Don't Take Suicide Threats Lightly Pt. 3

In 2 Samuel 16 in the Bible, we read about Ahithophel, who was counsellor to both king David and his son Absalom. Absalom had rebelled against his father and had declared himself king. Ahithophel, who had once been loyal to David, had defected to Absalom. Now, even though Ahithophel's advice at one time seemed as reliable as God's, God himself wanted to bring disaster on Absalom for not honouring his father. He used Hushai, one of David's trusted friends who was still loyal to him, to give bad advice to Absalom. Absalom rejected Ahithophel's advice, and he went home, put his affairs in order and then hung himself.

But let's pretend that Absalom did not defect, and God was not trying to destroy him. Instead, it was an ordinary day in the court of David, and his son. prince Absalom was one of his high officials. As usual, all of David's high officials and army officers were accustomed to asking Ahithophel for advice, and they would follow it to the letter. But one day, David became friends with another very wise man called Hushai. In a very important matter, David and his officials decided to take Hushai's counsel, and disregarded Ahithophel's advice. Ahithophel, feeling rejected and angry because of his loss of influence over the king and his court, goes home.

Suppose you are one of Ahithophel's wife. Your husband is usually calm and haughty when he comes home from the palace. But today he comes home angry. You ask him what is troubling him, but instead of answering the question, he tells you how he wants to dispose of his property, almost as if he was about to die. What do you do, Mrs. Ahithophel?

1. Continue to ask Ahithophel what is wrong, in an attempt to draw out the cause of his distress. Many times someone thinking of suicide is crying out for help and wants someone to listen to him.

2. Ahithophel starts putting his affairs in order. Ask him why he is disposing of his property and his family. This is what persons do when they are contemplating   suicide. 

3. If you think that Ahithophel might try to hurt or kill himself, come out and ask him plainly if he is thinking of doing this. If he says that he wants to commit suicide, get help for him, like a police officer, a pastor, or someone who can talk him out of it.

4  Get counselling for him from someone trained to counsel people who want to commit suicide.

5. As a believer in Jesus Christ, include times of Bible reading designed to show the person how  much God loves them, and try to lead him in a salvation prayer. If the person is a believer already, try to reassure him that God is still in control and that He is still there, ready and willing to help. As a believer, I believe that only God can help us to solve the sticky problems that we face in our lives.

6. Family and friends of those contemplating suicide or have committed suicide, PLEASE GET COUNSELLING YOURSELF, FOR THIS ACT AFFECTS THE WHOLE FAMILY.

Most of all, people contemplating suicide our listening ear, your love and care. Always have a consistent line of communication with your family and friends. Always make sure that they are always able and comfortable to come and talk to you about anything and everything. Let them know how much that they are loved and appreciated.
Above all, the one thing that you do not do - DON'T EVER TAKE SUICIDE THREATS LIGHTLY!

"(God) heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds." Proverbs 147: 3