HOW CAN THE CHURCH DEAL WITH DEPRESSION?

With all the problems that inflict the church of Jesus Christ the one that is perhaps least understood is depression. Unfortunately, the responses to depression often do more damage than good. Depression is an outward indicator of a fragile state of mind. Heavy handed approaches that are used against sin actually send the depressed person reeling further into their dark prison. The church must talk through the issue of depression so that she will be better able to minister to those who are locked in its eerie chambers.

So what exactly am I talking about when I talk of depression?

It must first be stated that not everyone who is depressed suffers from depression. One is a transitory emotional reaction, the other is a condition of the mind. That certain people suffer from this chronic form of depression or melancholy cannot be denied. The questions for the church to answer are not whether or not depression really exists, or even how to cure it. The only question the church need ask—a question it must ask for any perplexing issue— is how to deal with it in grace? This requires that the church first analyze the nature of this perplexing issue. Is depression a direct result of one’s sin and/or is it the collateral damage inflicted upon a declining culture? A fruit tree may die because it has a fungus residing in its own roots or it may die because the entire grove has been exposed to unhealthy weather patterns. As societies sink more and more into rebellious patterns against God, the instances of behavioral aberrances increase. Depression may be one such example of a corporate symptom that inflicts faltering cultures. To be sure it does not affect all equally, but as a culture moves farther and farther away from God the affected numbers seem to increase accordingly. Once the church understands that depression is an unfortunate condition that comes with a morally declining culture she is then prepared to minister to those who suffer from it with a informed degree of compassion. So is depression the result of sin? Yes, it is. There will be no depression in the perfect world to come. But is it a direct sinful act that should be handled with admonition and/or rebuke? In most cases, no.

How then is depression to be handled by the church? The short answer is with an infinite amount of grace. Like many who struggle with same sex attraction or other societal deviances, depression is not to be viewed as something that is the direct result of any particular choice or transgression. It may well be that many who suffer chronic depression were born with a propensity to suffer from it. Often the seeds of depression lie hidden for many years and only manifest themselves later in life when tough circumstances arise later in life. This is why many who suffer melancholy do not recognize it in their childhood and only begin to suffer from it when the pressures of life mount. Such is the case of Job. There is no indication that this man suffered from depression early in his life as the blessings of the Lord fell upon him like a summer rain. But when trials rolled over him one after another, he suddenly became a man desiring to die (Job chapter 3). Job was sullenly and suddenly depressed. The book of Job has many applications. One of those applications is to help the church know how NOT to help those suffering from depression. This negative model is seen in the three friends who come around Job to comfort him. At first they also wept openly for him and sat quietly with him for seven days (Job 2:11-13). This was a good and holy response to their suffering friend. Had they continued to sit with their friend, the book would have never been written. But after sitting with Job for seven days they begin to open their mouths. They go right after his suffering mind. They challenge his devotion to God, his alleged secret sins, and his propensity to self-righteousness. To be sure, Job is partially guilty of all three. This is supported by the fact that at times he begins to openly complain and challenge God (Job 9:22-24; 23:2-7) and even defends his righteousness (Job 27:5-6). These outbursts of self-defense show that Job as a depressed man is not innocent. However his three friends exacerbate his failings by their continual picking at his delicate sensitivities. Job proves worthy of his reputation as a godly man by his continual trust in God (13:15). And in a certain sense his trust is accentuated by his depression because his depression has made him weak. Job’s overall response foreshadows another eminent servant of God who will one day say, “When I am weak then I am strong.” All in all, Job is neither fully innocent nor fully guilty. He is simply a man struggling with depression who needs a certain kind of care from other struggling human beings. All the mistakes made in the book are intended to instruct the church how to deal with this perplexing condition.

So how then should the church of God respond to depressed people? Let the book speak to us.

1. First, one should never use words like ‘should’ or ‘ought to’ to a depressed person. These are legal words that only make a helpless person feel more helpless. If law injures people who are generally happy and well adjusted, think of the damage it might do to a depressed person. You can tell a man with no arms to play catch all day long but the command will only make him feel worse. So it is when you tell a depressed person things like, ‘you ought to think of happy things,’ ‘just snap out of it’, ‘search your heart for secret sins’ or ‘eat better and get more exercise.’

2. When people are going through severe depression the best comfort is often a non-verbal gesture, like a hug, or sitting next to the hurting person and saying nothing, or giving the suffering person a look of compassion and care. The best thing that Job’s counselors did in the story was to silently sit with Job for seven days. The minute they opened their mouths, things got worse.

3. Provide practical help for the one going through severe depression. Depression makes every molehill look at a mountain and every minor task like a major project. When David was fleeing from Saul (1 Samuel chapter 20) he was so depressed that he was convinced he would die despite the fact he had been anointed king and been promised the throne by God. He pleads for help from Jonathan saying, “Truly as the Lord lives… there is but a step between me and death.” Instead of challenging David’s foolish fears or charging him with sin, as Job’s counselors did, Jonathan devised a plan to help David whereby he would discern the intent of Saul and communicate that intent to his suffering friend. Running this kind of interference no doubt comforted David greatly and enabled him to cope during a very difficult time of life. A depressed mom can benefit greatly from some help babysitting, cleaning house or shopping. Doing small tasks for someone imprisoned in the dungeon of depression helps them greatly. Good comforters find practical ways to bring a light into the life of those who see only black clouds.

4. Bring the depressed person into a thriving, accepting community. Often depressed persons act as if they want to be alone. In reality that is rarely what they need. They are often lonely but are afraid of being accepted so they stay away. What they need is a group of people who will unconditionally love them, not merely tolerate them. Depressed people are sensitive and if they feel they are a burden to the group or are treated like a reclamation project they will shy away even more. Depressed people should be wooed into groups where they will find unconditional acceptance. Being part of something that is bigger than the individual is good medicine for someone who focuses on self way too often.

5. Play an active role as an encourager. It is difficult to encourage a person over and over again especially to those who easily dismiss the encouragement. Depressed people often downplay encouraging remarks. They are in a dark cloud and even positive things seem dark to them. But this should not fool you. Encouragements are always registered in the mind and often come back later on as lights in the memory that can help cheer the one living in the dark. The depressed person often remembers past encouragements and may begin to think, “Maybe I am not so useless after all.” This could be the first step of dragging them out of a deep hole.

For reasons that cannot be wholly understood, depression is alive and well in the church of God. Perhaps this is due to the fact that Christians are generally introspective about their sins and the inward look often exacerbates depressed tendencies. Whatever the reason that depression is so prevalent in the church of God, the fact is that the church must learn to deal with it and help those who are engulfed by it. The book of Job helps us toward that goal. May we be a church that gently brings those that are in darkness back into the light of gospel where they can flourish.