Still No Apologies

Suicide and Salvation

One of my friends came up to me a few years back, and asked me, "I saw this article that said there is a special place in heaven for people who killed themselves."

I felt kind of awkward at the moment, because I highly doubt that is true. I have never heard of any such Bible verse, and I do not think God would do that because that would encourage suicide. Even more importantly, to get to heaven in the first place (suicidal or not), you have to accept Jesus as your Savior. I asked my friend for the article so I could try to understand its reasoning. Unfortunately she couldn't find it.

While I see no biblical reason to believe people who die by suicide have reserved themselves a special place in heaven, I have no biblical reason to believe that death by suicide condemns one to hell.

But where in the Bible did people ever get this idea from? The answer is nowhere. They made it up. My guess is that people come up with false biblical teachings such as this to discourage suicide by making the suffering person so fearful of hell that they don't want to end their life anymore. On top of that, I think it may be intuitive for some people since they have heard this old wive's tale so many times. Regardless, I don't think it is helpful to lie about the Bible or to scare depressed people.

I do believe suicide is a sin. The Bible does say, "Thou shalt not murder." Suicide is the murder of oneself. But since when does a sin cause someone to lose their salvation? If that was the case, I (for one) would be doomed!

You cannot lose your salvation. Romans 8:38-39 says "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

I in no way intend to make people more inclined to kill themselves. I have been seeing a lot of foolish talk regarding suicide lately. It is well-meaning, but very bad. For an example: "Suicide happens not when a person gives up, but when they run out of strength to go on any further."

So basically, that meme is saying suicide is not a choice, and once you reach a certain point, you can't help but kill yourself! How is that helpful and encouraging to people suffering from mental illness? What about the people who attempted, but did not succeed? Obviously they thought they were at the end, but ended up with enough strength after all. Thinking suicide is not a choice only makes the relatives of the already dead feel better about their lost loved one. It really is harmful to people struggling with suicidal feelings and actions. Suicide is a choice. It does not happen by osmosis.

At the same time, I would never say someone who committed suicide is weak. That would be very judgmental and ignorant of me. I have not gone through what that person has. For all I know, he or she could be much stronger than I am!

If you are struggling with wanting to kill yourself, you can talk to me at any time. I will pray for you, and I will encourage you. I know you CAN get through this. You know how I know? Because God says you can.

1 Corinthians 10:13- "There hath no temptation taken hold of you but such as is common to man. But God is faithful; He will not suffer you to be tempted beyond that which ye are able to bear, but with the temptation will also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."

I also know from personal experience that a lot can change in a short amount of time. In high school, I was anxious, delusional, hallucinating, and suffering from OCD. For months on end I was so dissociated it felt like my soul was outside my body. I couldn't walk normally, or even talk in a way that made sense. And I believed that it was going to last forever and it would only get worse.

I was never depressed, but my vision of my future was dark and lonely. Now, I am recovered and have finished college. I no longer think the government is after me (well...) and my hallucinations are rare and mild. I'm still anxious, and maybe my symptoms will come back. But even if they do, and even if they get worse, my reason to live is anchored in a purpose... to bring glory to God and help people made in the image of God. That gives me a reason to live.

God bless you all! Remember, He loves you. The Creator of the universe understands everything about you... He knows every mistake you made and every sin you committed, and yet He still  wants you to accept Him so you can be with Him forever.