Signs, Signs

 One of my favourite past times when I’m traveling a country mile anywhere is to read the signs I encounter, especially if I’m not driving.  Some signs are clever or witty, some are very blunt and eye-catching, some are helpful, and some just bother me.

Not very helpful, I'd say 

Several months ago I saw one, in front of a church located on a more urban mile, that proclaimed:

“Christians are too blessed to be depressed.”  

Well, that just made my blood boil.  Faith in Jesus Christ does not offer us immunity from mental illness, just as it doesn't give immunity from any other illness.  I know many sincere and faithful Christians who cope with depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and many other mental illnesses.  There are as many Christians who live with these illnesses, as there are people of other faiths or of no formal faith alliance.

A sign like this merely puts a burden on Christians who are dealing with a mental illness.  Instead of offering the resources of the church and some empathy or understanding, this sign says, “If you’re depressed, it must be because your faith isn’t strong enough; you’re not trusting in God’s blessings,” a message whose impact can only to be increase a person’s depression and alienate him from the church.

I saw another one recently that bothered me in a different way.  The first one hurts people with mental illness; this one insults God:

“Hardships are intended to make us better, not bitter.”

God did not make us for hardships; God does not intend any hardship in our lives.  God created us to be young, happy, and healthy with God in Paradise forever.  It is the sin of humanity that causes hardships, be they illness, age, death, war, poverty, greed, mental illness, abuse…  These are things we brought into the world and it’s high time we stopped blaming God for them.

Hardships can, and often do, make us better people as we learn and grow from the lessons they sometimes offer.  Hardships are more easily handled if we align our hearts and minds with God and God’s people.  But the wording of this sign says that God sends the hardships to make us better.  I refuse to believe in a God who says, “Hmm, this person needs to learn wisdom; perhaps I should give her cancer, or maybe kill one of her children.”

I’d like both of these signs to say something that invites us to bring our troubles to God, something that reminds us that God is always there for us and grieves with us when the sins of humanity cause us pain and suffering:

And the sign said everybody welcome, come in, kneel down and pray
But when they passed around the plate at the end of it all,
I didn't have a penny to pay, so I got me a pen and a paper and I made up my own little sign
I said thank you Lord for thinking about me, I'm alive and doing fine.

(5 Man Electrical Band)

 (Okay, I’ve had my rant; I feel better now.)