To the loony bin...

Today I read an article in the Star Tribune entitled, “Bipolar Saul? Anxious Moses? Mental Woes are Nothing New”. The article was written by a mental health professional that is taking people from the Bible and diagnosing them with mental issues. Example: Samson has Aspersers disorder because he missed social cues and Joseph tried to exalt himself over his brothers so he must be a narcissist. They didn’t have those types of diagnoses back when these people were living but if they lived today we’d know why they acted crazy....

Of course it wasn’t because God was doing a great work in their lives - the world is labeling them as weird. I mean…I think if I remember correctly we are called to be a “peculiar people, set apart, different, not of this world”. The world won’t see it as that and will simply slap a label on it to justify the actions they see.

I’ve been called crazy for giving up my job in the most economically hard we’ve seen in a long time. Heck, I’ve even wondered if I was!!!! Hmmm....I think I'll diagnose myself....

-I hear a voice that tells me quit my job, pack a bag, and head to a world far away - shiczofrenia.
-I find it hard to focus and desire "normal things" - probably have some sort of attention deficit disorder.
-I doubt myself from time to time wondering if this is the right thing to do - I am probably depressed from my worry.
-I don't want to get sick overseas so I'm taking lots of medicines for different things that could go wrong - of course it's paranoia.
-Apparently believing you can do something so much larger than you actually can is classified as being bio-polar.
-I'm pretty sure I'll be completely changed when I get back - post-tramatic disorder.
-I believe I'm called to something greater than what I'm doing so there is probably some self-righteous narcissistic disorder as well.

So let's see...that would make me a crazy, schitzofrenic, pariniod, bi-polar, narristic, that suffers from depression and attention deficit disorder, and has strong tendencies to suffer from post-trammatic symptoms.

Or....maybe following God causes you seem crazy to the world. Set apart. Different. We could change the world with that!