Mind of a Christian - Chapter 2

Job had a mental breakdown and that's a good thing

I finished reading the book of Job right before I started writing this, so it's fresh in my mind. It's also been the second time I've read it, with help from a bible study group, the Bible Project's overview video, and a study bible I recently got (although I haven't gotten deep with the notes yet). This is all to say that I didn't feel as lost going into my most recent read-through, and I've gotten a greater appreciation of the scroll.

I recently came across an Instagram post that had one of those feels-good inspirational texts that read like this:

In the Book of Job, he has everything taken from him.
Yet, he didn't waver, he stood strong in his faith.
When it comes to tough times in life let's not give up, but stay grounded in our faith, in the assurance that God is stronger than our problems.

And there were many Amen 🙏🏼's in the comments section.

Okay, look. I don't think that cutesy inspirational bible things are wrong. I remember breaking down crying over Isaiah 1:18 because it emotionally resonated with me at the moment. And I don't think that commenting Amen is inherently wrong either (although I have my reservations).

But I had a good chuckle (i.e. exhaled stronger than usual) when I saw a comment amongst the amen's that said:

Not trying to stir up anything, but Job did lose his mind about a week after his losses. In Job 3 he starts cursing the day he was born.

So here I am to stir up trouble, and make my point: inspirational Christian posts can fall into the error of making everything cutesy and feels-goodish, to the point where they lose touch of the genuine and visceral experiences of trauma and uncertainty in the life of a faithful believer.

This Instagram post is just one example of a larger modern-Western Christian view that things will just be better if you pray and have faith; and that negative feelings like grief and anger are symptoms of an unhealthy spiritual life, as if you don't have enough trust in God, or are not praying hard enough.

This cultural view is not only inconsistent with the Bible, but is also damaging to both believers and non-believers. Invalidating someone's hurt, especially if you justify it spiritually, is universally a scummy move.

I've had multiple people from varying levels of authority discourage me from taking medication for depression, and instead suggested that prayer and faith alone were enough to heal me. It was a slap in the face for me, for them to imply that it was my fault that I was going through a mental health crisis, or that I was not doing enough.

Was it not enough that I went from a hard-core atheist to a hard-core Christian? Was it not enough to pour myself out in serving my church, my college Christian club, and spending an hour everyday reading the Bible as part of a Bible-in-a-year plan? This topic hits close to me, and so, I have great disdain when people perpetuate this superficial form of Christianity.

And I'm here to tell you that Job did waver, and the Bible tells us so! Just like the featured commenter, just take a look at Job 3. Here's verses 9-11 (NASB):

"Let the stars of its twilight be darkened;

Let it wait for light but have none,And let it not see the breaking dawn;Because it did not shut the opening of my mother's womb,Or hide trouble from my eyes.
Why did I not die at birth,Come forth from the womb and expire?"

And here's Job 10:1-3, where Job begins a speech directed towards God:

"I loathe my own life;
I will give full vent to my complaint;
I will speak out of the bitterness of my soul.
I will say to God, 'Do not condemn me;
tell me why You contend with me.'
Is it good for You to oppress,
to despise the work of Your hands,
while You smile on the plans of the wicked?"

I'm also telling you that even so, Job still clung to God. Job isn't abandoning God and renouncing his trust in Him -  even Job's rash and accusatory words towards God is Job's way of seeking Him. We can look at Job 16 to see how Job points his finger towards God for his suffering, but uses that to turn towards God, and not away.

Of course, I invite you to read the whole chapter, but here's 16:12-13 (TLV):

"God has handed me over to the ungodly,
and tossed me into the hands of the wicked.
I was at ease, but He shattered me;
He grabbed me by the neck and crushed me.
He has made me His target;
His archers surround me.
Without mercy He pierces my kidneys
and spills my gall on the ground.
He breaks through against me, breach after breach.
He runs after me like a warrior."

And later on in 16:19-21 (TLV):

"Even now my witness is in heaven,
my advocate is on high.
My intercessor is my friend;
as my eyes pour out tears to God;
he contends with God on behalf of man
as one pleads for a friend."

These are small selections of a long book in the Bible. But, I think that it faithfully represents one thing that the book of Job as a whole is expressing:

Job had everything taken from him. And he did waver. He went through an existential crisis of questioning what God's justice truly meant. Job also did say rash things that he shouldn't have said, and after God confronted him about it, he realized it and repented from it.

But in the end, God commended Job. God honored Job for being honest with his emotions and presenting himself to God about it. In Job 42:8b (NASB), when God was reprimanding Job's friends, He said:

"... My servant Job will pray for you. For I will accept him so that I may not do with you according to your folly, because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has."

And doesn't that feel liberating? It's okay to feel bad. It's okay to be frustrated, or sorrowful, or anxious. The right thing to do is to be honest about it to God and to ourselves. The right thing to do is to let God guide us in processing through it. We still have to temper ourselves and exercise trust in God's judgement, but it's still going to be messy, and that's okay.

That is a healthy way of working through difficulties as a Christian.

Footnotes:

The Bible Project's overview on Job:
https://youtu.be/xQwnH8th_fs