By For starters, if anyone happens to read this post that is not a normal reader; know that this is my family devotional blog. This blog contains the thoughts that I share every night with my wife and children before bed. That being said, I am not writing with the intention of the world listening, but my family.
Robin Williams was an actor that my generation and your generation has been influenced by. He acted as a character named Mork in a space odyssey called Mork And Mindy. (Nanu, Nanu). I remember watching and laughing at the genius of this actor who was funny in a unique way. He was also the voice of the genie in the animated movie Aladdin. He has been in countless movies I watched through out my life, from a radio announcer in Vietnam, to a cross-dressing nanny, to a counselor in Brooklyn in Good Will Hunting.
Less that a week ago, this actor committed suicide by hanging himself. It was a very sad thing to hear and I know that the world will miss him greatly. It was reported that he has struggled with alcohol use in the past. He was even placed in treatment at Hazelden where I do HVAC service work at times. Not only alcohol use, but it has been said that he suffered from depression, and most recently from a mild, but newly found case of Parkinson's disease. His wife made a statement that at the time of his death he was sober. This is sad indeed.
Questions raise in the mind of the world as to who or what is to blame for the horrible and untimely death of such a loved actor. Do we find blame in a supposed condition called depression? Or maybe another condition called alcoholism? What about Parkinson's disease? What about blaming the person of Robin Williams?
Is suicide a sin? Well, it is the taking of a human life. And the Bible calls the taking of a human life murder. This is different from shooting an intruder who has broken into my home. This act is not murder, but self-defense; as it is preventing this intruder from being guilty of the sin of murder himself. Also, suicide is different from sentencing a person to death for a crime. The death sentence is justifiable for certain crimes and is not murder. So is suicide sin? It would be hard to imagine a case in which it would not be. Sampson, in one sense took his own life. It was different from Robin Williams death though because it was done to bring judgement upon a nation.
The question also comes when we wonder if Robin Williams is in hell because he committed suicide. All of humanity is guilty because of one sin or another. There is only one hope for any person and that is found in Jesus Christ. We are saved by grace, through faith, in Christ alone. Sin sends people to hell. Jesus delivers from hell. I do not know anything about Robin William's religious life. If he was resting the entirety of his life upon the finished work of Christ alone, he is forgiven from all sin; past, present, and future. If he was resting his life upon another object or source, then he is indeed in hell, as you and I would be if we trust not in Christ.
As I search my mind to remember what the Bible has to say about blame, it leads me only to two sources; the devil, or the person himself. There are cases when parents brought their children to the feet of Jesus for healing. These children were said to be possessed by demons and seemed to have no control over their own bodies. One word from Jesus and the demon would flee making the child healed and once again responsible for their own behavior. Other than demon possession, it seems to me that the Bible lays the blame at our own feet. The ultimate judgement is in the throne room of God, and no person will be able to blame any condition for their own sins. Sin is a moral crime against a moral God. How do you blame an immaterial condition for a moral crime? I don't see that working in God's courtroom, even though over the past 20 years, our human courts try that very thing. I think this a very recent move in our human courts, and I doubt that this is a move towards God's standards, but rather against it.
My thoughts in this devotion are fragmented, and for that I am sorry. What I would like you to know is that you will not be able to argue a sufficient case in the courtroom of God and blame your sin upon any person or condition other then yourself. You are not an attorney or the plaintiff, but rather the defendant being tried by an all knowing, all powerful, and ever present Judge. He peers into the heart and sees even the intentions of our hearts. Whatever intentions Robin Williams had for committing suicide, God alone knows at this point.
(QUESTIONS FOR THE KIDS)
1. Do you think that a demon possessed person could say "the devil made me do it." In other words, does a demon possessed person know they are demon possessed?
2. Are there any conditions that you can think of that might consume you so much that you could make no choices on your own?
3. Explain to me what you think depression is?
4. Can you think of anyone who was depressed and took their own life in the Bible?
Leading Family Devotions 