Mental illness is no laughing matter

I write this post with a grieving heart. However, I must use my voice to speak out against injustice and inaccurate teaching.

Last night, a "buzz" started on facebook about a sermon preached near me. I decided to listen to this sermon this morning. I ended up in tears. Why? Because this preacher made fun of mental illness with inappropriate jokes and inaccurate Bible metaphors. Let me explain.

Mental illness is NOT a sin. Can it cause sin issues? Yes. Is it a sin itself? No. I listened as this man made fun of ADD, people who cut themselves, and people who choose medication. I heard as the undertones of this message compared the demon possessed man in the scripture to mentally ill people. I heard as it was implied that these people need to take care of their sin problem.

WHOA! Stop right there. I guarantee in that audience was someone who suffers. Probably, after that message, in silence. And we wonder why people walk away from God. We wonder why no one opens up about such issues in churches. Because if this is the God that is preached, who wants Him? Thankfully, this is NOT my God. My God saves. My God gives grace to people who suffer from ANY ailment, physical or mental.

In that audience were people who care. People who care about God. People who care about their sin. People who want to do right. And yet their mind suffers. I was / am one of them! I almost walked away from God and life because of such teaching!

And let me tell you, to even imply that the sin is the source of the problem is a HUGE HUGE mistake. I'm not saying (again) sin issues may not be involved. But we must be OH SO VERY careful how we address such tender and serious subjects. Not with distasteful jokes. Not with misunderstanding. But with kid gloves. And the man of God who preaches from the pulpit must be especially careful with his words!