Depression is not a sin.

God does not say, “Be happy always! I say it again: Be happy!” Jesus promised the opposite: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

Depression is not a sin.

Sorrow is not a transgression. Feeling down is not evil. Depression is an effect of sin. It is the result of living in a world broken away from God so that even the chemicals in our own brains often conspire against us. All creation groans under the weight, and our own minds are part of that creation.

Jesus himself was familiar with sorrow. We know that there is no sin in Jesus. I don’t think it’s a leap outside of Scripture to then say that sorrow is not a sin.

However, depression can lead to sin.

For some, it leads to a rejection of trusting God’s promises. A friend of mine who struggled with depression said he hated God. He knew that Jesus had promised trouble, and he was tired of the trouble he had. He was convinced that only bad things would happen until he was brought to heaven, solely by grace. His depression led him to claim that God connived to make his life terrible.

You might point out that his trusting that Jesus died for him and at the same time believing that God connived against him is hardly a logical position. You’d be right. But depression isn’t always logical.

You might be reminded of Job in my friend’s reaction, but we’re told that Job didn’t sin in his reaction to his troubles. I wouldn’t be surprised if Job suffered depression based on his circumstances, but at least in this way it appears Job didn’t sin.

Depression often leads to thinking less of God’s creation. David cried out, “You knit me together in my mother’s womb!” A person with depression might say, “I am nothing.” Either that, or they may look at that verse and agree that God gave them a great gift, but they’ve ruined it. Doing so leads even deeper into depression. “I am not worthy” is a refrain I am very familiar with. And it doesn’t lead to the awe of saying, “And God loves me?!” but rather, “God can’t love me. And if he does, he’s insane.”

Rich Mullins sums up the thought well: “I grew up hearing everyone tell me ‘God loves you’. I would say big deal, God loves everybody. That don’t make me special! That just proves that God ain’t got no taste.”

“I am not good enough” repeats over and over again. And when that voice screams, “If you were good enough…” saying that God loves you feels like getting a consolation prize. It’s not a good feeling. It only reminds you of how you are not worthy. Depression has led to the sins of despising God’s undeserved love and devaluing the self.

And yet that love is exactly what the person with depression needs. Rich Mullins finishes his statement by saying, “And, I don’t think He does [have good taste]. Thank God! Because He takes the junk of our lives and makes the most beautiful art.” We’ll address how to respond to depression in self and others in a more concrete way soon, but the person with depression needs so, so much Gospel.

You need so, so much Gospel.

Yeah. Me, too.

Jesus knew me.

One picture that continues to break my stony heart goes like this: Jesus knew me. He knew the secrets. He knew those things I have never told anyone else. Those things that I know would destroy my ministry, my family, my life. Jesus knew all those things. He didn’t gloss over them. He looked at them oh so very carefully. And then he said, “I choose to love you. I choose to die for you.” For this reason, one of my favorite verses remains, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) While I still believe the lies of my depression, Christ loves me. While I still tell God he is a liar, he loves me. While I think I am nothing, Jesus transforms me and makes me something. Here is grace that breaks my heart.

And yet the depression that is not a sin may lead me to believe lies. Another lie that depression may lead me to believe says, “Your internal hurt is better on the outside.” I suspect that if you have never known someone who has intentionally hurt themselves, it is because they have been afraid to tell you. And now you do know one: I was a cutter. I used a razor to intentionally hurt myself. I did this many years ago in high school. And if this idea is foreign to you, praise God that you have never struggled with the thought. What happens is that the pain inside is so great, causing pain to the outside of your body actually lessens suffering. It focuses pain into one spot on the body. Yes, you’re right. It’s not logical. Depression is not logical.

Depression leads me to believe a lie: It is good to intentionally harm the body that God has given me. But the fifth commandment, “You shall not murder” reveals that this destructive lie is a sin. It cannot be healed with more law. You tell me that it’s wrong and even stupid to hurt myself, you feed the lies. You’re telling me again I’m not good enough. You’re telling me that the lies I believe are true.

How do you overcome those lies?

Someone broken by depression needs love. Not shallow love. Not love that looks away. Love that is not afraid to look at the wounds and say, “I love you still. And what’s more, Jesus loves you still.” Again, we’ll get more into how to respond later, but the person struggling with depression desperately needs to hear the Gospel.

Another lie that depression might lead me to believe says, “The light has ended. My life will never get better. It would be best for me and for those I love if I died.” I am thankful that though I was a cutter, I never considered suicide.

Suicide and Depression

I suspect you know someone who has at least attempted suicide. I do have good news: Just because someone has depression, it doesn’t mean they’re suicidal. Nearly 7% of the population in the US has depression. “Only” about 0.5% of the population attempts suicide. (It should be noted that numbers for teen suicide attempts are dramatically higher; in 2015, 8.6% of high schoolers self-reported a suicide attempt.)

Suicide is a serious sin that says that God’s gift of life is waste. It is murder. Depression may lead someone to believe the lie, though. And what then? How do you talk to someone that has attempted suicide? Again, this person needs Gospel so much. They need to know that Jesus loves them, broken as they are. They need to know that Jesus forgives even the sin of a suicide attempt. (And please, please help them get professional help! You are not called to save them!)

And remember this as well: