Reasons To Live
Suicidal thoughts and committing suicide are very different. Suicidal thoughts are usually associated with problems that can be treated.
Reasons for living can help balance perspectives. Problems are seldom as great as they appear when alone. Suicidal crises are almost always temporary. If you can’t think of solutions other than suicide, it’s not that they don’t exist, only that you can’t see them now.
Several reasons to live are listed below. Feel free to suggest your own.
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Suicide and the Bible: No Clear Cut Answers
Suicide and the Bible Offers No Clear Cut Answers whether the Old Testament or the New Testament. Is suicide moral or immoral according to Scripture. There are not many direct citations on suicide. The closest the Bible comes to opining on suicide is this passage which has had many interpretations: “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (KJV)
The Old Testament and Suicide
Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) Suicide include stories of individuals who either pleaded with God to end their life, or who killed themselves, or who sought the assistance of another to kill them: Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5 contain two similar version of the Ten Commandments. Both Exodus 20:13 and Deuteronomy 5:17 appear in the King James Version of the Bible as “Thou shalt not kill.” generally has been interpreted as meaning that one should not murder a human being, except in cases of self defense or warfare. Numbers 11:12-15 Moses was in despair because of the complaints of the Israelites whom he was leading. The burden of leadership was too heavy for him to bear. He asked God “If You treat me like this, please kill me here and now…” Judges 9:52-54: - The warrior-king of Israel, Abimelech, was attacking a tower in Thebez, hoping to kill unarmed civilians as he had in Shechem. As he attempted to burn the door to the tower, a woman dropped a piece of a millstone on Abimelech’s head. He felt that he was mortally wounded. The king’s contempt for women was so great that he quickly asked his armor bearer to kill him with his sword, in order that people not say that he had been killed by a woman. Throughout much of the Hebrew Scriptures, women were regarded as property. To be attacked and fatally injured by someone whom he considered so inferior was more than he could handle. Judges 16:29-30 – Samson had been chained to the two middle pillars of a temple. He pushed them apart. causing the collapse of the building, his own suicide and the death of a few thousand Philistines. Samson had been blinded, and no longer wanted to live as a captive. By causing his own death, he destroyed many of the enemy. 1 Samuel 31:4-6 – In a war against the Philistines, Saul’s sons Johnathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua were killed, and Saul himself was seriously wounded. He asked his armor bearer to kill him, but he refused. He then took a sword and fell on it. The armor bearer also fell on his sword, thus both committing suicide. The same events are also described in: 1 Chronicles 10:3-7. – Saul’s justification for committing suicide was because of his injuries, if the Philistines arrived, he would have been killed by uncircumcised men. 2 Samuel 1:2-17 An Amalekike man described to David a very different account about Saul’s death. The versions in 1 Samuel 31 and 1 Chronicles 10, describe how Saul committed suicide by himself, after his armor bearer refused to perform the task. In this version, Saul had the Amalekite, a stranger, kill him, in a form of assisted suicide. After hearing the story of how the Amalekike had carried out the wishes of Saul, David had him executed on the spot, because he had “slain the LORD’s anointed.” The implication is that one can assist in the suicide of a commoner, but not in the case of a king. There is no criticism of Saul asking for help in committing suicide. 2 Samuel 17:1-29 Ahithophel recommended that he be allowed to choose 12,000 men, to pursue King David immediately, and kill him. When his advice was not accepted, he became so depressed that he returned to his city, “put his household in order, and hanged himself, and died…” 1 King 16:15-20 Zimri, king of Tirzah, saw his city besieged and taken. He was distressed at the sins that he had committed. He “went into the citadel of the king’s house and burned the king’s house down upon himself with fire, and died…” I King 18:40 and 19:4 In an act of vicious religious intolerance, Elijah ordered 400 priests of Baal executed. Ahab went to Jezebel, telling her that Elijah had “executed all the prophets with the sword.” She swore to kill Elijah within the next 24 hours. Elijah fled for this life to Beersheba, went into the wilderness, and “prayed that he might die.” He said, “It is enough! Now, LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!” Jonah 4:1-11 God had threatened the destruction of the Nineveh, a city of 120,000 people. But the king and people of the city listened to Jonah, repented of their sins, and fasted. God changed his mind and did not destroy the city. Jonah was so angry at God’s display of mercy that he asked God to kill him, “for it is better for me to die than to live!” He repeated the same request to God on the next day.
