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christian counseling today
Vol. 21 no. 2
I
have lived a long time. Most of
my years have either been spent
as a child raised in a pastor’s
home, as a pastor, or as pastor-to-
pastors at Focus on the Family. Now,
new to my resume, is the title of Lead
Pastor at Friendship Church in Palm
Desert, California. In those many years
of serving the Church, I have seen
some terrible things. None worse, in
many respects, than when a person
within a congregation, through a self-
ish act, takes it upon himself or herself
to commit suicide… thinking that it
would alleviate pain, suffering, and
mistreatment.
A wonderful lady who worked for
me some time ago comes to mind. One
afternoon she decided that her loneli-
ness and frustration were just too much
to continue living, so she ended her
life by overdosing. It was a needless
act of self-suffering but, nevertheless,
life had become too difficult for her to
continue. I also remember a friend of
mine who pastored a major church in
the Northeast who, either because of
guilt or unknown pressures, left his wife
and family behind through suicide. It
was impossible to understand because
no one, even those closest to him, could
feel what he must have been feeling.
A few months ago, I sat next to
a lovely lady at a pastors’ event and
noticed her looking at a picture in her
wallet. I saw the image of a handsome,
young man in his 20s. I asked her about
the picture and soon learned that he just
could not stand to suffer any longer and
lost his battle with drugs.
The first time I encountered an
attempted suicide was in Whittier,
California. It was my first church. I
befriended a young man who had expe-
rienced bullying from schoolmates and
abuse from an alcoholic stepfather. I
tried, but failed in my efforts to find an
answer for this young man. He used a
gun in his attempt at suicide, but missed
the “death spot” and lived in blindness
and bitterness for the rest of his life.
The Christian View of Suicide
I know the drill… that the Bible identi-
fies seven instances where people took
their own lives. Unfortunately, I have
officiated memorial services for those
who have, in a moment of desperation,
done the same. I have wept with those
Can the Church have a
Compassionate View of Suicide?
«
H.B . London, Jr ., D.D.
the word applied