Answers
By BGEA Admin • March 24, 2022 • Topics: Depression, Drug Addiction
Q:
Addiction to prescription drugs is leading to greater problems than what people take the drugs for. It’s one thing to take illegal drugs, but it’s scary to take prescription medicine that causes other problems. This is especially true with antidepressants designed to help us cope.
A:
From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham
While battles rage around the world and storms gather in the human spirit, depression steals rest from our souls. There is widespread anxiety in people’s hearts today. This is an unfolding phenomenon that grips hearts with indescribable fear. Society is caught up in a powerful windstorm by turning to drugs to calm their hearts and minds.
Millions of barbiturates are swallowed every night to help the nation sleep. Millions of tranquilizers keep people calm during the day. Millions of pep pills wake people up in the morning. Volumes could be written on the problem of drug addiction. The Bible warns that these flights from reality bring no lasting satisfaction.
Antidepressants are now the most prescribed drugs in the United States. They are sometimes called the “designer drug.” In an interview on CNN, one physician stated, “It’s hard to believe that so many people are depressed, or that antidepressants are the answer.” This doctor is wise, indeed. Drugs are not the answer to man’s troubled condition. There is only one answer to the travail of this present age, and it is found in the pages of God’s Word, the Bible.
It’s important to be under the responsible care of physicians when battling emotional trauma, but we must not dismiss the peace of mind that comes from the Great Physician. The Bible encourages us to think on things that are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, and of good report. It is good medicine for our minds and hearts (Philippians 4:8). Jesus brings deliverance to those who are weighed down.
(This column is based on the words and writings of the late Rev. Billy Graham.)
