ANOTHER PASTOR COMMITS SUICIDE - IS SUICIDE A DEATH OF FAITH?

Another Pastor Commits Suicide

Is Suicide A Death Of Faith?

It saddens me to see people so broken that they decide to end their own lives and I offer prayers to their family and friends. Many Pastors with great followings are, in my estimation setting a dangerous example to their congregants and believers at large by committing suicide and not choosing to fight the good fight and endure to end.

One of the leading reasons for suicide is betrayal. Whenever someone you love, trusted and have shared your heart with betrays you it brings about deep and painful feelings. 

Unfortunately many people are unable to cope with that type of pain. I know the pressure that pastors face, I have faced it. I pastored a congregation that left me after I discovered that my wife was unfaithful and divorced her because of her infidelity and over 80 percent of them walked away from me even though I was a victim. That was a very dark and painful time for me. Although I was broken thankfully I never struggled with the thought of suicide but I realize that there are many who do. I pray that this blog will bless you with enough insight to know that God should be the master of your birth, life and death. David in Psalm 55 described his pain and desire to leave this world after his friend turned on him.

Psalm 55:12-13For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him: But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance.

Suicide is a choice, a decision to take control of one’s own destiny by choosing death over life. Neither one of us choose the day that we were born and judging from the scriptures that I have researched we have not been granted the right to choose the day we die. Whenever a person chooses the day of their death, by committing suicide they show a lack of trust in God by controlling their own future. Job was very sick as well as having lost children, wife and wealth. One would think that he had a good enough reason to end it all but Job’s reply was

Job 1:21 And said, Naked (without choice) came I out of my mother's womb, and naked  (without choice) shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.

Blessed be the name of the Lord. Job choose to wait on God and not take matters into his own hands even though sickness and despair was his daily bread but in waiting Job “blessed the name of the Lord”.

It is required of the believer to be faithful onto death Revelation 2:10 not decide his death. The prophet Elijah was so depressed after Jezebel threatened to kill him that he wanted to die and requested that God would take him I Kings 19:1-14 and God did 2 Kings 2:11 but he never attempted suicide. Job wanted to die because of his sickness but never attempted to kill himself.

IN THE BIBLE SUICIDE WAS COMMITTED BY SINNERS

There are a few accounts of suicide in the Bible and they were not favorable to those who support Christian suicide seeing that every example of suicide is the bible was by nonbelievers.

1.     King Saul (1 Samuel 31:2-5) He disobeyed God

2.     Judas (Matthew 27:3-5) He betrayed Jesus

3.     Abimelech (Judges 9:50-54) He was a sinner

4.     Samson (Judges 16:23-31) He was broken but prayed for death was answered with a sign of his hair growing back. I believe God permitted his death because killing the Philistines was apart of his mission

5.     Ahithophel (2 Samuel 17:23) He betrayed David

6.     Zimri (1 Kings 16:15-20) He was wicked

Zimri’s Death is very telling - 1 King 16:18-19

And it came to pass, when Zimri saw that the city was taken, that he went into the palace of the king's house, and burnt the king's house over him with fire, and died,

For his sins which he sinned in doing evil in the sight of the LORD, in walking in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin which he did, to make Israel to sin.

Pastor Commits Suicide