Q: How does God feel about antidepressants?
What a great question, I think that it opens a door to the greater conversation around how medical advancements affect/alter human biology and chemistry. First, I do not want to presume on God’s feelings but what follows is a theological position that comes from the study of Scripture and the insight from other theologians. I would encourage you to spend time in prayer and with God’s Word as you reflect on this question. God will reveal his heart to you.
The breakdown:
To be faithful to the question there are two points to address here: 1) how we were created, and 2) how we were born. Dr. Timothy Tennent writes, “We should not equate the phrase, ‘I was born this way’ with the phrase, ‘God made me this way.’”1
This challenging shift of perspective we gain in Christ is that we are our bodies and we are more than our bodies. We are biological beings created in the image of God. In this existence we are spiritual and physical. We can break that down as follows:
This challenging shift of perspective we gain in Christ is that we are our bodies and we are more than our bodies. We are biological beings created in the image of God. In this existence we are spiritual and physical. We can break that down as follows:
- We are our bodies – “I was born this way”
We are born into our bodies. Our bodies have obvious imperfects and imbalances. Were these a part of God’s intention for humans? No. The human body has obvious imbalances/imperfection, every body (everybody) has imperfections that you would think should not exist in an image of God. Tennet goes on to write that “…because of the fall and human sin, we are all born with various inclinations and propensities toward sin and brokenness.”2
We are all born into the consequences of sin. These consequences are manifest in various ways for each of us. One of the prominent ways generational sin (generational in the macro-sense, beyond ancestry, across human history) in what we commonly label as being deficiencies or defects.
- We are more than our bodies – “God made me this way”
As followers of Christ, this should not be a statement of defeat, but a dramatic truth that informs how we see ourselves and others. Scripture tells us that humans are image bearers of God (Genesis 1:26-27). Psalm 8 reaffirms the unique nature and status of humanity. This is what sits at the heart of the message of restoration and healing. That through Jesus we may be restored to the intention of God out of our brokenness and sin. Wholeness in mind, body, and spirit.
When we recognize these distinctions in our being, then we can begin to turn toward Christ for reconciliation. We can recognize the disconnect between how were are created to be, and our present reality. In that disconnect we can either surrender to sin (give in to false desires, conform to sinful patterns of behavior, or embrace the consequences of sin as ‘normal’) or we can lament this brokenness before God and call on the name of Jesus.
Considering those things which lead to the necessity of antidepressants, we find the collision of ‘born this way’ and ‘made this way.’ In the brokenness of sin (the ‘disorder’ of creation), we can find the chemical imbalances of our nervous system which result in a false image or perception of the world or a darkened view of reality which leads to depressive states and suicidal ideation.
Addressing this leads us to confession. In seeking medical help, we confess that something within us is not right, we are out of balance. The confession of depression, the confession of suicidal ideation, the confession of whatever that imbalance may be cannot simply be a horizontal confession, but it must also be a vertical confession. We must come before God and confess our powerlessness and our false views of this world.
In seeking care for our mental health, we must be willing to confess to our health care provider our powerlessness. We must confess to our loved ones that there our perception of the world, of them, and of ourselves is flawed. In that same way we must confess to God that our view of His creation has been wrong. Depression manifests in ways that devalue God’s creation and who He is, we must repent of this. Suicidal ideation is a devaluation of self where we view ourselves as worthless and God created with immeasurable worth.
When we recognize that we are our bodies and we are more than our bodies, addressing our health is about physical, mental, and spiritual wellness. It is about pursuing restoration and living as God intended us to be, not accepting the brokenness of a fallen world as normal.
Considering those things which lead to the necessity of antidepressants, we find the collision of ‘born this way’ and ‘made this way.’ In the brokenness of sin (the ‘disorder’ of creation), we can find the chemical imbalances of our nervous system which result in a false image or perception of the world or a darkened view of reality which leads to depressive states and suicidal ideation.
Addressing this leads us to confession. In seeking medical help, we confess that something within us is not right, we are out of balance. The confession of depression, the confession of suicidal ideation, the confession of whatever that imbalance may be cannot simply be a horizontal confession, but it must also be a vertical confession. We must come before God and confess our powerlessness and our false views of this world.
In seeking care for our mental health, we must be willing to confess to our health care provider our powerlessness. We must confess to our loved ones that there our perception of the world, of them, and of ourselves is flawed. In that same way we must confess to God that our view of His creation has been wrong. Depression manifests in ways that devalue God’s creation and who He is, we must repent of this. Suicidal ideation is a devaluation of self where we view ourselves as worthless and God created with immeasurable worth.
When we recognize that we are our bodies and we are more than our bodies, addressing our health is about physical, mental, and spiritual wellness. It is about pursuing restoration and living as God intended us to be, not accepting the brokenness of a fallen world as normal.
The Bottom Line
Antidepressants address the imbalances of our physical being which result from living in a fallen world. When used with the intent of following Christ, that is emulating Jesus as his disciple, that is being everything we were created to be in accordance with God’s will. Antidepressants can serve as a collaborative action on our part to join the Holy Spirit in the work of restoration.
Full disclosure on this topic, I take antidepressants and have wrestled with this question on a personal level. I had to walk down the path of confession and I have wrestled with the questions of self-image and the role of medications in effecting by body and perceptions. I say all of that so that you can take read this theological position and know that I do have some personal stake in where this lands.
Resources:
Book Recommendation: For the Body: Recovering a Theology of Gender, Sexuality, and the Human Body by Timothy Tennet (AMAZON LINK)
Video Recommendation: Bible Project Video on Isaiah 61 – “What does a restored world look like? The words of Isaiah 61 describe a new creation filled with abundance and ordered by right relationships. In this video, we reflect on the prophet's vision of a new Eden and how it reaffirms God's promises to the people who never lost hope.” (LINK)
Video Recommendation: Bible Project Video on Isaiah 61 – “What does a restored world look like? The words of Isaiah 61 describe a new creation filled with abundance and ordered by right relationships. In this video, we reflect on the prophet's vision of a new Eden and how it reaffirms God's promises to the people who never lost hope.” (LINK)
- Timothy Tennet, For the Body: Recovering a Theology of Gender, Sexuality, and the Human Body, (Grand Rapids MI: Zondervan Publishing, 2020), 31.
- Tennet, For the Body, 32.
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