1. Why it is wrong
2. Why atheists do it
3. How we can understand instances of Christians committing suicide.
Further, I hope to propose a number of ways in which we can live our lives so that both we and those around us are directed away from the sin of suicide.
Starting with the first, then- why is suicide wrong? Let's first eliminate useless approaches to understanding suicide and why it is wrong. From an evolutionary point of view suicide might be seen as either natural (your body decides it's weak and kills itself) or stupid (rebelling against the natural self-preservation instincts imprinted in you). In neither case does evolution make a moral judgment, however (as indeed evolutionists have no grounds to make any moral judgments) and so we know from the start that we cannot explain suicide by non-religious terms. While a psychological assessment of the reasons for suicide might also prove useful, it is increasingly the intention of the psych community to attach all things to evolutionary motives, and so perhaps we might cautiously seek the input of a Christian psychologist, but not likely a worldly one.
The initial reason one might come up with to establish the wrongness of suicide is that life is God's- He gives it and He has the power to take it away. As Psalm 139 says, "For you formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother's womb."(139:13) Psalm 22 likewise says, "Yet You are He who brought me forth from the womb; You made me trust when upon my mother's breasts. Upon You I was cast from birth; You have been my God from my mother's womb." (22:9-10) Clearly then God is active in the creation of each of us- He personally forms us and loves us. Further, in the Creation story in Genesis God names Adam, establishing His authority over him. Also, Paul talks to us about our bodies not being our own in 1 Corinthians 6:19- "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?" Finally, we can infer from the prohibition against murder that we do not have authority over the life or body of others, let alone our own. Since then we can understand from the Bible that we do not have the right to take our own life, we can establish that for that reason suicide is wrong.
A common objection at this point is that many people just can't help committing suicide. Various examples will be cited about, for instance, people who have been diagnosed as chemically unbalanced who, according to our modern doctors, are compelled by their chemistry to end their own lives. As to the chemical vs. mental debate, I have said some in the past and will no doubt say more in the future as to the balance between the mind and the body, but I will avoid that side of things for now. Suffice to say that I do not believe we can excuse sins upon our nature unless it is our very human nature to which we are referring, and for which we are yet accountable.
The second aspect of the objection however is that some people's lives just go so wrong, and they just lose so much or suffer so much that it should be understandable, if not conscionable, for them to end their own lives. This brings up so many controversial cases such as when a loved one is on life-support or in a coma or just suffering terribly over an extended time and wishes for the pain to stop. As to wishing to ease physical pain I can understand that some things are extremely difficult to bear even as Christians who rely upon God for all things. However, we are reminded by the examples of Job and the martyrs that suffering can be born by relying upon God, who is our strength in times of trouble. As for sufferings born in the mind, such as the loss of things or people you love, disappointment, frustration, and the like, I think the same can be said as was for physical suffering- God is our steady rock and our fortress, and He provides for us. The Bible is full of imagery of God providing for His people, even out of nothing (as in the example of manna in the desert). There can be no suffering so great in this world that we should be validated in electing to end it of our own volition. God DOES provide.
The question arises then as to why someone would commit suicide- what would cause someone to fall to the point that they would choose to end their own life? There are a number of reasons, and I will strike one off the list at this point as being a topic for other times: that of religious suicide. The actions, for instance, of suicide-bombers, are incomparable with the actions of a man jumping off a bridge. I will also not engage at this point what we deem as heroic actions- the soldier who throws himself on a grenade to save his comrades; the person who throws another person out of the way of an oncoming vehicle only to be struck themselves. These examples are again not representative, I think, of a purposeful ending of one's life; they are motivated by a desire to save the life of another, as well as a willingness to lose one's own life in the pursuit of doing what is good. In such instances I think we may find useful this verse from Matthew 16: "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it." (Matt. 16:25).
As to why people will choose to willingly end their lives, then, I will make a simple answer: Suicide is simply to be understood as a reaction to the total failure of all one’s gods. This answer will not, I think, be well received by many Christians- or many others for that matter. I would dare to say that this may be because we do not wish to think ill of those who have ended their lives. Suicide is in our modern world a great tragedy, and we often hesitate, if not outright refuse, to identify it as sinful. As well many Christians object that friends of theirs who have attempted or succeeded in committing suicide were otherwise good cheerful God-fearing Christians, and that perhaps life was just too much to bear.
To this objection I have found it useful first to examine the reason one might suppose as to why an atheist (I use the term loosely) might commit suicide. Because atheists have, to whatever extent they’ve convinced themselves, rejected god, they reject the moral law which is accepted by those who believe in and fear God. While most if not all atheists nevertheless adopt the morals of the surrounding society they live in, they lack any strong religious convictions which would strengthen what they view as socially acceptable morals. This is an important point because insofar as an atheist believes he lives by morals by choice, he may also convince himself to forego said morals by choice as well. Therefore, should the situation become so deplorable, there is no spiritual reason why an atheist should not proceed with killing himself.
