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.” (Mark 5:5) His body must have been covered in dried blood and scars. Who knows when he bathed last?
When this man saw Jesus climb out of the boat, he ran at Him, probably cursing and threatening, but Jesus wasn’t scared. Instead, He realized this man had demons in him. We aren’t told how he came to have demons, but the Lord cast them out. I’m not saying that all mental illness is demonic, but once Jesus cast out the demons from this man, the townspeople found him “sitting, dressed, and in his right mind.” (Mark 5:15) His mind had been terrorized by demons. Once he was free of them, he didn’t suffer anymore from any signs of mental illness.
The connection between the demonic and mental illness is what is being kept out of our current discussion of causes and treatments. In response to events in the Tribulation, instead of humbling themselves before God, the people will not “repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts.” (Revelation 9:21)
The Greek word translated as “magic” is pharmakeia (farm-a-KEY-ya), from which we get our word pharmacy. Illegal drugs are connected to the occult and to mental illness. I’m not implying that all mental illness is caused by drugs or that everyone suffering in this way has demons. I am only pointing out that the connection between demons (the occult) and mental illness is a real possibility.
Jesus referred to the devil as the “thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.” (John 10:10) Drug use is just one of the ways Satan is at work to destroy lives in our country. Revelation 9 also speaks of murders, sexual immorality, and thefts. Each of these strategies of the devil are blights on our country.
In my opinion, we will not curb the rising tide of violence, sexual immorality, or disrespect for other people’s property until we return to the God of the Bible and follow Him. Our nation faces lots of problems, but attempting to oust God from public life is the greatest problem of all.
Not everyone who dabbles in the occult will become demonized and manifest signs of mental illness. Whether or not you have been involved in drugs or the occult, God offers forgiveness and a new life. The second half of the above verse is crucial. Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
We’ll never completely restore soundness of mind to everyone because we live in a fallen world, one that has been and continues to be impacted by the sin of man. But Jesus promises that you can have a life without a downside if you submit your life to Him, asking Him to take over the leadership of your life. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)
No Comments
Leave a comment Cancel