As we think of mental illness an immediate question arises: what is “serious” mental illness, and how is it different from the normal issues that are part of everyday life?
Wearing a tin-foil hat is the delusion that those who wear them are some how protected from space rays or conspiracy theories. Crazy, I know. But some believers approach mental illness in this way.
Brother and sister, we’re called to think biblically. Ephesians 6:17 tells us that the “helmet of salvation” is the only head gear we’re called to wear. It tells us that the ‘warriors’ protection is God’s salvation. We are protected by a helmet of truth.
We must educate ourselves, through our community, and knowledgeable Christian leadership, to serve the broken that are in our midst. This figure includes a wide variety of disorders, these stats are compelling:
- Severe mental illnesses affect 5.4 percent of adults,
- Some 22 to 23 percent of the U.S. adult population—or 44 million people-“have diagnosable mental disorders”
- Such statistics only begin to capture the level of pain many of our fellow believers endure daily.
One person wrote of the broad reach of mental illness:
“I have a thousand faces, and I am found in all races. Sometimes rich, sometimes poor, sometimes young, sometimes old. I am a person with the disabling pain of a broken brain.”
We must find an acceptable form of understanding about mental illness if we are going to find our way to those who are quite frankly, very definitely lost.
Both Scripture and eldership, (healthy counseling), should be an active component to recovery. The sacrifical sacrifice of Jesus, through His blood must be taught again to the afflicted. Mental disease needs to be as understood in the same context as a physical one (e.g. diabeties or cancer).
Discernment must be sought as the whole person often needs to be taught. Issues like guilt, unforgiveness and pride are a big part of seeing people set free. Issues of past trauma like sexual and phyical abuse are factors as well.
Your support of Brokenbelievers.com through your prayers and encouragement goes a long way. Linda and I need your help in this. We both need wisdom and a gentle hand on our lives. As we reach out, a ‘tinfoil hat’ is definitely not part of our acceptable head gear.
The Father’s love embraces the torn and wounded consistently. This is the key to the healing of a broken heart.
Broken Believers 