Suicide Is Not Heroic

Anytime someone dies it is tragic, regardless of the cause of death.  But we must be very clear on this point -- suicide is not heroic.  Those who commit suicide are not victims.  

On Sunday a top ER doctor from Manhattan committed suicide.  She was overwhelmed by the stress of treating COVID-19 patients.  As I said, death is tragic.  I'm sure she was under a lot of stress.  But she is not a victim, nor is she a hero.  Notice what her father said about her suicide.  

"She tried to do her job, and it killed her."  

"Make sure she's praised as a hero.  She's a casualty just as much as anyone else who has died."

Her job did not kill her; she killed herself.  She is not a hero; she is a murderer.  Suicide is self-murder.  COVID-19 did not kill her.  She willingly took her own life. 

I know all this sounds very harsh and unloving in a society that is clueless about Biblical love and has abandoned the virtues of courage, endurance, self-control, and personal responsibility.  I expect a lot of push-back on this.  But it is true.  As Christians we must have compassion on those who are hurting, but we must be very clear that suicide is murder.  It is morally evil.  It is never the right response to hardship.

We don't look upon murderers as heroes or victims.  We don't feel sorry for them.  We don't blame their crimes on mental illness.  We don't blame their circumstances.  We look at them as criminals who have committed the most evil crime of all.  Suicide is murder.  Only God has the right to take a life.  Individuals, doctors, and pregnant mothers have no right to kill.

Consider all the people that are hurt by suicide.  It inflicts terrible pain on the family members and friends who are left behind.  Consider this doctor's husband, children, grandchildren, parents, siblings, friends, and church family, and coworkers.  Suicide is especially evil because not only are you murdering yourself, but you are willingly bringing down bitter anguish and hardship on your closest family and friends.

When we treat those who commit suicide as victims or heroes, we make suicide more acceptable.  We make it a more appealing option.  We legitimize it.  We are encouraging more people to take their own lives.  Until we change the way we think and speak about suicide, we will continue to see the suicide rate increase.

Suicide is not the unforgivable sin.  Neither is murder.  The only unforgivable sin is rejecting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.  But suicide is a sin.  It is morally evil.  We need to stop treating it as something sad that happens to good people, and instead treat it as a cowardly and cruel act committed by sinful people.

If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide, please reach out to me.  I would like to help you tap into the hope, comfort, and strength that are found in Jesus Christ.