New Testament and Suicide
Suicide in the Christian Scriptures (New Testament): There are many stories of individuals who either pleaded with God to end their life, or who killed themselves, or who sought the assistance of another to kill them: Matthew 27:5 – After Judas had betrayed Jesus in return for 30 pieces of silver, he hanged himself. Acts 1:18 is in apparent contradiction to this passage; it relates how he fell. He “burst open in the middle and all his entrails gushed out.” It is likely that he did not simply fall down, but rather fell from a height great enough to split his body open. 1 Corinthians 3:17: – “If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.” This is an interesting passage because of its ambiguity. It has been interpreted in different ways by various Bible commentators and translators: An individual defiling his own body: Some Bible translations, like the King James Version, and New King James, render the second word in this passages as “defile.” Rheims New Testament uses “violate.” This would seem to refer to an individual engaging in various damaging acts such as illegal drug usage, committing adultery, incest, smoking, engaging in sexual acts that are against their nature, etc. One commentary suggests that Paul might have been “thinking ahead to those Cor[inthian] Christians who desecrate god’s temple by the sexual immoralities which he severely censures in” [1 Corinthians] Chapters 5 & 6. 1 Another commentary notes that the two words “defiles” and “destroy” in the above passage are actually the same word in the original Greek. It carries the meaning “desecrate.” 2 Willmington’s Bible Handbook refers to Verses 16 & 17 as implying that “Many of those in Corinth should be seriously concerned about the condition of their spiritual building.” i.e. they should be certain that their lifestyle are not desecrating their bodies. 3 Individuals attacking the body of believers: The New Living Translation translates verse 16 and 17 as: “Don’t you realize that all of your together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you. God will bring ruin upon anyone who ruins this temple. For God’s temple is holy and you Christians are that temple.” The same commentary as is mentioned above states that the “temple” here refers to the body of believers: “The destroyers seek to to subvert the temple itself and will themselves be destroyed.” 2 The New Jerome Biblical Commentary translates “holy temple” as referring to “The [Christian] community…destroyed by lack of sanctity.” 4 Individuals committing suicide: However, other Bible translations may put an entirely different slant on this passage. The American Standard Version, New American Bible, New American Standard Bible, New International Version, and New Revised Standard Version render the word as “destroy.” That might imply the act of a person committing suicide. Yet a reference to suicide seems out of place in a chapter which is called “On Divisions in the Church” in the New International Version. This may be instances of translators’ personal theology interfering with their choice of English words. Philippians 1:20-26: – Paul is contemplating whether it is better to live or die. He is hard pressed to decide between the two, “having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you…yet what I shall choose I cannot tell.” One commentator writes of this passage that Paul “does not know whether he prefers life with labor or death with gain…in a life-and-death situation, he scarcely knows which alternative is to be preferred.” He chooses life. 5 Revelation 9:1-10 - An angel is described as opening the bottomless pit to release clouds of locusts. These insects had a body like a horse, hair like a woman’s, a face of a man, and teeth like a lion. They were instructed to attack those people who “did not have the seal of God on their foreheads.” The locusts were to torment people for five months but not to kill them. They had stingers in their tails like those of scorpions. Verse 6 says: “In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death will flee from them.” i.e. they will attempt to commit suicide to end the torment, but for some reason, will be unable to achieve it.
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Open Letter
Hi,
It’s great that you are visiting this site. By reading this letter I hope you understand that acting on suicidal thoughts will in no way make you feel better. When a person is thinking about suicide it means that they are faced with a problem of such magnitude to themselves they simply can no longer process it and feel that by ending their own life they will feel relief.
But, you won’t! You won’t feel anything, you will just be dead.
You not only do not resolve the issues that created so much pain,but also have forever lost the opportunity to watch great events occur in the lives of those you left behind. You will not attend birthdays, graduations, marriages or be available to those you care about in times of their own troubles.
Many will wonder what they have could have done to help you through your own troubled times. Could they have acted to help prevent you from taking such a final action? will always be on their minds.
We do not know one another, but I care about your pain. Pain like yours is as palpable as if you had been struck by a bullet. But, talking about it will help, it always does.
