Jeff Iorg Blog
Our hearts go out to Rick and Kay Warren on the death of their son, Matthew. He died this past weekend after a lifelong struggle with mental health issues. Despite the best medical care, spiritual support, and love from this family, Matthew was eventually overwhelmed by his illness. It’s a heartbreaking loss for the Warren family and for all of us who love them and respect their kingdom leadership.
We are particularly sensitive to their loss because we also have a family member who struggles with a mental illness. Your family probably has someone with similar problems – given the prevalence of schizophrenia, manic-depressive, depression, etc. When someone battles these issues, it can be demoralizing to everyone involved. They pray (and are prayed for), go to doctor after doctor, and try different medications – all to no avail. Treating mental illness is often a frustrating trial-and-error process.
If you know someone, or a family, struggling with these issues – what can you do? First, pray for them. That’s a given! Second, avoid presumptive statements about solutions. The situation is complex. If it were simple, believe me, the people involved would have already done it. Third, be patient and provide sustained support to all involved. Mental health issues are usually chronic, requiring long-term solutions. Finally, expect the unexpected – and minister accordingly.
While it’s controversial to some who deny the reality of mental illness, over-spiritualizing these situations is demoralizing to Christian families managing these illnesses. Claiming the problem is purely spiritual, or results from some spiritual malfunction, belittles faith and ignores the medical origin for many of these problems. Why God allows some of his children to suffer like this is a mystery. While we may not fully understand every situation, at least the rest of us can stand firm, showing compassion to the afflicted.
Let’s pray for and stand with the Warrens – and the lesser known families we know who need our encouragement and support.