Depression, the Natural Consequence of Complainers and the Wicked?
1 Corinthians 10:6-11: “Now these things happened as examples for us that we should not try the Lord as some of them did. Nor complain as some of them also complained and were destroyed by the destroyer.”
1 Thessalonians 5:18 “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the Will of God for you in Christ Jesus.”
Galatians 6:7 “Do not be deceived; God cannot be mocked, for a man reaps what he sows” (NIV)
Psalm 38:6: “I am depressed; I am bowed down beyond measure; I go mourning all the day”
Philippians 2:14–16 “Do all things without murmurings and disputings that he may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.”
In the United States today we have an epidemic of depression. There has probably never been a time where people have had more comforts and options for fun and entertainment. You would think that depression would be at all-time lows. Yet the opposite is true. How can that be?
My observations say that complaining has continued to go up and up. Clearly wickedness has continued to increase. Are these the reasons for this epidemic?
When I was younger, I had depression on-and-off for years. There is no doubt that I did indeed have some bad things come my way that were not my fault. My response was still my responsibility. It is ok to hurt. It’s not ok to hold onto hurts and bitterness. It is not ok to play with revenge in your mind. It is not ok to get an attitude of being simply a victim.
Once I listened to sound advice to let hurts go and move forward, my depression left. If I ever notice it creeping back in, it’s tied to lacking trust in God and a holding onto bitterness. Once those sins are stopped it goes right back away.
Countries with great wickedness are filled with angry and depressed people. It is simply a cause and effect. People who are complainers are almost always miserable people. They are often miserable and not making the most out of their lives.
It’s the people who fight on to find the positives that are free of depression and make the most of the time God gives them. This too is a cause and effect.
God hates complaining. He punishes people for it even. He wants people to give thanks in all things. The more a person fights to do that, the happier and more content they will be. David was depressed when he was living in sin. Should you or I be exempt from something the great King David suffered? God tells us that we will reap what we sow. Numerous passages talk about making judgments based on fruit that is produced.
God made a very complex world that is filled with many cause and effect type of laws. Some are for blessing, and some for cursing. If we want blessing, we must implement the causes that God says will produce blessings. It we put in the causes that God says lead to cursing, we will be punished with those curses (or punishments).
Today, this wisdom is widely lost. It is, furthermore, often taught against. Society loves to tell people to claim the victim card your whole life. The people who do so are miserable and lack productivity. Society loves to teach that right and wrong are all relative. Those who live like this wind up miserable and having wrecked lives.
Accepting our own part in our actions is the place to start. If we repent, those consequences will go away. If we turn to Jesus Christ and seek Him till we find Him as our Life, we will have His life to live out that brings peace, joy, contentment, and righteousness. That is our answer to the epidemic of depression!