There was a time in the past when Christians didn’t know how to handle mental illness and addictions. People were made to feel ashamed and swept under the rug like they were the dirty little secrets in the church’s closet. Mental illness and addictions are very real. There is no denying that. But now I think we’ve swung the pendulum too far in the opposite direction. It seems like EVERYONE I talk to who is struggling spiritually is either an addict or is suffering from a mental disorder of some sort.
There are days when I delay getting dressed and getting the day started for too long and I begin to feel my countenance drop. That day may spark a nasty cycle where one day turns into two and then into three. Because of that first day when things were left undone, it compounds from there on out - making in increasingly difficult to get back on top of things. Soon, I feel overwhelmed and unsure as to how to best get back on track.
"Despite their desires, the lazy will come to ruin, for their hands refuse to work." Proverbs 21:25
There have been things in my life that I have done that I knew were wrong but continued doing because I received either a physical or emotional payoff. And because I did these things repetitively, I began to rely on them.
“Don't you know that if you offer to be someone's slave, you must obey that master? Either your master is sin, or your master is obedience. Letting sin be your master leads to death. Letting obedience be your master leads to God's approval.” Romans 6:16
My husband works as a chaplain on death row and several times a week has in depth conversations with men who have done some of the most heinous and horrific things you can imagine. It’s easy to just say they are all crazy. But honestly, some of them are completely sane - just filled with evil.
“For the law was not intended for people who do what is right. It is for people who are lawless and rebellious, who are ungodly and sinful, who consider nothing sacred and defile what is holy, who kill their father or mother or commit other murders.” 1 Timothy 1:9
Not every person who refuses to get out of bed, lacks the energy to live abundantly or the will to persevere the normal trials of day to day life is bipolar or clinically depressed. Sometimes these symptoms are just the byproducts of laziness or the inability to face the reality of the issues that are facing them.
Not every person who keeps on drinking, doing drugs, looking at porn, eating, shopping, (or whatever other vices you can fill in here) despite knowing it’s wrong is an addict who can not quit. Sometimes these things just feel good and it’s easier to say and believe that you can’t stop than it is to deny yourself.
Sometimes people just do things because Satan convinces them it’s o.k. Sometimes people do evil things because they don’t care if it’s o.k. or not. And sometimes people do evil things because it’s just a lot easier to give in to your sinful desires than it is to fight them.
Being a happy, healthy person requires you to take up your cross and deny yourself on a daily basis. It seems like that makes no sense, but it’s true. The more you fight the urge to obey your flesh and choose to walk in the Spirit, the more freedom and joy will fill your life. Your shortcomings seem to lessen. Your problems seem to not seem as devastating. And your desire to do bad things can be replaced with desires to serve God and serve other people with a happy heart.
So before you chalk yourself up to just being crazy, take an honest inventory of your heart and make sure that you’re not just being lazy.
There are days when I delay getting dressed and getting the day started for too long and I begin to feel my countenance drop. That day may spark a nasty cycle where one day turns into two and then into three. Because of that first day when things were left undone, it compounds from there on out - making in increasingly difficult to get back on top of things. Soon, I feel overwhelmed and unsure as to how to best get back on track.
"Despite their desires, the lazy will come to ruin, for their hands refuse to work." Proverbs 21:25
There have been things in my life that I have done that I knew were wrong but continued doing because I received either a physical or emotional payoff. And because I did these things repetitively, I began to rely on them.
“Don't you know that if you offer to be someone's slave, you must obey that master? Either your master is sin, or your master is obedience. Letting sin be your master leads to death. Letting obedience be your master leads to God's approval.” Romans 6:16
My husband works as a chaplain on death row and several times a week has in depth conversations with men who have done some of the most heinous and horrific things you can imagine. It’s easy to just say they are all crazy. But honestly, some of them are completely sane - just filled with evil.
“For the law was not intended for people who do what is right. It is for people who are lawless and rebellious, who are ungodly and sinful, who consider nothing sacred and defile what is holy, who kill their father or mother or commit other murders.” 1 Timothy 1:9
Not every person who refuses to get out of bed, lacks the energy to live abundantly or the will to persevere the normal trials of day to day life is bipolar or clinically depressed. Sometimes these symptoms are just the byproducts of laziness or the inability to face the reality of the issues that are facing them.
Not every person who keeps on drinking, doing drugs, looking at porn, eating, shopping, (or whatever other vices you can fill in here) despite knowing it’s wrong is an addict who can not quit. Sometimes these things just feel good and it’s easier to say and believe that you can’t stop than it is to deny yourself.
Sometimes people just do things because Satan convinces them it’s o.k. Sometimes people do evil things because they don’t care if it’s o.k. or not. And sometimes people do evil things because it’s just a lot easier to give in to your sinful desires than it is to fight them.
Being a happy, healthy person requires you to take up your cross and deny yourself on a daily basis. It seems like that makes no sense, but it’s true. The more you fight the urge to obey your flesh and choose to walk in the Spirit, the more freedom and joy will fill your life. Your shortcomings seem to lessen. Your problems seem to not seem as devastating. And your desire to do bad things can be replaced with desires to serve God and serve other people with a happy heart.
So before you chalk yourself up to just being crazy, take an honest inventory of your heart and make sure that you’re not just being lazy.
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