Dennis Greenidge

Webster’s dictionary defines depression as “a psycho-neurotic or psychotic disorder marked by sadness, inactivity, and feelings of dejection.” I believe that one of the principal causes of depression is a sense of failure and frustration caused by unwillingness to do what should be done or to stop doing what should not be done. A person becomes ashamed and begins a process of self-depreciation. Then, along with personal shame, comes a loss of fellowship with God, either real or imagined.

Depression can also be caused by a dietary deficiency. If you are lacking iron and certain of the B-complex vitamins in your diet, you can become seriously depressed. This type of depression needs to be corrected by wholesome nutrition along with massive doses of vitamins and minerals. Junk food and excess caffeine should be avoided, and you should exercise vigorously.

The worst thing about depression is that it makes its victims withdraw and lapse into inactivity. A person has to get going again and begin to help other people, going to church, going to work, or doing anything other than sitting around feeling sorry for himself. Becoming active is a key remedy for depression. Also, a terrible tragedy or personal loss can shock the system, bringing on a feeling of hopelessness and despair. Many times these feelings are compounded by a failure to eat well and a failure to exercise or get out among other people.

As the withdrawal begins, a downward spiral takes hold that needs to be broken. But our question is: How do you get over the depression? You have to recognize what is causing it. If it is sin, you have to go to the root of the failure and do whatever it takes to get your life right with God. If it is merely a sense of failure, examine your expectations. If they are too high, change them to a more realistic level. If indeed there is a real failure to perform, then grasp the task and do it.

If the depression has to do with diet and exercise, begin to eat nutritious foods, take heavy doses of therapeutic vitamins and minerals, and begin vigorous walking or other exercises. In the case of someone who has suffered an emotional trauma, that person needs to reach out for the help and support of friends. Be frank about your problem; say, “I am terribly depressed. Will you please come and be with me? Will you pray with me? Will you help me?” Try to open up to other people and draw them in. It always helps to pray and read the Bible, which is the source of comfort and the source of life (see Isaiah 41:10, Jeremiah 29:11-13, Hebrews 4:15-16). Above all else, stop feeling sorry for yourself. Instead, reach out a hand of compassion to someone whose grief and tragedy exceed your own.

Surgical techniques to transplant a cornea, a kidney, a heart, or some other organ from a live or recently deceased donor to a needy recipient are of very recent origin. These techniques were not known in Bible days.

Jesus Christ said, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (John 15:13). A donation of an organ to give life or better health or sight to another is like laying down a part of your life. It is an act of love.

For this reason I believe it is entirely proper for a person to will selected organs, such as the cornea of the eyes, to a donor organ bank for use in organ transplants, so that after the death of the donor, someone now blind may see, or someone sick may become well.

Everyone should have a will. Even the penniless person should have a will because he might be hit by a bus and his estate might have a claim against the bus company.

The prophet Isaiah told king Hezekiah, “Set your house in order, for you shall die” (II Kings 20:1). Any person, wealthy or not, male or female, has the privilege under law and custom dating back to Bible times of determining the guardians for his or her children, as well as the privileges they shall enjoy if the maker of the will dies while the children are young. Wills can provide for the care of the wife or husband, and gifts to religious organizations and others charities.

Without a will, the state might apply a rigid set of rules to give the wife only a percentage of an estate, usually one-third, and the children would get the remainder. If there is no surviving husband, wife, or children, the possessions of a lifetime may be given to brothers, sisters, or nieces and nephews. Usually, nothing goes to a charity unless it is designated in a will.

A will is a very simple document to write and to execute. For maximum protection against challenges, a will should be signed and declared to be a last will and testament in the presence of two or three witnesses who are assembled at the signing and who are not beneficiaries under the will.

Without question, a valid will and a thorough estate plan are a vital part of stewardship for every Christian. Wills can be rewritten and re-executed as circumstances change. To write a will does not mean that death will soon follow, as many superstitiously fear.

The Bible says, “You shall not steal” (Exodus 20:15). Stealing is taking without permission what belongs to somebody else. It can involve tangible and intangible things. Stealing would include thefts from households, shoplifting, pilfering, industrial espionage, embezzlement, and similar acts.

Dishonesty of all sorts, including stealing, has reached epidemic levels in society. Many Christians are involved in stealing without knowing it. It is possible, for instance, even to steal time. In most businesses the payroll is the biggest expense. Yet studies have shown that the average worker gives perhaps thirty-two to thirty-three hours a week instead of forty. When long lunch hours or time spent at the coffee machine, gazing out the window, or visiting with neighbors are added up, the amount is staggering.

It is true, too, that people are careless with the use of company stamps, stationery, paper clips, tools, and parts. This is stealing. In one factory, where many hand tools were disappearing, management decided to have a search of the employees as they left for home at the end of the work day. When this announcement was made, as the workers were preparing to exit, there was the sound of metal dropping all over the yard. Because the workers did not want to get caught, they just dropped stolen wrenches, hammers, and screwdrivers, leaving the yard littered with tools.

People do not pay their bills on time, denying interest to the companies they owe. People take merchandise home and use it and then return it as if it had never been used. People borrow books and tools and never return them.

Not correcting clerks when they undercharge one for goods purchased is stealing. Claiming credit for someone else’s work or achievement is a form of stealing. Company officers who divert corporate opportunities to their own personal gain are stealing. God desires complete honesty from His people. Any form of stealing should be forsaken as not worthy of God’s children

There is only one way that evil can overcome a Christian, and that is if the Christian returns evil for evil. If someone insults you and snarls at you, you are not overcome. You are overcome if you begin to snarl right back. Then the unpleasant person has become your role model. You are copying evil and evil is overcoming you.

If someone hates you and you hate him back, then evil is getting the victory. If someone strikes you and you strike back, then you have become like the evil one.

The Bible says, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21). If someone reviles you, you are to smile back and say, “God bless you.” The person will not know how to react to that, and you have overcome him. You have won. That person has not changed you, but you have gone on the offensive with the most powerful weapon in the world–love! If someone strikes you on the cheek, Jesus said you should turn the other cheek (see Matthew 5:39, Luke 6:29). And that will leave your adversary totally confused! And then on top of that you should say, “I love you.”

If someone forces you to go one mile, go two miles. If someone takes your coat, give him your shirt as well (see Matthew 5:40-41). Do so graciously, cheerfully, even assertively. God has given you the spiritual weapons to discern who your enemies are and then to conquer them by making them your friends. (Of course, as long as there are vicious criminals and international tyrants in the world, there must be a system of restraint through local or international police. In Romans 13, police and legitimate armies are considered by the apostle Paul as “ministers of God” to bring vengeance on lawbreakers.)