In 1 Chronicles 10 King Saul was fatally wounded in a battle. His forces were soundly defeated and his son Jonathan had already been killed. Saul knew he was dying and “said to his armor-bearer, ‘Draw your sword and run me through, or these uncircumcised fellows will come and abuse me.’ But his armor-bearer was terrified and would not do it; so Saul took his own sword and fell on it” (1 Chronicles 10:4-5).
Saul was going to die anyway. Was he wrong to take his own life in order to spare himself and his nation further humiliation? What about people who have a terminal disease and want to escape the pain? What about the disabled who are determined not to be a burden to their families? What about the people who jumped off the World Trade Towers because they were about to be consumed in the heat? What about those who are so filled with despair that they no longer see any reason for living?
Suicide is never in the will of God. The Bible says that God has numbered our days. When we cut those days short we are usurping the throne of God. God often uses extreme suffering for His glory and our deepening. To take our own life eliminates the potential for God to work all things together for His good and demonstrates a lack of faith in His promises. Suicide is wrong because it is selfish. It leaves loved ones to live with terrible guilt and embarrassment.
To commit suicide is to murder oneself and violate the sixth commandment. Some argue, “It’s my life,” but the Bible teaches, “You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
When the Philippian jailer concluded that all his prisoners had escaped he drew his sword to kill himself. The loss of even one prisoner meant certain execution. With the entire prison emptied, he saw no hope at all. In his mind the only honorable way to die would be to fall on his own sword and spare his superiors the gruesome task of killing him.
But the Apostle Paul abruptly interrupted him insisting that not one prisoner had left. The jailer was so grateful he took Paul and his companion Silas into his home and washed the wounds that he himself had inflicted on them. When Paul told him what to do to be saved, the jailer and his household believed and were baptized that same night.
What appeared to be a completely hopeless situation turned out to be the most glorious night of his life. He went from total despair – potentially suicidal – to a jubilant witness for Christ in a matter of hours. Life can turn around quickly when God is given a chance.
While suicide is not God’s will, it is not defined in Scripture as the unpardonable sin. God’s grace is amazing. He knows the thoughts and intents of the heart. He knows there are some people who suffer so much they despair even of life, as did Paul. (See 2 Corinthians 1:8.) God knows there are believers who drift from His will and become so distraught that they lose all sense of reason. Although they didn’t take their own lives, even Job and Elijah prayed that they would die.
While watching the Olympics this past month I remembered years ago witnessing an outstanding Olympic gymnast perform a flawless routine on the parallel bars. Throughout her routine, the commentators expressed appreciation for what they called a perfect performance. But on her dismount, she stumbled and nearly fell on her face. She was not awarded with a perfect “10” score, but the judges still gave her such high marks that she won a bronze medal. The judges, being fair, evaluated her overall performance and not the final mistake.
The Judge of the universe is fair and just. He sees the heart and knows the mind. When evaluating a life, we trust that the Judge of all the earth will do right and mercifully evaluate the overall performance and not just the final mistake.
