Depression Is Not a Sin

¹⁵ so that I prefer strangling and death, rather than this body of mine. ¹⁶ I despise my life; I would not live forever. Let me alone; my days have no meaning. (Job 7:15-16)

It is a well-known belief that suicide is an unforgivable sin, and in committing suicide you have then earned a one-way express pass to Hell.

But first…

Let’s define suicide:

Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often carried out as a result of despair, the cause of which is frequently attributed to a mental disorder such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, alcoholism, or drug abuse, as well as stress factors such as financial difficulties, troubles with interpersonal relationships, and bullying. (wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide)

By definition…

Suicide is murder, and we have all learned that God’s Sixth Commandment is that, “Thou shalt not kill”, or simply put, “You shall not murder”. (Exodus 20:13)

Murder is a sin.

And so since you cannot ask for forgiveness after you kill yourself (because you are dead) then that sin is not forgiven by God.

It depends on what you believe of course…

Jesus died for our sins, and so do we then have to ask for forgiveness every time that we mess up, or is His death a one-time blank check that covers everything?

But...

Killing is one of the Commandments.

Let’s look at depression…

Unfortunately for everyone involved, suicide is a real-life possibility for a person battling depression (and other things).

Suicide will indeed end that battle because there is no going back afterwards…

⁸ “Oh, that I might have my request, that God would grant what I hope for, ⁹ that God would be willing to crush me, to let loose his hand and cut off my life! ¹⁰ Then I would still have this consolation— my joy in unrelenting pain— that I had not denied the words of the Holy One. (Job 6:8-10)

But is that the correct path to follow?

Depression is not a sin. Suicide is one of the outcomes of depression. Since there is a direct link of cause and effect by the two parts; by default, suicide cannot be a sin.

Regardless if you call it murder…

God wouldn’t allow it, as part of His plan, to give you something like depression and then punish you for taking one of the possible choices.

²⁰ If I have sinned, what have I done to you, you who see everything we do? Why have you made me your target? Have I become a burden to you? ²¹ Why do you not pardon my offenses and forgive my sins? For I will soon lie down in the dust; you will search for me, but I will be no more. (Job 7:20-21)

Sure…

I’ll agree that God tests all of us, but He doesn’t play mean tricks on us.

Suicide makes the “Top Ten” list of deaths in the United States, but what does the Bible actually say specifically about suicide?

Not a whole lot…

But there are a few examples like these two here…

³ When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. ⁴ “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.” “What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.” ⁵ So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself. (Matthew 27:3-5)

AND...

² The Philistines were in hot pursuit of Saul and his sons, and they killed his sons Jonathan, Abinadab and Malki-Shua. ³ The fighting grew fierce around Saul, and when the archers overtook him, they wounded him critically. ⁴ Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run me through, or these uncircumcised fellows will come and run me through and abuse me.” But his armor-bearer was terrified and would not do it; so Saul took his own sword and fell on it. ⁵ When the armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his sword and died with him. (1 Samuel 31:2-5)

But…

We don’t know anything more, like where did they spend eternity after they committed suicide?

The truth is that the Bible doesn’t address suicide because it wasn’t as “big” as it is today.

Meaning…

The population was smaller, people didn’t understand it, didn’t report it, conditions of life were harder, people didn’t live as long, etc., etc.

We don’t know what the suicide rate was 2,000 years ago, but we know that it happened.

Is suicide a sin? Is it murder?

That’s up to you and your own thoughts and beliefs.

But consider this…

A soldier who jumps on a live grenade to save their unit is considered brave and used self-sacrifice to save the people around them.

Not suicide…

Even though by all definitions of the word…

That solider committed suicide.

Is there a difference between self-sacrifice and suicide? And don’t say that the difference is depression. How do we know that the soldier didn’t have some sort of depression?

I know a few people who openly talk about their depression, including one person who is very close to me. I know for a fact that if that person was successful in their suicide attempt, that in their mind, it would be more of an act of self-sacrifice than suicide.

Why?

Because they honestly believe that the world would be better without them, and to die would save us all from having to deal with them any longer. They believe that they would be doing us a favor by dying.

If that isn’t an argument for self-sacrifice, then I don’t know what is.

Most of the world (including the big religions) do not consider selfless acts of bravery as suicide or murder (as long as there is only one person involved).

In conclusion…

Depression is not a sin.

Suicide (depending on your beliefs and views) may or may not be a sin.

And my personal belief…

I don’t care if it’s a sin or not, because I believe that most sins can be forgiven; including suicide. Why? Because I believe that if you are to the point where death is the only answer, and you cannot find any other way out; then you already have a relationship with the Lord, and He knows your struggle and has already forgiven you before death comes.

Of course…I always hope that there is another solution.