There was a serial killer caught recently and along with that news came the usual talk about how this person must have been mentally ill to have committed such crimes. As someone who suffers from mental illness, it hurts every time this happens. Mental illness doesn’t cause people to do evil acts. Somehow somewhere someone wanted to believe that a human being wasn’t capable of doing the horrible things that we are capable of doing. They reasoned that if people suffered from mental illness, then maybe that would excuse the atrocities committed by human beings. The only problem is that most people with mental illnesses wouldn’t commit evil acts.
Right now, in our world, there’s a war going on in Ukraine. People are dying. Mothers, fathers, children, and babies who know nothing of politics or fighting are dying in their homes because of a war that they didn’t want. The people who are continuing this war are truly evil and show no consideration for the lives that are being lost and how that is going to permanently change our world forever. They aren’t mentally ill. They are making a sinful decision that isn’t made out of God’s love.
I guess that is my point. As long as someone has the ability to know right from wrong, they have the choice to choose God’s love or not. Every day I try to choose God’s love and live a faithful life. Those who don’t aren’t mentally ill, they are making a decision to reject God. There’s no excuse for it. They will have to face the consequences for their decision at their final judgement just as I shall.
My faith saved me. May God’s peace reside in all of our hearts.
