(Gen 3:17-19 KJV) And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
Despite loving parents, a large affectionate family and many friends… at the age of 20 after 12 years of schooling, 3 years of working and a few years of witnessing and watching newsreel images of starving people, war and the tragic pain of others lives caused by those around them.... I became ashamed of being human. Despite and maybe because of my love for life, the world appeared to me to be a sick and sad place and I wanted no part in it… I wanted to die. Though not believing in God, I actually prayed for death and a way out, I could see no point in having to witness and endure this pain any longer. PAIN has a way of changing our perspective and the more sensitive we are, the more we hurt… So in despair and depression we seek escape - in many forms, the most extreme being immediate self destruction. Somewhere in my desperate soulful moaning that night, I was saved from my painful perspective of the world to find joy in the morning sun, awaking after many tears with a renewed love for life and new hope for the future with the recognition of ‘sins curse’ as the cause of all the worlds problems and its removal, as the ONLY eternal solution.
When writing this passage, I could find no reference to suicide in the ‘Old or the New Testament’… despite the fact that the pages are full of starvation, pain, murder, war and human tragedy. It seems that religious people were happy to afflict their neighbours in self righteousness, yet none inflicted death upon themselves.
This is puzzling to me, especially when in this modern world with so much food, health and wealth… suicide is one of the greatest killers of young men and women, implying that self loathing, pain and unhappiness are now at epidemic proportions…. When we look at despair we see it is a combination of disconnection and disbelief… a loss of relationship (love) and a loss of trust in everyone and everything (faith). Yet in truth, even this, offers more real hope than a bad relationship or trust in what is false.
For so long it appeared to me that 'Jesus' committed suicide… but sacrifice is an act of love, suicide is not. Like so many prophets who spoke true words before him, Jesus was MURDERED for his 'heroic' commitment to what was right and true. Though he could have saved himself, his mission was not one based on self righteousness, self pity, self interest, or worldly profit, his mission was based on a love for life and truth at the expense of himself. Jesus never strapped a bomb to his chest to kill his persecutors in a spiteful act of revenge. He forgave them… for their ignorance. He recognized that “sin” cannot be eliminated by “sin” anymore than fire can be eliminated by fire… For men and women are not the cause of the worlds problems, so killing them or committing suicide is not the solution… it just reduces the population. Humanity is under a curse that blinds us to our ‘sinful’ nature. This cause and the curse can only be lifted by repentance, removal and replacement of our ‘delusional’ nature… with our ‘true’ nature…. the nature of our eternal father, for we are all brothers and sisters when we love and live as children of ONE God.
(Acts 16:27-28 KJV) And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.
SUICIDE