Suicide: Despair and Decisions
"Japanese suicide rate is the highest in the world. Recently a group of nine people in their 20s and 30s committed suicide in Saitama prefecture. Such suicide pacts are now common in Japan.
Source: Overseas Missionary Fellowship"
I wish that I could say that suicide is unknown in America, but that is not the case. The New York Times called suicide the second biggest cause of death on college/university campuses (http://www-tech.mit.edu/V124/N58/long3_58.58w.html).
For years as a highschool and college teen I regular thought through ways I could kill myself and make it seem like an accident. It was all very matter-of-fact. It seemed logical that killing myself would solve my problems. No more feeling stupid or wondering what my value was. No more loneliness. Death seemed like a place of peace.
Obviously, I never did kill myself.
There were two things that kept me alive. One was that I didn't want to upset my family. I thought for certain that I was of little importance, and my death wouldn't mean much, but I knew that my parents at least would cry and be unhappy.
Beyond that I've always believed that God has a purpose for every person. He has something for me to do. I didn't want to screw God's plan up for Him, so I never followed through with my plan. Granted, my thinking was a little doctrinally off. I can't really mess things up for God, but there is a rock solid truth that stood between me and suicide: God made me for a reason. As long as I am alive, He has a reason for me to be alive.
I remember one day when I was about 20 that I realized that I didn't feel like dying any more. It just hit me out of the clear blue sky. I'll never forget that day, though it was unremarkable in every other way.
As simple as it sounds, the good news of Jesus Christ, is the strongest weapon to prevent suicide, because it is a message of hope. I can only hope and pray that the message of the Gospel gets to these places of despair, before many more make life ending decisions.
Adam Parmenter
P.S. Sojourn has some cool songs about hope. Check'em out when you get a chance:
Hope In The Presence of God
There Is Hope
Source: Overseas Missionary Fellowship"
I wish that I could say that suicide is unknown in America, but that is not the case. The New York Times called suicide the second biggest cause of death on college/university campuses (http://www-tech.mit.edu/V124/N58/long3_58.58w.html).
For years as a highschool and college teen I regular thought through ways I could kill myself and make it seem like an accident. It was all very matter-of-fact. It seemed logical that killing myself would solve my problems. No more feeling stupid or wondering what my value was. No more loneliness. Death seemed like a place of peace.
Obviously, I never did kill myself.
There were two things that kept me alive. One was that I didn't want to upset my family. I thought for certain that I was of little importance, and my death wouldn't mean much, but I knew that my parents at least would cry and be unhappy.
Beyond that I've always believed that God has a purpose for every person. He has something for me to do. I didn't want to screw God's plan up for Him, so I never followed through with my plan. Granted, my thinking was a little doctrinally off. I can't really mess things up for God, but there is a rock solid truth that stood between me and suicide: God made me for a reason. As long as I am alive, He has a reason for me to be alive.
I remember one day when I was about 20 that I realized that I didn't feel like dying any more. It just hit me out of the clear blue sky. I'll never forget that day, though it was unremarkable in every other way.
As simple as it sounds, the good news of Jesus Christ, is the strongest weapon to prevent suicide, because it is a message of hope. I can only hope and pray that the message of the Gospel gets to these places of despair, before many more make life ending decisions.
Adam Parmenter
P.S. Sojourn has some cool songs about hope. Check'em out when you get a chance:
Hope In The Presence of God
There Is Hope
posted by Sojourn @ 3:45 PM
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