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The Antidote Against Despair

         The Apostle Paul, writing to the Church at Corinth, said, “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.”  (2 Cor. 4:8,9) What powerful antidote to despair had Paul discovered?

            The National Bureau of Economic Research has distributed a paper written by three people from Notre Dame, Wellesley College and Ohio State University dealing with the subject of religiosity and mortality from deaths of despair.

         What they discovered is that so-called “deaths of despair”, like those from suicide, poisoning or alcohol abuse, are sky-rocketing among middle-age white Americans.  They found a corollary between these kinds of deaths and the decline of religion in America.

         The authors of the report noted:

“We…show that there is a strong negative relationship across states between religiosity and mortality due to deaths of despair. We further find that states that experienced larger declines in religious participation in the last 15 years of the century saw larger increases in deaths of despair.”

         The researchers took a look at what are called “Blue Laws” – those laws that historically prohibited businesses from operating on Sunday mornings.  When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that those laws were unconstitutional, many states repealed their blue laws.  The researchers noted:

“These laws have been shown to be strongly related to religious practice, creating discrete changes in incentives to attend religious services that are plausibly unrelated to other drivers of religiosity.”

         The repeal of blue laws had a 5- to 10-percentage-point impact on weekly attendance of religious services, and increased the rate of deaths of despair by 2 deaths per 100,000 people, accounting for a “reasonably large share of the initial rise in the deaths of despair.”

         The researchers stated their data points out the importance of cultural institutions, like churches, in promoting well-being. They note that “the decline in religion at the end of the century suggests that this decline could be responsible for a reasonably large share of the initial rise in deaths of despair.” In other words, going to Church is a deterrent to death by despair.

         Which takes me back to Paul writing to the Corinthians.  Paul, who could have easily struggled with despair given his beatings, ship wrecks and imprisonments, knew how to battle discouragement. 

         He reminds us to be anxious for nothing, but to take our worries to God, who will ‘guard our hearts and minds in Jesus Christ.’  (Phil. 4: 6-7) He tells us that the power of the Holy Spirit lets us “abound in hope” (Romans 15:13) He encourages us to know that Jesus said His “grace was sufficient” and that His “power is made perfect in our weakness.” (2 Cor. 12:9)

         Paul writes that he was burdened beyond his strength to the point where he despaired “of life itself.” Yet, Paul didn’t rely on himself but rather on the One who raised the dead.  “He delivered us…he will deliver us again.” (2 Cor. 1:8-11) he writes.

         If you are struggling with despair, remember that the God of all comfort stands at the ready to comfort you with His unfailing love and His tender mercies.

         Those are my thoughts.  I’m Janet Parshall.