I was sitting down at my computer in my office last night
before a prayer meeting and checked Facebook real quick. What I saw on the screen was a post that simply said “wish
this one was a hoax” and then it had a picture of Robin Williams underneath the
caption. I clicked on the link quickly
and read what happened. I jumped over to
other social media sites, only to see them filled with people paying their respects
to and wishing condolences for the passing of this great comedian and
actor. After my meeting, I went home and
helped my wife get our kids in bed. Once
they were asleep, we sat down and watched some television; me, Amy, and my
mother-in-law (who is here helping us out during the first week of school).
I guess the news channels were feeling overly saturated on
the various pockets of chaos in the Middle East, because every single one of
them was running some type of special on Robin Williams. We decided to watch one of them just to
see some of the things that people were choosing to say about this man and his
passing. They pointed out his career
highs. They pointed out his awards. They pointed out how many generations he had
impacted with his work. As a kid, I grew
up watching Mork and Mindy reruns at
my grandmother’s house as they replayed on Nick at Night. On long car trips, one of the few movies that
I used to watch on the small VHS TV we took with us was Mrs. Doubtfire. When I was a
teenager, Good Will Hunting was one
of the most popular movies. As I got
older, I found myself coming to love movies like Good Morning, Vietnam and Dead
Poets Society. As a parent, my kids
(and wife) know almost every line that Robin Williams’ character Genie has in
the movie Aladdin. There was a part of me (like many other folks
last night and this morning) who felt like they lost a member of their
family. I felt like somehow I had lost a
distant uncle last night; one that had a pretty substantial impact upon my life
and especially my childhood.
However, during the media coverage, they also pointed out
his lows. They pointed out his cocaine
addiction during the 80’s. They pointed
out his sobriety and the strides that he had made in that regard. They pointed out how he had been such an
advocate for seeking help and was even in the midst of a sort of “maintenance”
stent in rehabilitation. They also spoke
of his depression. They spoke of the
darkness that existed within him that sought his destruction, even though all
most people saw was the happy and jovial outside persona. This darkness within him, ultimately, is what
would claim his life.
Now, Williams’ wasn’t an overly religious man. He was raised as an Episcopalian in Chicago
by a devout Christian father and a Christian Scientist mother. Williams would often make jokes about
religion, but always did acknowledge the existence of God. Now, I don’t want to turn this into a
religious discussion right now because that’s not what it should be. This is a tragedy, a tragedy brought on by
mental illness. Mental illness is real
and there is no point in saying that it isn’t.
Having close friends and family members who have struggled with mental
illness, I know that sometimes it isn’t something that can just be overcome
with more effort and more prayer. I know
that there are times when therapy, treatment, and medicine are needed. However, I don’t think that a complete answer
to overcoming mental illness can be found without prayer. I think that many times it’s the right
combination of treatment and faith that gives us the strength to overcome
mental illness.
Now, I’m going to be kind of religious the rest of the
way, so if you don’t want to go down that road then please stop reading and
just remember the man that passed away last night for the brilliant genius
(yes, I know that’s repetitive) that he was.
In Scripture, people who suffered from mental illness were seen as being
possessed by some sort of demonic spirit (for example: Mark 5:1-20).
We see that the power to overcome such spirit comes from God and God
alone. However, I don’t want to focus on
the power to overcome it as much as I do the source of it.
If the source of mental illness in Jesus’ day was demonic
possession, if it found it’s origins in Satan, then why can’t that be the case
today too? Well, the answer (I think) is
that it still is the case. The answer is
that it is sin. Mental illness is a
result of sin. Now I’m not saying that
you did something bad and that God punished you with an illness. That’s a foolish and inaccurate understanding
of how God (and sin) works. No, sin is a
force that seeks to pull us away from God.
Sin is anything that seeks our destruction and separation from God. Sin is a tool of Satan used to drive a wedge between us and our Creator to bring about our demise.
God gave Robin Williams a beautiful gift. He gave him the gift of comedy. It was a gift very similar to the likes of
John Belushi and Chris Farley who went before him. It was a gift similar to what men like Jim
Carrey and Frank Caliendo still enjoy today.
There’s no denying that God gave these men (to various degrees) the
ability to transform themselves into characters that could make us cry with
laughter. It truly is a beautiful
thing. However, the presence of sin
seeks nothing but the destruction of the beautiful things of God. It comes in the form of temptation, drug use,
or even in the form of mental illness.
Now all of this being said, when mental illness comes
about in someone’s life, I’m a huge advocate of seeking help. I’m a huge advocate of seeking professional
attention. I’m a huge advocate of getting
the proper medication when it’s needed.
As a pastor, I’m often called on to counsel people who are going through
emotional problems. One of the great
pieces of advice that I was given some time ago was to never try and work
someone through a problem with mental illness when they need professional
help. It’s like trying to build a house when you don’t know how to, but you know what it’s supposed to look
like. It’s never going to work and the
end result is going to be even more tragic than if you would have done nothing at
all.
However (and this is where many won’t like this whole argument),
I don’t think that one can truly overcome mental illness without God. I think that medicines help. I think that therapy helps. I think that programs help, but I don’t think
that they have the power to overcome it.
If God was the only one with the power to drive out this sin in the Old
Testament, then how could that have changed today? If God is the only one who has the power to
forgive sins, then how could it be any different today? The answer is that it can’t and it hasn’t.
If you know someone who is struggling with mental
illness; get them help. Get them serious
and professional help. However, don’t
neglect the faith aspect of their health either. It’s only when we have the balance proper
treatment and the only One who has the power to overcome sin that we can truly
hope to overcome mental illness.
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