A report published by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in August 2023, indicates that the suicide rate for Americans has increased to levels not seen since 1941. This marks a 1% increase over the previous year and translates to nearly 50,000 Americans taking their own lives last year.
The numbers are shocking.
- Suicide among females increased at 4% while males increased by 1%. Still, men are nearly four times more likely to commit suicide than women.
- Rates of suicide for younger Americans decreased (under 35 for men and under 25 for women) but saw a sharp increase above those ages. The largest increases occurred above age 75.
Why? Certainly, data points do not tell that part of the story, but I do believe they suggest possibilities that can be categorized by three words: Identity, Purpose, and Ownership.
Ownership. Who is responsible for your life? There are many things about our lives that we should take responsibility for. Our coming into being is not one of them. Each person reading this (yes, both of you), is on this planet as the result of the choice of another. You were sustained in your earliest and most vulnerable days by the care of another. Someone chose you. You may say, “Not me! I was a surprise to my parents…an inconvenient consequence of passion…a product of a terrible set of circumstances.” Others may resist this idea, clinging to some American ideal of autonomy; but, the greater consideration should be authority. If someone created you and cared for you, then they had and have some authority over your life. That is…ownership. The issue of authority or ownership is at the forefront of the Apostle Paul’s teachings:
…you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
1 Corinthians 6:19–20 (NASB95)
Paul, not immune to his own teaching, most often referred to himself as a slave/bondservant of Christ. A doulos in the original language…referring to someone under the authority and care of a master…as an act of willful submission. Paul’s identity as a bondservant makes no sense apart from the authority and status of His Master. (More on this in a moment).
Purpose. Everyone needs purpose. This is one of the fundamental ingredients to joyful living. It is the WHY that gets you out of bed, fuels you in times of peace, and sustains you in times of trial. Purpose is also inherent in every person. The Lord spoke this to the Old Testament Prophet Jeremiah:
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
Jeremiah 1:5 (NASB95)
Long before Jeremiah could form a thought or make a choice, the God of heaven had a plan for Him. A reason for existing. A “Why” for his life. That’s not only true for Jeremiah, but for all of us; and, not only in our creation, but for the Christian, in our reconciled relationship with God through His Son, Jesus.
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
Ephesians 2:8–10 (NASB95) italics added
This purpose is not a product of our doing and it is not distinct from God’s purpose for us before we were created in the womb. You have a WHY! It has eternally existed in the mind of God. If we buy into the American ideal of autonomy, then the purpose is up to us, but if we are under authority, then we do not have to conjure up our reason, only discern our assignment.
Identity. With Ownership and Purpose comes Identity. We are, in some ways, instruments of God’s divine will. But we are more than that. Yes, He created us for a purpose, but not in the same way that a blacksmith makes a horseshoe, or an architect draws a blueprint. We are not merely the marks on a canvas by a master Artist. We are far more. We are adopted children of the great God who purposed our creation…if we are born again through His Son Jesus.
“See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are…Beloved, now we are children of God…”
1 John 3:1-2 (NASB95). italics added
Growing up in my hometown, I was known to many as “Big Boy’s” son. My dad was a policeman in the town and well known. Because I was his kid, I had an identity. The same became true for me when I joined the Army. When I enlisted, I came wholly under the authority and care of the Officers appointed over me in service to the nation. I made very few decisions for myself except whether or not to obey orders. In this relationship, I gained a new identity: a Soldier.
Implications. I think that part of the contributing factors to the increase in deaths by suicide relate to these three issues. There is a rebellion against authority. I get it. No one taught me to be a rebel either. It is part of my nature…my fallen nature. It’s important to remember though, that my rebellion does not negate the reality of authority. You can speed down the highway but that doesn’t change the speed limit or cause the Highway Patrol to vanish. The authority exists and it works best when you and I embrace it—not only as real but as good.
The authority informs purpose. You are not a mistake or a surprise. You are not the product of mere human reproductive processes. You are purposefully made. Even if your parents had no idea what they were doing, there is a good God with authority who willed your being into being and used the means He saw fit to do it. He wants you to live out that purpose. Yes, you and I mess that up and, at times, stray far from it…but through God’s redemptive actions in Jesus, He restores us to the potential of fulfilling that purpose. Fueling God’s acts of creation and restoration is a relationship. You are more than a number and more than a means to an end. You are a precious and loved son or daughter of the reigning King. He did not just bring you onto the ranch; rather, He set you a place at His table.
I imagine that the missing hope in the lives of everyone who took their lives comes down to one or more of these three things. If so, that means the ultimate answer to a climbing suicide rate is not more counseling, more hotlines, or more controls on social media. It is not new legislation that provides greater restrictions on the means employed to end one’s own life. The ultimate answer is hope derived from Ownership, Purpose, and Identity. The way people come to understand this…is through the intentional telling and retelling of the story by those who live out their purpose, under the authority of God, as His children…made possible by the precious sacrifice of Christ on our behalf which settles the debt of sin and restores the hope of pursuing God’s good design again.
If hope is waning for you, would you let me know? I’d love to pray for you and share with you more about God’s design and how it informs our Ownership, Purpose, and Identity. Until then, know that you matter. Your life matters. And the One who graciously gave those to you wants you to experience the benefits of them to the full!
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