A call to our community in the face of suicide
By Eric Horton
Most people in our community know by now that four individuals have committed suicide within two months. First, let me give my condolences to these families. You are in pain, and please know there are many people out there who are praying for you and that love you.
Once I learned about the fourth person who passed, I began to receive some calls and I also made some calls. I was asked, “What do we do?” Of course, those that I spoke to care deeply about our community. They don’t like to see anyone grieve… they want to see it joy and happiness. Anyway, my answer to the question was, “We keep praying, we keep digging in our heels, we read scripture, we reach out, we do.”
As a pastor, a husband, a father, a grandfather, and the mayor of our wonderful town, I want to tell you that life is hard. It doesn’t mean we give up, because we can overcome this world through Christ Jesus! Each year when our church has a senior in high school, we have a special service just for them. Each year I invoke the phrase, “The world is going to eat your sack lunch.” I believe that to be a true and honest assessment of the world these young teens are going to see.
Folks… we are in a battle! Not a battle of weapons, but a spiritual battle. Yes, as a Christian I will not compromise my beliefs, especially when there are people who need love, hope, and joy. We are in fight… a war… a battle! You’ve heard this piece of scripture before in Ephesians 6 verse 12 where Paul tells the Church of Ephesus, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (NKJV)
That’s correct! We do not war with one another, we battle the enemy…satan himself, in all his darkness and wickedness. Honestly, we see it every day how he tries to divide us. Jesus, our Lord and Savior tells us in John 10:10, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (NKJV) Again, the devil wants your sack lunch, however, Christ came to give us an abundant life, if we so choose to believe in Him. So, again… spiritual warfare is real. There’s a real war happening, a spiritual war, and it’s coming in the form that your life “doesn’t matter.” I want to say something to all Christians… If you’re a Christian, you are at war. It is here, you need to know about it and make sure you’re aware of it!
I want you to picture something right fast. Two soldiers are fighting in hand-to-hand combat that’s merciless, unrelenting… just plain brutal. Knives are out, punches are being thrown, rolling around, sweat and blood running down their faces. This is war and the aim is to kill each other. No truce, no peace between them. One or both of them will die at the end of that struggle. This is the reality of spiritual warfare! Again… satan is here to steal, and to kill, and to destroy!
As a community, especially those who believe in Christ are obligated. What are we obligated to do? 1 Corinthians 1:10 tells us! “Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.” (NKJV) We need to be UNITED against this force of evil. Although we go to different churches, we are still all in this together because these suicides… any suicides affect all of us. Not as much as family and friends, but it still affects us.
So we rise up! Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 16:13, “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.” (NKJV) When we face things like we’ve faced the past few months, we need to anchor ourselves and persevere. We don’t stop praying, we don’t stop reading Scripture, we don’t stop caring, we don’t stop loving, we don’t stop being active, we don’t stop sharing, we don’t stop being brave in the face of an ugly enemy! We rise up to the fight and challenges that are facing us!
I call on you… the men and women of God in our community to rise up! Show this community there is HOPE! Every life matters. If you hear someone say something about wanting to kill themselves, take heed and know this person is crying out for help. There is a song called “How to Save a Life” by The Fray and here is a piece of lyrics, “Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend Somewhere along in the bitterness… And I would have stayed up with you all night. Had I known how to save a life.” You can be the one who shows hope to the hopeless, love to the unloved, and peace to the depressed.
***NOTE*** If you or a loved one is contemplating suicide, please contact call 988 for help. This is the suicide prevention hotline. Also, find a friend, a pastor, of somebody who will listen.
This is an opinion editorial. The views and opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of TownTalk Media and it’s parent company Ad Venture Marketing.
