Dealing With Mental Illness As A Christian

This message is from my weekly podcast, One Minute With God.

The Church And Mental Health

2 Timothy 1:7 21st Century King James Version (KJ21)

7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

Now let's look at this verse in a different translation:

2 Timothy 1:7 International Children’s Bible (ICB)

7 God did not give us a spirit that makes us afraid. He gave us a spirit of power and love and self-control.

We see here that the Greek word used in the original text is not SOUND MIND but rather, SELF-CONTROL.

Sound Mind: Legally, having the capacity to think, reason, and understand for oneself.

Self Control: the ability to control oneself, in particular, one's emotions and desires or the expression of them in one's behavior, especially in difficult situations.

Paul was not telling Timothy that God has given him a sound mind, but Self Control. And the is the ability to control oneself.

Those in the church who have never dealt with addiction, abuse, or mental health problems have no idea what it is like.

Just give it to Jesus, It’s going to be alright, Don’t accept it! Guess what, those things don’t help. I am not saying we shouldn’t ask God to help but I am also saying it is time for us to recognize that just like alcoholism, mental health issues need professional help.

But the church and Christians tend to label us as weak and faithless. Yes, I said us, because I have been there and I still deal with it. And the church couldn’t and didn’t help. Medication and a Psychologist coupled with prayer did.

Christian, don’t get afraid to seek help..