Theology Of Mental Health 01 | Peace
Introduction—What does the Bible say about mental health?
That is the question that I have been trying to answer for years.
So many of us who have struggled with our mental health as followers of Jesus have wondered...
What is the intersection between mental health and following Jesus?
As I have wrestled with this question over many years, I have found that the Bible has a lot to say about mental health.
Mental health is our well-being, and it is made up of four key facets of being human—mind, emotions, relationships and our relationship with God. You can think of mental health as whole person well-being.
How does our well-being relate to God's design for humans?
Let's explore mental health through the storyline of scripture.
A Parallel Between Peace & Mental Health
What is fascinating to me about our modern conceptual definition of mental health is that it closely parallels one of the most important concepts in the Bible—peace.
The word peace is used over 230 times in the Old Testament.
And the word peace is used 90 times in the New Testament.
Peace is a major theme that threads through the entire story of the Bible.
The Old Testament term for peace is שָׁלוֹם | shalom. Shalom at its foundation means well-being. As a state of health or wholeness that is connected to many facets of life. This well-being or wholeness is related to our souls, our relationships with one another, our relationship with God, and our relationship with the world.
"The Lord blesses his people with peace." - Psalm 29:11 (NIV)
The New Testament term for peace is εἰρήνη | eirene. Eire means a state of harmony, well-being or peace.
"And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 4:7 (NIV)
This idea of peace has so many parallels to our modern definition of mental health. Peace is our well-being. Peace can be affected by our thinking, our emotions, our relationships and our relationship with God. Peace is experienced internally—in our soul. And peace is experienced externally—in our relationships.
Peace or well-being was created by God. We were designed from the very beginning of the biblical story to live in a state of harmony with God's design for our lives. Internally, we were created to experience peace or well-being. Externally, we were created to experience peace or well-being. And peace is the essence of human flourishing. With it we experience flourishing. And without it, we feel a void of flourishing.
We were created to be people of peace.
Check out Theology of Mental Health 02 | Flourishing.
There Are Better Days Ahead.
Much Love + Peace,
Wesley Towne, Founder