May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Like many people who have mental health issues, my sister and I have been looked down upon by fellow believers as if we are not worthy of God’s love.

I was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder in 2015 with my sister being diagnosed two years later.

If you are a fellow believer who looks down on people with mental health issues, what caused you to do so in the first place?

Such perceptions in the eyes of Our Lord are viewed as hypocrisy. “Whoever says ‘I know him’, but does not keep his commandments is a liar” (1 John 2:4). “But Jesus, aware of their malice, said ‘Why put me to the test, you hypocrites?” (Matthew 22:18). “You love all words that devour, O deceitful tongue” (Psalm 52:4).

Eric Brown

North Portland