Principal Points - "Suicide"

Past Principal Points

Suicide

In light of the horrible tragedies that have occurred recently in Airdrie, I felt that I needed to speak to our teens in a recent Chapel about suicide. I am summarizing that talk here because I believe that every Christian needs to understand the issue and be prepared with good counsel.

First, I should say that for many years I suffered from extreme depression, and was on several occasions close to committing suicide myself. This occurred after I had become a Christian. Far too often Christians, who should be the most joyful and free people in the world, suffer from depression brought on by the very faith which is supposed to set them free. But becoming a Christian made me accountable to someone else for my life. I could no longer do whatever I wished, and when I failed to obey God, there was guilt. God's expectations for me seemed to be unattainable, and after a while I succumbed to the lie that I could never please Him.

Second, I have known people who have committed suicide and I have been around to clean up, literally, after the event. It is not pleasant. I have come to see that it is essentially a selfish act which "solves" the problems that the victim was facing but is horrible for everyone else around that person. It is unbelievably cruel to them.

In order to be able to counteract the problem of suicide, we need to understand the root causes of it. Fundamentally, suicide is the result of believing lies about ourselves, our world, and the people around us. It is the ultimate victory for Satan. His goal has always been to bring death into the world, beginning with his lies to Adam and Eve. When a person believes Satan's lie and takes his own life, then Satan has won a great victory.

A person contemplating suicide is usually struggling with feelings of depression, loneliness, and hopelessness. They feel trapped in their circumstance and see absolutely no way of escape. Typically, they do not believe that anyone cares. Sometimes they have a desire for revenge and imagine witnessing the sorrow at their own funeral. The primary factors which breed these feelings are broken relationships, failure to achieve a significant goal, failure to meet the expectations of a significant person, loss of a loved one, physical or sexual abuse, drugs, or mental illness.

Since in most cases, the fundamental cause is a lie, Christians can minister to those contemplating suicide by telling them the truth. There are specific things which they don't believe but need to hear and be persuaded of:

God Loves You! He desires to have a relationship with you.

You are not alone! Others have been through what you have been through.

Lots of people care about you. I care about you, and if you care at all about me, you won't hurt me by taking your life.

You are not loved because of your achievements or lack thereof. You are loved because God has given me love for you.

You will not be at your own funeral, except in body. Imagining the revenge? Erase that idea because you won’t experience the feelings you are looking for.

You will instead be facing God and His judgement. Who told you it was your life, anyway? Your life has been bought and paid for. If you take it, you are committing murder.

God has a wonderful plan for your life. You may not be able to see anything good in your future, but it's there, and you will miss out on all God's blessings for now and eternity.

If you know of someone who is thinking of committing suicide, never promise that you won’t tell. It is your obligation to get help for that person. Share with them what you know to be true, but also take them and get help from someone you trust. Most importantly, pray. Not one of us is immune from Satan's attacks, but every Christian also has all the resources to walk in victory over them. Our greatest resource is the truth found in the Word of God, and the power of prayer. Use them!

Brian Hazeltine, B.Ed., M.A.
Principal, Airdrie Koinonia Christian School