So many people would like to have guidance from God because obviously, if you have a word from God, it’s the best possible thing. But they don’t relate that to life as a whole. Often they want guidance as a way of opting out of the responsibility of making decisions. – Dallas Willard
LAST WEEK I BEGAN looking at a man who developed a serious mental health problem that crippled his life for 38 years. He had lost his drive for progress, and had deliberately parked himself in the garage of hopelessness and helplessness while he watched many people move confidently past him.
The man of whom I speak seemed to love his bed and refused to get up out of it to do anything meaningful and purposeful. He displayed a physical symptom that he developed as a result of programming his mind to think that way.
The Gospel according to St John, Chapter 5 verses 2-14, highlights this narrative and speaks of this man as having “a deep-seated lingering disorder”. This condition can carry with it some debilitating consequences, which may cause an individual to lose momentum in life and inhibit or retard meaningful and productive forward movement.
The first concern that was highlighted last week about this man was his contentment with his 38-year-old problem. When Jesus approached him hoping to get him out of his mental health dilemma, he spewed out a series of excuses as if to say that he is quite fine and comfortable with his station in life.
Believed he had cancer
Today, I shall examine the second major concern about this man. He was content with the place he stayed. He positioned himself among a large number of physically sick people and gave the impression that he too was sincerely one of them.
For almost 40 years he lived a life of deception and became a master at it. He was now being exposed by the sharp discerning eye of Jesus who knows the intent of the mind of everybody.
In a casual conversation with a man many years ago, he told me that he believed he had cancer. I asked him if he had ever visited the doctor to confirm his feelings. When he responded in the affirmative, I followed through by enquiring about the results. He confirmed that the blood tests were negative for cancer. I then suggested that he should get a second opinion if he felt so strongly about it.
When I saw him several weeks after and enquired about the results of his second doctors’ visit, I was taken back at his response. He told me that the results showed that he was free of cancer, but then turned to me and said, “But I still believe I have cancer.” The man in our narrative was somewhat similar. He got so accustomed to living among sick folk, that mentally he had developed similar symptoms to some of them, which resulted in him not becoming a productive member of society.
This kind of crippling mental health problem still continues to plague many people today. Some individuals with known innate capabilities sometimes put to sleep such competencies by habitually associating with individuals who cannot help them fan the fire of their inherited gifts.
Jesus wanted this man in our story to break free from the strong chains of his mental health prison, which held him bound to debilitating thoughts that kept him living in an environment not designed for someone of his mental capacity.
I personally know of a young woman who has made a name for herself across the world. We had an opportunity one day to chat, and I was so happy to have listened to her story.
She said that in the country where she grew up, her home environment did not lend itself to stability. In fact it was hostile toward formal education and indifferent toward positive values necessary for a child to develop a life of security. She initially held firmly to the belief that change was not possible even though she had the capacity to change.
Journey towards excellence
It was in her late teens, however, that she became reacquainted with a school friend who began to motivate her to climb out of her fixated state and develop what he saw were some latent talents that had great potential for development.
After some resistance, she began to improve herself academically and otherwise. She broke away from the negative thoughts, disassociated herself from the negative human influences and began on a journey towards excellence. She was able to escape from her crippling mental health problem and she rose admirably and competently to great heights in the world of business.
Similarly, I encountered a young man years ago that grew up in deep poverty and innocently surrendered his mind to adult human vultures that took advantage of his vulnerability. Although he was robbed of his early years of positive and wholesome development, he now competently runs his own business.
He described his aha moment as an illumination of the mind, causing him to immediately reject the idea of hopelessness and incompetence. He refused to surrender his mind to the negative mindsets of his peers. Today, with a teacher’s motivation, he is a superb example for many to emulate.
Never say never! You have the ability to break free from that kind of mental health condition that causes your progress in life to grind to a halt. It is never too late to do something. Seek counsel today. I shall conclude this series next week.
• Rev. Haynesley Griffith is a marriage and family life consultant. email: griffitharticles@gmail.com
