But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again. One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” Jesus replied, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:34-40 NLT
Loving God is not enough. Jesus made it very plain. When the religious people tried to trap Him and make Him say that loving God was the greatest commandment, Jesus said relationship with God was top of the list, but there was a second commandment that was the same as the first – equal with the first. That is our relationship with others. We are to love them as we love ourselves. Every other law will be fulfilled if we make certain our relationship with God and others is strong.
Those two relationships are the core of God’s way to mental health. There are two parts – equally important. Of course, we can’t be completely mentally whole if our relationship with God is not our priority. But after that, it’s critical. We must have community. We were made for community – even the most introverted among us. Check out Genesis 2. God said so.
Community is vital to our faith and our mental and emotional health. We are to love each other, encourage each other, help each other, and learn from each other. There is so much power in community. Think of the last time you worshipped with your church family. Wasn’t it helpful? The Bible tells us that whenever two or three are gathered together, He is there. We find strength and hope together. Our default thinking tells us that we are alone, but that is miles from truth. You are never the only one going through a crisis. Our experiences and stories help each other. He made us to connect and grow together. It was His plan from the beginning.
Mental health struggles can be very dark, desperate places. But it’s always better to have someone with you in the dark. Very likely, God is going to use one or more of your traveling companions to walk you into increasing light.
- Darkness is inevitable. It happens. But God and people together can make even night a time for growth. Community is vital. You won’t be healthy without it. So now what?