A Crisis in Relationships

The tag line for Sweeten Life Systems is:

Building a lifetime of Great Relationships with God, Self and Neighbor. 

Wow! Every day I am reminded of how desperate we are in this nation and around the world to improve our relationships with God, Ourselves and Each Other! When I write or say these things people immediately think of having a terrible crisis.

Murder
Hatred
Terror
Wars
 Divorce
Child Abuse

These are more than normal problems but they garner the majority of headlines on the news. That is normal, I suppose, but even more prominent are the millions of people who live in quiet desperation. Yet, we are a nation with a Judeao-Christian background that promotes a faith which overcomes the evils of the world and promotes joy unspeakable and full of glory.

Anxiety and Depression are the two most common emotional issues facing Western citizens. They are the "Common Cold" of relational struggles. They afflict people from every walk and every faith and every socioeconomic grouping. Rich and poor, wise and unwise, educated and uneducated, religious and secular all face these Mood Disorders. There is not guaranteed pill or vaccination for immunity.

Rick and Kay Warren live in one of the nicest places on earth and are well educated. They are above average spiritually and emotionally. They are kind, warm, loving and gentle. Yet, their young 27 year old son has struggled with Mood Disorders all his life. They prayed continually for that son and cared for him deeply. Despite all the positives in their lives that young man killed himself a few days ago after spending a great evening with his parents.

Why? What were the causes and the possible cures for him and others who live in chronic despair? I read a lot of letters to various web sites and everyone has his/her own ideas. But I have not read very much even from professional therapists that really explain the complexity of causes and the difficulty of cures.

Every one of us seems drawn to a simple, one-step answer to all serious problems. I can't begin to count the number of writers who told us that if we just did __________ the depression would leave permanently.  Do you have a simple answer to Mood Disorders? If so by all means offer it. Maybe in 40 years of Counseling and Ministry I missed it. After that we will quickly solve Global Warming, peace in the Middle East and better relationships with China.

Read my book on theology Healing Release of the Holy Spirit to understand the causes of pain and some suggested cures.