Lately, I was involved in a discussion about whether or not taking anti-depressants is biblical.
Should Christians suffering from major depression or other illness (mental or otherwise) get medical treatment or should they go to the elders of the church to lay hands on them and pray for them? This was the basis for the conversation I was in. It’s not a great question, because it assumes that the two options are opposed to each other.
I think you should do either or both. In 1 Timothy 5:23, Paul tells Timothy to stop drinking water only, but to take some wine also, to help his frequent ailments. Should we be surprised that Paul didn’t tell him to go to the elders of the church or to confess the ongoing sin in his life or that these ailments were the result of the sins of his fathers?
I, for one, am glad for Paul’s practical advice that was probably very beneficial to Timothy, not only for his personal relief, but to better enable him for the service of the Gospel. Was wine a “quick fix” for Timothy? Was it an “easy way out,” or “not addressing the underlying issues?” Maybe we would have said back then that “wine is so overprescribed these days.”
I think that Timothy was able to use wine for medical treatment for the glory of God. And that’s what we should do if we are suffering with major depression and taking anti-depressants.
5 Ways to take prozac for the glory of God:
1) Show kindness to your husband by fulfilling your wifely duties and calling, which you may not have been able to do before.
2) Show kindness to your children by bringing them up in the loving instruction and knowledge of the Lord.
3) Put to death self-righteousness and the delusion that you can do anything apart from God’s mercy.
4) Have more compassion for the suffering, like Christ, who didn’t judge, when he saw the blind man and was asked why he was blind (because of his sins or the sins of his fathers) said, it was neither, but so that the glory of God would be shown.
5) Be a better steward and sharer of the Gospel, now that you have experienced grace upon grace through the death of God’s Son and God’s personal care for you, providing relief of some of your earthly suffering.
Well, with no comments as of yet, I thought I’d add a little to my original post to clarify a few things.
First, I enter the topic with the assumption that anti-depressants are not something that most Christians take lightly. I don’t think there are many Christians proud of the fact that they have to take them. I think most are embarrassed or ashamed or praying for another way out. For these people, I wish to say: view your anti-depressants as a wonderful part of God’s mercy and set yourself to glorifying God in all you do and stop living in shame and fear of the judgment of other Christians; God knows where your heart is before Him.
Second, when I talk about taking anti-depressants, I am also assuming that they are being taken for major depression, not minor depression. Major depression has specific characteristics and criteria that must be met to qualify. Minor depression is something most people suffer from at some point in their life and can be helped a number of ways.
I thought I’d add these points for further consideration.
Abigail
Dear Abigail,
I appreciate your comments.
God’s answer to Paul’s suffering with his “thorn” was grace. God’s grace. God said his grace is all sufficient.
God’s common grace to all of mankind–the rain on the just and unjust alike–is not diminished because He grants it to everyone. It is still God’s grace! Medicine and treatment of illness and disease fall under that common grace and are no less a miracle.
MDViews
I don’t think theres one answer for this……….i think each person needs to pray and find peace for there situation…….
I agree, Alyce. My hope is that people who decide to go on medication for a major depression would feel loved and upheld by the church and body of Christ.
I appreciate your blogging on this topic after the discussion. Though I pretty much totally agree with you on all points here, one thing I think is worth mentioning is that we (meaning myself and those who also take your/this point of view) also need to be sure to extend grace to believers who believe that the laying on of hands is the only viable option for those suffering from any disease…not because we think it’s wise, not because we agree, but because that individual is loved by God and may be won over to our way of thinking/believing about this issue largely by the manner in which we disagree with them.
After this discussion, I talked with my husband a little about it, largely because I found it so energizing and because I don’t blog :), and one thing he pointed out, that I thought was valid was this very thing: I wonder how that mom felt about the way her point of view was responded to? did she feel like it was ok to have a different perspective at our church? or did she feel like she had to be at the same point in her “journey” (for COMPLETE lack of a better word) in order to be embraced and valued at our church?
I think it’s important to defend correct interpretation of the scripture. Having witnessed the discussion, I can say that I think those speaking in opposition to the “laying on of hands” position handled things well, with grace and scripture. However, I think we (preaching mostly to myself, here) still need to examine our hearts. I know for myself, it is easy to think that I am so far ahead in my faith because I believe that I think rightly about topics, when really God is equally or perhaps more concerned that I do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly before Him. Those who disagree with us over this issue are our sisters in Christ, and I’m sure the enemy would love to divide us over such a small, peripheral thing.
Keep on blogging, Abigail! I love the brain exercise!
Jacque Boldt
Abigail, Did you know that Pastor John addressed this? I just happened to see it at Desiring God.
http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/AskPastorJohn/ByTitle/2571_Should_Christians_use_antidepressants/
He seems to give a cautious ‘yes, it’s okay’ to the question.
Hi, Abigail. I wish I could have stayed longer at MOMs that day to hear the full discussion.
Your comments and Jacque’s response are quite interesting to me. I take an SSRI for anxiety, which happened to balloon into something totally out of control after the birth of my son. I was able to go off it for almost 2 years. And then this year I had to go on the SSRI again because I could not get the physical symptoms of anxiety under control.
I would love to get off my meds at some point, because the side effects in and of themselves are a challenge to deal with gracefully. But as you beautifully pointed out in your “5 Ways to take prozac for the glory of God,” being on an SSRI helps me honor my husband and love my child. It does not take away my reliance on the Lord to get through each day; it does not take away all the symptoms of depression or anxiety. Rather, it helps mute the physical symptoms so I can go through the day to try and do the things He has called me to do.
Thank you for your honesty and transparency, Abigail, in your blog–it is a joy to read!
In Him,
Inga