The Church’s View of Mental Illness, and Mine. « profoundability:

The Church’s View of Mental Illness, and Mine. « profoundability:
 Excerpt:
We often oversimplify that which we do not understand–either from laziness or denial, both of which come from not really wanting to face a messy reality.  In the fall of 1987, I chose the oversimplified path when I had to write a paper in my college psychology class on mental illness.  Of course, I stated, that if the Apostle Paul came to visit the mental wards today, he would merely cast out demons and people would be free.  Clearly, I had it all figured out.  I’m sure my psychology professor laughed when he read it…or cried.
One year later my younger brother would be diagnosed with schizophrenia at the age of 18.  My mother and I prayed over him and rebuked Satan, but it did not work, because my brother’s illness was not a spiritual problem.  It was chemical.  His body does not make dopamine, as diabetic bodies do not make insulin.  I encountered a real warp in my worldview.  Thankfully...
s I traveled in a 12-member band one summer to churches and youth camps, everywhere I shared the story of my brother, people came up to me crying about their own family member with schizophrenia.  And crying about their church not understanding or knowing how to support them.  This was consistent with my family’s struggle.  Though our church loved us and had been family to us for years, they simply did not know what to do with mental illness.  It seemed to be the scarlet letter of Christendom.  If you had mental illness in your family, surely somewhere along the way there were demons involved, or you had done something bad, or…well…maybe it would be best if you just didn’t bring your brother to church.  No one ever said that to our family, but we felt it.  We felt very alone.  If he had been physically sick, there would have been visits, cards, “we miss you,” but not with mental illness.  Because the typical Christian worldview didn’t encompass messy things like mental illness.  If we can’t pray it away, then we aren’t sure what to do with it.
The Apostle Paul himself endured a “thorn in the flesh” which he asked the Lord three times to take away from him, but which God did not.  No answers.  No “deliverance.”  Just pain, questions, and trouble.  Paul realized it was given to him to keep him humble, balancing all the visions he was receiving from God.  God’s grace was sufficient.
When we meet any type of disability, we tend to view it as a problem.  No doubt, it can be a load for a family to bear.
...Disability has it’s hidden treasures, too.  However, when our worldview cannot handle unanswered questions, pain without a seeming cause, something to blame, we have to decide:  is my worldview working?  Do I really believe that God works all things together for good?  Do I think that God has favorites?  Does God not really care about some people?  Are they disposable?  We either take all of scripture and use it to weave our worldview, or we don’t.  We either believe God means what He says, that “His ways are far above our ways, and His thoughts past finding out,” that God “knits us together in our mother’s womb,” that He knows the plans He has for us–plans for good and not for evil, to give us a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11), or we do not believe it.
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We are not simple.  We are complex.  We are fearfully and beautifully made.  God’s universe works in harmony, with systems, mathematical formulas, patterns, and seasons synchronized for purposes beyond our understanding.  His reasons are good.  His methods are good.  This life is a whisper of time.  Eternity is forever.  Do we trust God to bring both the rain and the sunshine into our lives?  Is He still good if it is mostly rain?  Do we judge those who seem to have problem upon problem–that they must have done something deserving of their pain?  Or do we humbly accept that God knows best, and He has called us to bear one another burdens, and IN DOING THIS, fulfill the law of Christ?
It is always easier to pick up a stone of judgement than a towel of servanthood.  What is your worldview?  Is there room for the blessing of imperfection in your congregation?  Are you worthy of God’s special people, who are blessed with giftings worth unearthing?