50,000
“Looking at suicide—the sheer numbers, the pain leading up to it, and the suffering left behind—is harrowing. For every moment of exuberance in the science, or in the success of governments, there is a matching and terrible reality of the deaths themselves: the young deaths, the violent deaths, the unnecessary deaths.”
50,000 Americans took their lives in 2022. 50,000 tragedies that whisper in shame for all affected. One in four suffer with a mental illness, and many suffer in silence and isolation. Mental illness is the disease of the lonely. Some are seemingly fulfilled with friendship, success, and love, but it is an illusion, a façade thin as veneer on the surface. Bubbling under the surface is torment and exhaustion to keep the façade from crumbling.
Loved ones are caught by the abrupt chaos in the aftermath of the suicide. They are left in a fogged labyrinth of questions with no clear answers. Even if the victim leaves a note, which is lost in translation, they have only their unanswered whys.
Why is the suicide rate on the increase? The suicide rate has been on the increase since the turn of the 21st century, so many unnecessary deaths and tragedies. During the early 2000’s the rise of the virtual community within a screen became the new normal. It was the beginning of the disconnection of communities and families. Technology increasingly detaches us from one another. Growth of the abortion and euthanasia movements have fueled a toxic, death-minded society that focuses on those with incurable conditions or untreatable pain that are increasingly viewed as unworthy. Sadly, people foolishly believe they are ending their suffering, but the reality of hell’s endless thirst is beyond their comprehension.
There is a decrease in the belief in God and church attendance. More and more people are searching for meaning in a meaningless secular society of their truth, not God’s truth. People are searching for their identity outside of being their Father’s wonderful creation made in His image. If we don’t understand who we are in Christ, we can’t understand why we are here. Having no grounding in our identity in Christ opens paths to a world marred by sin and ruled by Satan. Christianity is ridiculed and looked down on. People don’t look to pastors as someone to be respected or trusted. The church is not viewed very favorably either. (Lifeway, July 2022)
Many have dissented into the insanity of gender identity outside of the Biblical definition; God made them man and woman. Some fill their bodies with alien hormones, and have multiple serious, life-treating and altering surgeries for unattainable fantasy, only to be left empty, deformed, and rejected by themselves and the community. Increasingly, children are brainwashed by social media, the education system and even their parents. They are betrayed by people who should care and protect them, but selfishly these adults are creating a Frankenstein. They are living their truth, not the Truth. The Truth: Psalm 139:13-14 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
The breakdown of the family is epidemic. Many children are living in homes with one parent. Many children come home to an empty home and sit in front of a screen. Our society is systematically deconstructing the roles of mothers and fathers. Mothers are being replaced by birthing people or pregnant workers. Fathers are no longer the head of the house, but a weak, one- dimensional character to have fun with on the weekends. Sons and daughters need their fathers, strong Godly fathers. Mother and fathers have lost the understanding of parenting; they want to be their children’s friend. Parenting is not about clout, popularity, or likability. Parenting is about love, training, and protecting. Parents have replaced parenting with “the device.” The device (phones, etc..) disconnects the family. People view everything through the screen on their phone. Dinner conversations have been replaced by the screen. No more game nights, movie nights, pizza nights, driveways filled with bikes, and outside voices laughing. Children and adults gather with the screen in front of them.
The pandemic was a perfect storm to rapidly increase the hostility toward the church community, breakdown of families, growth of the device as community, rise of transgender children, and the rise of racial tensions. Schools shutdown, businesses shutdown, churches closed, the rise of remote work and learning fueled the already troubling rise of suicide during the 2000’s. Fear filled our society. Communities turned on each other. People were alienated and desensitized by masking. Lockdowns produced a society that could not self-regulate their emotions fueling violent reactions. Medical decisions were no longer between you and your treating doctor, but the government. People were shunned for making their own decisions on vaccines. People were divided by whether they were vaccinated or not. Families were divided. Drugs and alcohol greatly increased as exercise decreased. Consumption of online pornography and other sexual services increased. People, especially single people, have become alienated, self-medicating, and numb. We are still trying to recover from the unprecedented over-authoritarian policies of Covid.
50,000 unnecessary deaths: sons and daughters, fathers and mothers, artists and teachers, children and retirees. 50,000 people lost their hope. 50,000 people lost their way in a world increasingly toxic to humanity. Living in opposition to the Word has consequences - a world enslaved by sin and the sorrows that it brings. Suicide is not a direct consequence of living in oppostion to the Word. Rather it is the steady decline of the balance and beauty of the world and its beings as they were created to be. As society continues to fall away from God’s truths, these numbers will continue to climb. As the church continues to not fully live out the Gospel or the Great Commision these numbers will increase. The world is marred by sin and ruled by Satan, and humanity’s only hope is found in the saving grace of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. We are fooling ourselves if we do not shine in this dark world. Shine in such a way that people will marvel at the supernatural behavior that is counter-cultural to the societal norms. Shine with compassion, and forgiveness like Christ. Only His grace can make change in this fallen world.