However what may be taken into account is that all atheists try as they might, do have gods. Their gods may be family members, friends, a spouse, cable TV, or some such other object of creation which is the focus of their hopes. Insofar as all created things are fallen in this sinful world, such gods as an atheist will live his life for tend to be rather unreliable. An atheist wants even less so to turn to God in times of trouble than we as Christians do, and so when an atheist’s god fails, he will simply turn to another. I dare say most atheists have quite a pantheon in their lives at most times, even as many of us are often guilty of serving various created gods instead of the one true God. The distinction here is that eventually an atheist may run out of substantial gods to look to for joy. The amount of time that it will take until this point could be brief or very long- it just depends on how good the person’s life is and how adept they are at replacing old gods with new ones. One might expect therefore that while the majority of atheists are able to live their lives skipping from one god to the next, it is nevertheless more likely that an atheist- or for that matter anyone who puts their trust in a false god- is logically more likely to commit suicide than a devout Christian. This is for obvious reasons- whereas a devout Christian looks forward to the life beyond this one for our greatest reward and therefore does not put too great a stock in the material things of this world, an atheist has no connection to that ultimate Joy.
Since we have established the likelihood and reasons for which an atheist might commit suicide, we can then take a look at suicide among Christians and attempt an understanding of why it might happen. Because we as Christians have been given the knowledge of God’s Love for us and His promise of Salvation, one should expect in ideal conditions that we would be less than likely to give in to depression that leads to suicide. However, we are all fallen human beings and so it is extremely easy for us to lose sight of God and set our sights on created things to glorify them. Suicide might therefore be understood to be no more shocking than any other sin. That is to say, we are sinful and prone to doing all sorts of evil- therefore why would one sin be any less likely than another.
I would argue however that suicide is distinct for a couple of reasons. The first is that suicide is a final act- an attempt on one’s own life is largely irrevocable (except of course for instances where the attempt fails). It might be fairly argued therefore that it is not very easy to show repentance for something which you die from. Secondly, suicide is rarely if ever a spontaneous and unpremeditated action. There is almost always a slow build-up of things that leads to the suicide. Remember, if we accept suicide as a failure of hope in the things of this life which you have stocked your hope in- that is to say, those things which you worship- then it would seem to indicate that whereas a Christian or any individual may seem on the outside to be “normal” and “happy” and otherwise display emotions and actions not indicative of a likelihood towards suicide, it is quite likely that that person has been slowly drifting away from God. We are all of course sinning, as I have said before, on a continuous basis. However, for one to entirely give up on life one must have laid not only the majority of their energy and hopes and dreams on something other than God, but may likely have laid such on anything BUT God. That is, the individual over the course of some time drifted both voluntarily and, to some extent, involuntarily and subconsciously away from God and His promise of salvation. Like all people they sinned- but unlike many they finally gave up. By such a standard then I submit that for a Christian to commit suicide is to attempt at rejecting in as final a way as is possible God, His Grace, Love, Salvation, and Authority.
Let me clarify here however that whereas others think that we Christians judge who will get into Heaven or Hell, I am attempting no such thing. Indeed, there is not a single individual in this world whom we can definitively know to be going either to Hell or Heaven (although we as faithful Christians may certainly have faith in God to save us). Certainly by our human standards we judge people to be good or bad, but as we are all utterly depraved before God it is entirely up to Him to save those whom He will.
Likewise I feel it is necessary to clarify that while we may examine the motives and actions of anything from an exterior view, it is often much less clear from the point of view of the person committing a sin (something I have extensive first-hand knowledge of). In light of this we may certainly feel very sad for someone who has strayed so far from God.
The ultimate point which must be addressed here, however, is not whether suicide is a sin- a terrible sin, even. While it hopefully proves useful for us to better understand the tragedy of suicide, it would be a useless chore to have written this article and not also seek some way to prevent potential future instances, both in my own circle of acquaintances and in those of the people who will read this. With this in mind, I submit that there are an abundance of ways in which we can both encourage ourselves and others to live joyfully in this life in service to God, relying fully upon Him to provide for us and bring us into eternal life when our time here has ended. A number of ways to do this are as follows:
1. Take time out your life, however busy it is, to get to know your close friends as well as possible; to at least show interest and caring to those you sort of know; and to be respectful and exemplary of the fruits of the Spirit to every face you meet. Doing this is both right and good for encouraging others- and in turn you will often find others showing care for you.
2. Keep an eye out for signs of when people are struggling in life- having friends is not just about playing video games and hanging out- deep conversations about life and frustrations are vital to friendship and also establish a deeper level of trust and respect which improves both your lives. Also, I do not mean to watch out for when people seem to be really in danger of doing something bad- if you start then you’ve waited far too long. Rather, engage people and seek to help them in even the smallest struggles.
3. Read the Bible and focus on which verses connect with you the most. I’ve always found that verses dealing with my struggles are especially good to keep close to me as they provide encouragement to me when times are hard and when I fail in resisting sin. Ecclesiastes, the Psalms, and chapters about God’s power (e.g. Isaiah 45, Job 38-42).
4. Talk about God in your life and discussions with others. Bring up His Providence with your friends- it’s usually uncomfortable even among Christians but it shouldn’t be. You’ll find that the more often you acknowledge God’s work in your life, the more you will think about and be aware of God.
5. Accept that physical things are temporary- do not put your treasures on earth, “where moth and rust destroys, and where thieves break in and steal,” but put your treasures- your love and hope- in God.
These are just 5 things which I encourage others, and pray that I myself also may have the strength to do. Most importantly, “trust in the Lord your God with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.” (Prov. 3:5-6)
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