Through the years, whenever I heard of a suicide, I’d wonder how come the person didn’t just remove themselves from their circumstances by moving away rather than killing themselves. Obviously, that kind of thinking is naïve. One can’t run away from internal circumstances.
Generally speaking, it appears that suicide becomes a desirable last resort when no life purpose is seen; when hopelessness clouds the soul and depresses the spirit; when faith is absent; when the thinking is that all will be better at death.
But we tend to think their fate won’t be better. That’s because of the commandment that says, “Thou shall not kill [murder].” That, of course, includes killing oneself.
Recently, Matthew Warren, the youngest son of nationally known author and pastor, Rick Warren, killed himself. Immediately, the question publically arose as to how could such a thing happen within a Christian family.
Surfacing too from the flood of sympathy for the family was the assumptive assertion that Matthew, by his action, had condemned himself to being a lost soul forever.
Can’t say that’s an automatic deal, though. Maybe he is. Maybe he’s not. In this life, we don’t know and won’t know if suicide is a blanket, damnable action until we get to heaven and have all our questions answered. However, I can’t help but have speculative thoughts on the topic.
From what we are sure about, those who don’t believe in and confess Jesus as Lord and Savior are the ones who are condemned.
But what if a professed Christian committed suicide? Well, God certainly knows the heart of that person. Being faithless due to insincerity is one thing. I would think having that faith overcome by not being in the right mind is another.
If that person truly believed in and desired to follow Christ, but succumbed to a mental illness, a chemical imbalance, and/or excruciating pain, I tend to think our Lord would take that into consideration when making His fair judgments.
In cases like these, I’m thinking James 2: 13 would apply. It says, “Mercy triumphs over judgment.”