Thoughts About Suicide

Because I am not an expert in counseling this particular problem, I am just going to make some basic Bible-based comments on the subject of pastoral suicides. I am familiar with a number of cases -- a prominent Lexington pastor a few years ago, an EFCA pastor, and just this morning I heard about an associate pastor somewhere out in the Midwest. I hope the Lord enables me to mix the Biblical mix of truth and mercy:

The unlawful taking of human life is a sin. The Bible only permits the taking human life under certain circumstances: self-defense; defense of another; as part of waging war; and as punishment for having committed a capital crime. These parameters are how we know abortion is sin, and why suicide is the same kind of sin. Thank God that the blood of Christ shed on the cross is sufficient to drown out an infinite number of sins, regardless of what they are!

Suicidal thoughts can be caused by physical problems. As long as our souls are bound to our physical bodies, the condition of our physical bodies affects our minds/souls. The Bible teaches there is a curse on the material world as a result of Adam's sin. This includes our bodies. This is why we should not judge a suicide as caused by spiritual moral failure in all cases. We might learn that someone had brain tumors, or perhaps suffered a congenital ailment that would cause them to become self-destructive. This does not change the fact that, in terms of Christian ethics, suicide is an objectively wrong act. But it describes a situation which mitigate accountability, and call for our mercy. One of the first things God had Elijah do when Elijah was at the breaking point was to drink some water, eat some cake, and sleep. We must not judge in ignorance.

Suicide does not, in itself, prove that the person had no faith. In biblical ethics, idol-worship is just as wicked as suicide, yet we know that Christians can be successfully tempted to commit the sin of idol-worship. That is why Paul warns against idolatry -- it is a real sin that cane be committed by real Christians. The unique nature of the sin of suicide is such that, unlike the sin of idolatry or adultery, if i commit it I cannot repent in such a way that anyone else would know that I had done so. David engineered the death of Uriah, then went on for some time without repenting. When he repented, he was restored to fellowship with the Lord, and we all know about it since it was written down in holy Scripture. In suicide, we never have the earthly opportunity to see if the person would have repented and reconciled with the Lord. But the fact remains, real Christians commit sins. Suicide is a sin, but it is not the unpardonable sin.

Suicide is by its very nature unloving toward others and rebellious toward God. I am not talking about a soldier who hurls himself onto a live grenade to save the life of his buddies. That is taking life defense of another, and in that sense is not what we normally mean by the word suicide. If a person was controlled by love for the people he or she was about to horribly hurt by committing suicide, then by faith they would not do it. If a person was controlled by the reverential fear of God, then they by faith will not commit suicide because God forbids it. This means that the family and church members of a pastor who commits suicide will need to forgive that pastor, since he did indeed sin against God and them (unless of course it is discovered that the pastor was suffering hallucinations, or somehow was poisoned, or was in some other way out-of-control). 

Satan is behind suicide. Jesus said that the devil comes only to kill, steal, and destroy. We are involved in a spiritual war (Ephesians 6), and this is one way the devil kills and destroys Christian shepherds. Unbelief kills, because unbelief opens up the mind to Satan's powerful, deadly influence.

Going around in ministry pretending we feel fine if we do not is bad. Admitting that we are afraid, or feel blue, or feel sick of ourselves, is not weakness. We pastors are easily tempted to think that we should appear to always have everything buttoned-down. Paul (in 2 Corinthians particulary) was transparent about his wrestling with life's troubles. The first step to gaining victory over those negative emotions is to acknowledge them. We don't transcend our negativity by force-of-will. The power of positive thinking doesn't work, because positive thinking, as practiced by 99% of people who use it, isn't based on the promises of God. Faith in the consolations of Scripture, combined with prayer, even desperate prayer, can lift us up above our darkened moods. 

Walk away from killer situations. There are some devilish, abusive churches  and ministries out there that take delight in mistreating their workers. Suffering pastors and missionaries don't always take their own lives. Sometimes they just have heart-attacks, or strokes, or nervous breakdowns! This kind of church doesn't even deserve to have a pastor. In such an occasions, a pastor would be well-advised to resign, and go get a decent full-time secular job. Your first obligation is to your family. Quitting a truly abusive church, school, or mission is not the same thing as quitting your call.

Jesus Christ will not fail us. We should never characterize a suicide situation in such a way that it makes the Lord Jesus Christ seem indifferent, unavailable, or weak. James said that God cannot be tempted by sin, and he never tempts anyone to sin. Paul said that God never lays on us more than is common to man, but with the temptation always provides a way of escape so that we may bear it.  God is on our side. Jesus Christ knows even better than we do what utter, dark despair feels like: "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?"  He stands with us in our despair. At the same time He doesn't merely sympathize, but He is also willing and able to pull us out of the miry clay, as He did many times for King David. 

It is crucial for Christian workers to have realistic expectations of our responsibilities, and rest our ultimate faith for success in the infallible sovereignty of God. Elijah became so depressed he wanted to die, because he thought the full responsibility for turning Israel around rested on him, and that he had failed. he also believed he was the last believer. He was wrong on both counts, and his wrong thinking was a major part of what caused his depression. Elijah needed to remember that God was not depending on him, or "counting" on him, in any way. It sounds like a license for irresponsibility, but it is true. God was using Elijah, including Elijah, working through Elijah, but God was not depending on Elijah. God depends on no one but Himself. The full responsibility of God's work in the world rests on God only. We get the honor of participating.  God sovereignly elects who shall be saved, He irresistibly calls them to faith, and He infallibly preserves them from defection. Elijah's emotions went deeply wrong because he forgot all of these truths. We must not forget.