Mental illness is just one of the many manifestations of the consequences of sin. During His proclamation of the TEN COMMANDMENTS from the pinnacles of Mount Sinai, The Creator declared,
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them.” Exodus 20:2-5
In these few sentences, divine decrees, The Great Originator of all life, wealth, sanity, luxuriant health, and happiness, reveal human existence’s sole purpose and objective. To serve, adore, love, and worship The wonderful, all mighty self-existent One. No diversion from this defined goal will be tolerated, overlooked, entertained, or countenanced.
Just in case the full thrust of this revelation was missed, then The Son of God further clarifies:
“And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” John 17:3 (NKJV).
If there is anyone who misses the whole purpose of this unfolding and self-disclosure exercise, we further read:
“For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.” Exodus 20:5-6.
We are instructed in scripture that although originally sane, King Saul was stricken with mental illness when the Holy Spirit left him because of repeated acts of disobedience to God’s revealed will. “The LORD’s spirit left Saul, and an evil spirit sent by the LORD tormented him.” 1 Samuel 16:14. (NKJV).
Saul’s proclivity to self-aggrandizement and self-exaltation didn’t help him before the all-powerful but genuinely condescending God. Who eventually humbled Himself to become like a creature. When Christ, the eternally Self Existent One, clothed Himself with humanity. He chose to become a servant rather than Lord it over His creatures. So that he could serve them and save sinners from the abyss of sin.
What a sharp contrast to Saul and all those who only live to serve and promote their selfish interests.
So when Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul, it was told Samuel, saying, “Saul went to Carmel, and indeed, he set up a monument for himself; and he has gone on around, passed by, and gone down to Gilgal. 1 Samuel 15:12 (NKJV).
Kindly note carefully that the higher Saul sought to place himself in life, the lower down he went in his status. It seems as if we are continually reminded in scripture not to follow the bad example of the first sinner, Lucifer. Who lost God’s special favor and his heavenly position because he foolishly permitted himself to be seduced by pride. He was an exceedingly beautiful angel with many talents, all of which had been gifted to him by The Creator. Yet he deceived himself into thinking that these wonderful gifts belonged to himself. Instead of his heart being filled with gratitude to Christ. He worshipped himself and invited other angels to worship him also.
Scripture clearly describes for our benefit the course of Lucifer’s fall.
“Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor.” Ezekiel 28:17 (NKJV).
The worship of any creature, angels included, is strictly forbidden in scripture.
Now I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things. Then he said to me, “See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.” Revelation 22:8-9 (NKJV).
I don’t claim to know the exact nature or Genesis of Sister Brown’s mental problems, but I do know and understand that they were, nevertheless, real and profound. Nor do I know why she was afflicted in this manner. Her symptoms of withdrawn behavior, emotional apathy, paranoid delusions, fragile ego, grandiose demeanor, disorganized thought, and speech convinced me that she was a Paranoid Schizophrenic.
What exactly, however, was Cain’s problem? His decision to murder his brother, Abel, was also an act of insanity. Although he was never regarded as being mentally ill. Rather, he was categorized as a murderer. Interestingly enough, the Bible makes no special provision for crimes committed by the mentally ill.
“But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man’s brother I will require the life of man. Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God
He made man.” Genesis 9:4-6 (NKJV).
The only way to avoid any kind of insanity is to repent of all sin, turn to God, and render to Him the reverence, worship, service, and obedience that are His due.
The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold,
Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them Your servant is warned, And in keeping them there is great reward. Psalm 19:7-11 (NKJV).
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