Another pastor, Jarrid Wilson, committed suicide on Monday.

This is a picture of Jarrid with his wife and their two sons. He was 30 years old.

In reading some friends’ posts and comments about this, it reminded me that many in the Church don’t understand mental health and the need for inner healing.

They blame “the enemy,” “sin,” etc., instead of seeing the need to address the root causes of depression, anxiety, and hopelessness. And they think the cure is just loving Jesus.

Before he died, Jarrid posted on Twitter:

“Loving Jesus doesn’t always cure suicidal thoughts.
Loving Jesus doesn’t always cure depression. 
Loving Jesus doesn’t always cure PTSD. 
Loving Jesus doesn’t always cure anxiety.
But that doesn’t mean Jesus doesn’t offer us companionship and comfort. He ALWAYS does that.”

Jarrid once wrote: “We must do better at educating people on things they have a hard time wrapping their heads around. And mental health is definitely a topic Christians around the world must yearn to better understand.”

It’s time to talk about these issues and it’s time to yearn to better understand. ❤️