Hi OCDyeahyouknowme,
I agree that with OCD it is important to not treat your mind like it is God. Some of us do that when we feel obsessions or compulsions and I tend to fall into that category at times I think. That is a really good point.
Regarding the first part of what you wrote, are you implying that OCD or the thoughts generated from OCD are sin? I am not sure if you are, it seems like it? so I want to clarify on the neurological aspects of the disorder a little bit, and share some of my own thoughts too. If you are not feel free to disregard my clarification in this and the following paragraph, but you're welcome to read it if you want. OCD can sometimes be misunderstood, so I still want to offer further information regarding this disorder to anyone on this forum it may be helpful to. I am not an OCD expert, but here are some things I've learned about OCD: OCD is a neurological disorder. It is characterized by lateral orbital loop dysfunction, and has been associated with a hyperactive neurocircuitry process, damage to the basal ganglia or lesions on the basal ganglia in the brain, and / or a genetic mutation. In obsessive compulsive disorder (unwanted) intrusive thoughts are generated. Because of the hyperactivity in certain parts of the neurocircuitry in people with OCD, it's like having a faulty alarm system that sounds repeatedly. I don’t think it is exactly fair to say or imply that the activity and effects of a brain disorder that is out of the control of the sufferer is sin; (though OCD symptoms can look a whole lot like sin at times.)
For example, if a person had a brain tumor, and it was pressing into certain areas of the brain responsible for emotion, and the person experiencing the tumor started to exhibit negative personality manifestations due to the effects of the tumor’s location and growth, we would not call the negative personality manifestations “sin” but pathology of the disorder. The same is true with OCD. A person with a neurocircuitry dysfunction that generates unwanted images, feelings of doubt or fear, is not the same as a person who does not have a neurocircuitry dysfunction and simply lacks faith. The person with OCD is not in control of the disorder happening in the brain; for the person who is normal and does not have OCD this is not a factor, and their doubting is most likely due to issues with their faith specifically. I think it is very important to make this distinction. I do not believe God looks at people with OCD who are not in control of what is happening in their brain as sinning as it is happening, as in the same way I do not believe God holds people who have brain tumors that affect the emotional centers in the brain, guilty of sin due to negative personality manifestations as a result of the tumor pressing into these areas. God understands what is in our control and what is not in our control. God is gracious, and He is also fair. He will not hold us responsible for what is honestly out of our control. Just as I believe God would not hold someone responsible for the sin of sexual immorality if they technically had “sex outside of marriage” if they were raped, in the same way I cannot see God holding a person responsible as sinning in the case of intrusive thoughts or other symptoms of OCD that happen to a person against their will or desires.
I do believe that where we do have control is in our response to the disorder on a whole as it plays out in our lives. We may experience excessive guilt, doubting, etc due to the disorder. Though we may not be able to rid ourselves of these things due to the disorder’s effects, we can make a determined response decision to them. OCD seems to continually trip me up on the nuanced things. So for me, it means reminding myself that God is love and that He will not hold me accountable for OCD thoughts that I do not want. It is also storing up His word in my heart and mind that talk about His faithfulness and immense love for me. It is trying to live right by God and do His will, even though I have this disorder. God knows those who really want to please Him and those who don’t. He loves the ones who do and wants to reconcile to Himself the ones who don’t (loving them also). Whatever side we are on when it comes to that, we know we have a God who loves us, and ultimately wants us with Him. That is a great comfort and incentive to cling to God for those of us with OCD.
Those of us who have OCD are not exempt from guilt and doubt apart from OCD that has to do with a genuine lack of faith. However as sufferers I think we need to have special consideration that we have a disorder that generates unwarranted anxiety and fear, and to ask God for guidance, read His word, and rely heavily on His GRACE when we can’t tell the difference.
Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”
Romans 10:17 “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ."
Faith can be felt at times, but I believe it doesn’t have to be always felt or a feeling. It can simply be a stoic belief based on facts provided from a reliable source. In our case that reliable source is God. When OCD sends faulty messages, we need to override them with the acknowledgement of who God is and His grace based on what the Scriptures say. This in particular has been one of the most helpful things for me while in the midst of having OCD. Thank God for His truth, His mercy, His love and His grace; and the fact that we don’t even have to understand all this perfectly to receive it!
Even though OCD and its pathology is not sin, it is encouraging to look at God’s disposition toward people who sin (which is all of us at one point or another whether we have OCD or not):
Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, let us reason together says the LORD: Though your sins are like scarlet they shall be white as snow; though they are like crimson they shall be come like wool."
God is reasonable. That is reassuring. It is comforting to know that the Lord is willing to “reason together” with us even when we do sin apart from OCD, and even when we can’t tell the difference between OCD and sin. Jesus approached Peter seeking to restore their relationship after Peter willingly denied even knowing the Lord 3 times! In the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15), notice the attitude of the son and of the father:
"I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants."' 20And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 21And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' 22But the father said to his servants, 'Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. 24For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.' And they began to celebrate.
I notice two things in this parable about how God relates to us:
The first is that after the son made the decision to go back to the father, “while he was still a long way off” his father saw him and felt compassion and ran to him.
The second is that his son was considered alive again and found just by coming to the father after sinning. The son wants mercy but seemingly pleas to get what he considers a fairer treatment for his sins: “I am no longer worthy to become your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.” The father refuses his son’s plea for fair or even just merciful treatment alone for the sins his son committed. Instead, the son is lavished in grace from his father. The father seems so overjoyed at his son’s return he seemingly ignores his son’s request for fairer treatment in the zealous pursuit to celebrate his son’s return right then and there. It doesn’t seem to be grace given after a pause of hesitation and reluctance; rather the grace the father shows the son looks like a natural response issuing from the deep and profound appreciation that his son wants to be reconciled to him.
In the case of Peter, he sinned out of fear for his life. In the case of the prodigal son he willfully left his father’s house and father behind to live in in sinful excess. In the case of Peter the Lord approached him, to reconcile. In the case of the prodigal son, when he decided to approach his father and return his father considered his son reconciled to him because of that.
If God is like this toward us when we actually sin, I imagine that for those of us who have OCD and cannot control the intrusive thoughts and do want to be right with God, and fear losing Him, the response from God is at least as gracious. Logically, I can’t imagine His response being less than wanting reconciliation, and having us in His good grace; (especially when we want these things so badly in spite of a neurological disorder that we cannot control.)
This is our God. He pursues us and He loves us. It does not mean He is soft on sin (there are plenty of passages that show is not soft on sin); but these passages show He loves us far more than we probably even comprehend or fully grasp. This should comfort us when we do sin and also when OCD generates symptoms that look like sin, but are not true extensions of how we really feel. God loves us.
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Acts 2:38 – “And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
thanks!
