Will God punish my brother for committing suicide?

Dear Pastor,

Some years ago, one of my brothers committed suicide. This brother was a Christian. He was always attending church. Nobody thought that he would go to that extreme to take his own life. We got the impression that he was a happy man. He had a lovely girlfriend. He appeared that he was happy with her, and she was happy with him. When we heard that he killed himself, we asked ourselves why. We wondered why a man who professed Christianity would take his own life. Is there any forgiveness for him, or is he gone straight to Hell? Some people say that one who takes his own life cannot be forgiven. You are a man of the cloth. I would like to hear how you feel about it.

Please let us know.

I asked some religious people what they think has happened to my brother and they said he is lost forever. I asked them to point out a scripture that will prove that anyone who takes his own life is lost and they were unable to do so. They kept saying he is lost because he is not able to pray for the forgiveness of his sins because he is dead. I hope you will be able to show me a scripture or two, one way or the other.

F.P

Dear F.P.,

I have always believed that one who has taken his or her life was perhaps not in his or her right mind. I have always believed that such person was deeply depressed and lost control.

Your brother would have fallen into that category. Would God, therefore, punish him for such a crime? I will have to answer you by saying that I really don't know whether a person who has done that act would indeed suffer eternal punishment at the hand of God.

A pastor friend of mine grew up all his children in church. This young man got along very well with his siblings. He got married and everything was going well. He had a good job. And then the news came that he committed suicide. He killed himself. His siblings and wife kept asking why, why did he take his life? No one knew the answer. All we knew was that he was the son of a godly pastor. Before I go, I will tell you another.

A minister had a lovely church, a wonderful following, and one day he went down to his office and there were members there. He said to them, if you hear an explosion, don't try to come in, call the police. He went to his office, took a gun and killed himself. The people who were there did exactly what he said. They called the police. Could you imagine what happened at that church? That man who served the pastor and served the community took his life. I repeat, depression must have taken over anyone who takes their own life.

My brother, I do not know the answer. But I am curious, and like you, I would love to know the answer, but I am not going to speculate. There are certain things that should be left in the hands of God, and this is one.

Pastor