A minor

I read Real Live Preacher's "Thoughts on Depression after Five Months of Medication" after hearing an excellent sermon yesterday morning on 1 Peter 5:7 ("...casting all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you"). The sermon made the point that depression and anxiety are ultimately problems of pride and arrogance, as we attempt to bear burdens that are simply too heavy for us. Rather than recognizing this and casting our cares on God, we often try to shoulder the weight, thinking we can handle it in our own strength, or lacking the faith in God to actually handle it for us.

I don't think the essay and sermon are necessarily at odds with one another. Depression is a real problem and a consequence of the fall, and one thing Doug Wilson taught me was that we should not be surprised to find sin under a microscope, as it were. It's a false dilemma to say that depression results from either chemical imbalance or sin. Rather than an either/or, it can be a both/and, so medication should not be despised and rejected as a means of dealing with depression. I've often thought certain people, including myself, might really benefit from a prescription. Who knows? Maybe I'll eventually get one and see.