Pharmacology

Proverbs 12:25
Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, but a good word makes it glad.

There are a lot of drugs on the market designed to help people deal with depression and anxiety. Some of them include Prozac, Xanax, Klonopin, Cymbalta, Celexa, and Paxil. We’re bombarded with television, radio, and magazine ads telling us not only what is wrong with us, but also what drug we can use to fix it.

Sadly, these drugs have adverse effects on the body. They cause drowsiness, slurred speech, slow heart rates, low blood pressure, nausea, headaches, poor coordination, and weak muscles. They are all central nervous system (brain) depressants, meaning they depress (as in slow) your brain functions. They act on the body in a very similar way to alcohol, because alcohol too is a CNS Depressant.

These drugs induce a false sense of happy feelings in the body. They are parasympathomimetic drugs. They mimic the parasympathetic nervous system. This is the system in the body that sends messages to the brain that everything is fine. It’s the “we’re cool” message center. But the reality is, everything isn’t fine! It’s all false. These happy feelings, this at ease state of mind, it’s a lie. It’s a deception. It’s misleading. It’s destructive! These drugs are the world’s answer to a problem that only God can fix through the healing power of His Son, Jesus.

I’m not going to quote all of the scriptures that pertain to being a drunkard (which in most cases imply wine but can certainly pertain to the use or over-use of prescription medication) but rather, I am choosing to point out a scripture that addresses the problem and points to the solution!

Anxiety causes depression, but a good word can fix it! (Yes, I’m paraphrasing.) Jesus Himself tells us, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?” (Matthew 6:25) Then Paul repeats Christ in his letter to the Philippian church: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” (Philippians 4:6)

Christians, we have a severe problem out there in the world. There are people who are being deceived with false healings through drug-induced happiness while living their lives in a drunken stupor. All the while, their bank accounts and futures are being flushed away to the pharmaceutical industry. Mark 5 gives us an account of a woman who had an physical ailment for 12 years who had “...suffered many things from many physicians...” (Mark 5:25-26) But when she heard of Jesus’ coming she went out and touched Him and she was healed.

We need to take this Proverb to heart. John 1:1 tells us that Jesus Christ is the Word. It is imperative that we go out into the world, not bringing a message of condemnation, nor of fix-yourself programs. We don’t need to be vocalizing rules and regulations. We simply need to be bringing a Good Word to people. That Good Word is Jesus. When we deliver Jesus to the lost and hurting, the anxious and depressed, they’ll have no choice but to be glad. Jesus is the ultimate Healer. Why are we allowing people to settle for anything less than the Best?