A few months ago, I heard of a couple that were going deeper and deeper into debt as their vegetable stall was becoming no longer a viable enterprise as the recession started to take hold in this nation. They then made a pact with each other to commit suicide together by drinking a poisonous substance. The last I heard of it was that the husband had died, and the wife was in a critical condition at hospital. Earlier this week I head of man who had been laid off and he ended up hanging himself leaving behind his wife and two children. My condolences go out to the families of these persons.
Ecclesiastes 9:4-5
4 For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.
5 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
Once you are alive, hope remains. Financial pressures can be devastating, especially for men, who are expected to be the provider for the household. But for a man, when the pressure is on to commit suicide, it is the cowardly and selfish way out. He makes his wife a widow probably with no adequate means to support herself or their children. He also makes his children fatherless, denying them the protection and guidance that he is supposed to provide.
Luke 12:15
15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
Society today is built upon faulty values. It is built upon consumerism, this is deliberate so that businesses can keep you buying and buying in order to keep up with everyone else. Therefore, in order to keep up sometimes loans are taken for non-essential items. However if there is a layoff, loan payments, bills and other commitments start to quickly pile up and induces a feeling of despair and hopelessness.
In order to avoid this, you will need to mentally disengage from this “rat race”. This alone will relieve a tremendous amount of pressure on yourself as well as your family. Don’t be afraid to downgrade services and to dispose of non-essential items. Move at a speed that is safe and comfortable for you and your family. Do not feel obligated to have to prove anything, its simply not worth it.
Matthew 6:25-26
25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what shall ye drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
Hard times can be a blessing in disguise. It brings us face to face with ourselves, when all of the excess is removed. We begin to really see how we evaluate life. How much fortitude do we really have, or were we just here while the good times were rolling. You will begin to realize how much faith you have, if any at all. You begin to realize how dependent you really are upon the Heavenly Father for your provision.
Hebrews 9:27
27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
Do not be fooled, if you deliberately throw this life away, you will not be coming back. Rather because you murdered yourself you will instead find yourself in a place infinitely worse that anything that you could have imagined. This place of torment will have no escape because a spirit cannot die. But in a place of torment you will spend all of eternity. Henceforth suicide is simply not a viable option, rather it is a snare with severe eternal consequences.
John 10:9-10
9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
The World Health Organization estimates that approximately 1 million people die each year from suicide. What drives so many individuals to take their own lives? To those not in the grips of suicidal depression and despair, it’s difficult to understand what drives so many individuals to take their own lives. But a suicidal person is in so much pain that he or she can see no other option.
Suicide is a desperate attempt to escape suffering that has become unbearable. Blinded by feelings of self-loathing, hopelessness, and isolation, a suicidal person can’t see any way of finding relief except through death. But despite their desire for the pain to stop, most suicidal people are deeply conflicted about ending their own lives. They wish there was an alternative to committing suicide, but they just can’t see one.
Rather than contemplating suicide, I recommend that you turn your life over to the Lord Jesus Christ. He is well able to turn around every hopeless situation. Feel free to contact us for help and prayer.