Suicide
“O God, from my youth you have taught me, and still I proclaim your wonderous deeds.
So even to old age and grey hairs, O God, do not forsake me until I proclaim your might to another generation, Your power to all those to come.”
Psalm 71: 17-18
This week the National Center for Health Statistics reported suicide numbers for 2022. Nearly 50,000 Americans killed themselves in 2022, marking the highest suicide count in one year ever recorded. This should be a grim and sobering reality to all of us. Within these statistics certain markers jumped out to me. Men are more likely to actually commit suicide, but women more often report suicidal thoughts. Of the various age brackets, the age category of over 75 reported the highest number of suicides in 2022. This is such a tragedy.
I want to spend some time asking and attempting to answer the question, “How can the most affluent and stable senior group in the world lead the way in record-breaking suicide numbers?” Though there is no clean or simple answer to this question, we must ask and strive to understand what has gone wrong. If all too often the heritage being passed down to younger generations is one of death and despair, in short order this malignancy will begin to multiply in younger generations.
I believe the right place to start is to focus on the general ungodliness of seniors in the US. The Bible tells us that for those truly in Christ, “Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18). This speaks to the reality we should see in truly Christian seniors. We should see people who are growing physically older through gradually failing health, but whose souls are growing more beautiful in godliness as they make progress in the faith and grow closer to heaven. When you are around this type of Christian senior, you know it! Though they still struggle with sin (as we all do!), there is a powerful sense of godliness that transcends their aging and broken body. Their hope in Christ and desire to convey the gospel to younger generations is overt and inspiring.
Sadly, there are far more seniors that were nominal Christians in their middle age, going through the motions and saying the right words, but never earnestly believing in Jesus as Lord. Who we really are is revealed when the fire of pressure is turned up in our lives. For millions of nominally Christian Americans, as the body grows old so does the care to keep up any pretense of false religion. As the body fades so does the soul of the unbelieving. Instead of “partaking in the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4) through holding fast to the promises of God, unbelieving seniors grow in all forms of ungodliness: selfishness, anger, pride, despair, jealousy, strife, drunkenness, and sexual immorality. (The last category may surprise you, but it’s for good reason the largest US retirement community – The Villages, FL -is infamously known as the STD capital of America.) Combining the factors I’ll mention below, this leads countless seniors to a place of despair, from which some act to end their lives.
Though the root of despair is a rejection of the gospel of Jesus Christ, there are many contributing factors to the hopelessness of many American seniors. I would like to challenge our thinking as a church. First, the prevailing US fixation on retirement. What retirement means for many people is the ceasing of meaningful work. It’s a vision of endlessly, selfishly entertaining yourself with no obligations. It’s like a perverted version of heaven on earth. This is not a Christian ideal and will lead to all kinds of despair and dysfunction, rather than the happiness one expects. God created human beings to be involved in meaningful work six days a week and worship one day a week. This does not mean that seniors need to be working the same full days as in their youth, but it does mean that their lives should revolve around regular meaningful work instead of endless entertainment. This work may earn income, or it may not. It may be volunteer charitable work, work in the church, or work in the home actively helping the next generation. To this, relaxation is appropriately added for refreshment. This type of life brings meaning through Christ-centered service. A life of Christ-centered service builds relationships and treasured friendships. A life of Christ-centered service works to sanctify the soul and deepen our relationship with Jesus. All this, brings joy! American self-absorbed and self-entertaining retirement contributes to despair.
Second, family isolation. We are more spread out than ever before through transient job culture. As family members we need each other. What it looks like to be near each other is a difficult answer. However, we need to meaningfully live life together as family. Consider how to make necessary sacrifices to live closer together as parents and children. This is very common in other cultures but growing less common in America. Part of this involves bearing with one another in patience. This patience comes through Christian sanctification. The two play into each other as we work out our God-given obligations to care for family members.
Third, end of life medical decisions. Ever-advancing medical technology is widening the gap between what is possible and what ought to happen. Again, this relates to godliness and spiritual wisdom. The unbelieving are often terrified of death and will go to any length to put off the inevitable. The Christian seeks always to live a full life unto the Lord but is not afraid to die and enter into eternal life. Before extreme old age, senior Christians would be wise to have frank and prayerful conversations with their spouse and children concerning what extent of medical care they wish to receive. A type of tortured existence can be sustained by machines long after a person a few generations ago would have died a natural death. What can happen and what ought to happen, are not always the same thing concerning end of life medical decisions.
Fourth, we would be wise to learn contentment from joyful Christian seniors. Christian seniors from just a few generations ago did not live lavishly like we do now. Their houses were smaller, their cars and clothes were simpler, and their schedules were less crowded – and on the whole – they were happier. The “American Dream” of unending material gain and entertainment is not satisfying our souls. Let us go back to simpler times and take seriously the claims of Jesus Christ. Hear the words of JC Ryle, “To have a place and a title and a position in society is not nearly so important as people think. It is a great sin to be covetous and worldly and proud: but it is no sin to be poor. It matters not so much what money we have, and where we live, as what we are in the sight of God. Where are we going when we die? Shall we live forever in heaven? These are the main things to which we should attend.”
Let us grow old and die well in the hope of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord,
Pastor Vic