Your family, friends and loved ones would grab at the opportunity to speak with you. If you are feeling abandoned then see a pastor, minister or rabbi – it doesn’t matter what your religion is, any of them do care about you. Or call:
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (USA) – 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
SuicideHotlines.com 1-800-SUICIDE
1-800-784-2433
1-800-799-4TTY (4889)
If you reach out someone will gladly help. You are not alone. If I am wrong you can always return to your plan another day. If I am right and you are wrong you will never no. Talk about your feelings, sharing your pain lessens it.
Good Luck,
Someone who cares about you
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The Memory of You is Forever
Some Things ARE Forever
Do you remember the tag line from that diamond commercial?…..”Diamonds are forever.” It isn’t true you know, a diamond can be lost, stolen or sold. You know what is forever? A successful suicide!
It can’t be lost, stolen or given away, the folks who care about you will have the memory of your suicide with them for the rest of your life. And, since you will be dead you cannot undo it either.
It doesn’t matter if you are religious and think there is an afterlife, or a non-believer that feels death is the end of the road. Ending your life will have an everlasting impact on people you know and maybe even of people you don’t.
The Pain Will Not End
If you feel suicidal it means you are feeling more pain than you can bear on your own. Ending your life will not end the pain; it simply ends your life. But, you cannot feel the relief as you will not be able to feel anything. However, the people you leave behind will feel pain, the pain of the loss of a friend, a loved one or even the sadness of the passing of an acquaintance.
The pain you feel is transferred to those still here. Is that what you want to remembered for?
Diamonds are not forever, the memory of you is, so do not let it be a source of pain for others.
The Pain is Real
The pain you feel is real and nearly unbearable, but, emotional pain hurts as much if not more than physical pain and is a filter that distorts your thoughts. Isn’t it a better decision to try and soothe your pain rather than do something you cannot ever undo? One day isn’t much – get help now, your options are always open later.
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Reasons To Live While Thinking About Killing Yourself
Me Reasons
Suicide is final – once done, I can’t change my mind.
I don’t really want to die. Life is all I have and just might be better than nothing.
Just because I have suicidal thoughts doesn’t mean I have to act on them.
No matter how badly I feel right now this won’t last. Killing myself won’t really solve anything.
I can always kill myself later, why not wait?
I love life at least in part – it’s too precious to end it now – there’s always later.
I will summon the courage to face life and move on.
I can find solutions to problems and learn to cope. Many things have a way of working out for the best.
I will (somehow) find my real purpose in life and reason to live.
Too many experiences I want to have. Too many things left to do
I am curious about the future. The future just might be better. I have plans and just maybe I will carry them out.
I’m afraid of the unknown. I’m afraid of death
Screwing Up Reasons
I’m afraid of the actual act of killing myself (pain, blood, failing, etc).
I can screw things up easily and my suicide method might not work.
I’m afraid of failing but leaving myself a mess.
I’m a coward and no guts to do it.
Otherworldly Reasons (Opposites Are OK)
My religious beliefs forbid it – It’s morally wrong – only God has the right to end a life (FYI the Bible says nothing definitive on suicide) (link to bible section of this site).
I’m afraid of going to hell – I’m afraid of not going to hell.
I don’t give a damn about heaven, hell or any so-called afterlife.
Family Reasons (Opposites Are OK)
I have a responsibility and commitment to my family – I don’t have family that matters
It would hurt my family. I don’t want them to suffer – It wouldn’t hurt my family. I want them to suffer.
I wouldn’t want my family to feel guilty afterwards – I want my family to feel guilty afterwards.
I would not want my family to think I’m selfish or a coward – I don’t care if my family thinks I’m selfish or a coward.
My family depends on me and needs me – My family doesm’t need me and doesn’t give a damn.
I love and enjoy my family too much – I don’t love and enjoy my family much.
My family might believe I didn’t love them.
I have no children so who cares – I want to watch my children grow up
The effect on my children could be harmful – It wouldn’t be fair to leave the children for others to take care of
Society Reasons (Opposites Are OK)
I’m concerned what others would think of me – I’m not concerned what others would think of me.
Some people might think I’m weak and selfish – Some people might think I’m a courageous martyr.
The Reasons to go on Living Project (http://www.thereasons.ca/)
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