I recently wrote a research paper regarding mental illnesses related to Christianity. Does being a Christian automatically boost, or even cure, your mental health? After much research, it turns out that Christians are more likely to struggle with mental health. Now, most would see those statistics and think, well then what's the point of being a Christian? Wasn’t it supposed to make me happier? Why are we so focused on how it makes us feel following God when it isn’t about us at all. Once you reevaluate your focus on WHY you are following God, it becomes much easier to find satisfaction in doing so. Last night someone said to me, “I do so good when I’m not falling into my struggles but the instant I do, I hate myself.” When was our love for ourselves ever rooted in our successes? Don’t we know that God doesn’t judge us based on our actions? He judges our hearts. The Lord says to Samuel in 1 Samuel 16:7, “People judge by outward appearance but the Lord looks at the heart.” Why do we judge ourselves by a standard that not even God judges us by? Why do we let sin take away our self love? It is not yourself that you should hate, it is sin. In this situation, their heart was in the right place. They hated their sin and they hated that they failed following God. God always knew we were going to fail Him which is the very reason He died for our sins and showed love through that action. If loving yourself even after falling into temptation sounds too difficult for you to do then think of it this way…
I am VERY big on positivity. I truly believe that absolutely everything we go through in life is worth it if it brings even an ounce of positivity into this corrupt and negative world. Therefore, in situations of sin, how can we think positively on something that we can no longer control? If we have fallen into temptation, we can think of how it has now strengthened us. We have now experienced what someone else may be struggling with. We can help others with a struggle that before we may have known nothing about. And most importantly, we can now look at people with less judgmental eyes. When we are struggling ourselves, it is easier to accept others' struggles. What is this called? It’s called GRACE. I read a blog about God’s grace through people and they described an act of grace as, “you don’t nag or react with exasperation when someone forgets something you told them, or that they already told you, because you remember you’re a fallen, faulty creature too.” What Does Grace Look Like? – Bible.org Blogs This is exactly what I am trying to remind you of. Now, don't mistake that for an excuse to struggle. I am not giving you that, I am giving you comfort after the struggle. Because the matter is, we all struggle and we all sin and we cannot hate ourselves every time that we do. That leads to an unsteady relationship with ourselves and a standard set for ourselves that we cannot reach. True love is kind and patient. Does that not sound like God’s love to you? Loving others the way God loves also means loving yourself that way, too.
You’re probably thinking, how does this all tie into mental health? Your love for yourself is 100% mental health. Why do you think that Christians, the preachers of love, struggle more with mental health? We are constantly under attack, we are constantly trying to be more like God. We are constantly striving to love and to accept only healthy love. Imagine trying to constantly be perfect. Imagine the toll that takes on you! Give yourself some grace.
In conclusion, when we struggle (because we will) and even when we fall into the struggle, we have nothing else to do but to look at it in a positive light. Absolutely no good comes out of negative thoughts. Nothing good comes out of hating ourselves every time that we fail God. If you want your mental health to truly get better, start loving yourself and hating the sin. It’s much easier, I promise.
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