17 OCTOBER 2018 BODY OF CHRIST NEWS Iwant to restate how honored I am to share spiritual insights with you through this Body of Christ newspa- per. Mental Health is still the topic of the day, particularly when it comes to issues of safety and productivity. We have shared insights regarding the historical perspective. Let’s look at its definition from a Spiritual perspective. While there are at least 22 Biblical quotes regarding mental health, the most profound one, in my opinion, is found in 2 Timothy 1:7 New King James Version (NKJV), “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” There are also Biblical quotes that equate insanity with a lack of peace or with anxiety. Consider the fol- lowing scriptures in your spare time. Philippians 4:6-7, 1 Peter 5:7, John 14:27, Jonah 2:5-7, Philippians 4:13, 2 Timothy 1:7, Matthew 6:34, 2 Corinthians 10:5, Isaiah 41:10, Matthew 11:28-30, 1 John 4:8, Romans 12:1-2, Romans 8:6, 1 John 4:16, Romans 8:18, Romans 8:28, Matthew 9:12-13, Luke 5:31-32, 1 Samuel 16:23, Ecclesiastes 12:12, Proverbs 16:24, Ephesians 4:23 When we focus on 2 Timothy 1:7, we conclude that soundness of mind, power, and love are the opposite of fear and anxiety. We conclude that anxiety and fear may be correlated or equated with not being of sound mind. When we think about mental health in the traditional sense it is defined as an incurable cognitive condition such as, developmentally delayed, a trau- matic brain injury, as well as other irreversible thought processes that result in dysfunctional behavior. This conservative definition as found in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual Revision Five (DSM-5.) “A mental disorder is a syndrome characterized by clinically significant disturbance in an individual’s cogni- tion emotion regulation or behavior that reflects a dysfunction in the psy- chological, biological, or developmental processes underlying mental function- ing. Mental disorders are usually associated with significant distress or disability in social occupational, or other important activities.” :An expectable or culturally approved response to a common stressor or loss, such as the death of a loved one is not a mental disorder. Social deviant behavior (e.g., political, religious, or sexual) and conflicts that are primar- ily between the individual and society are not mental disorders unless the deviance or conflict results from a dys- function in the individual as described above.” From this definition we can simplify an understanding regarding what we call a mental dysfunction managed by medication. It is cognitive, taking place in our brain. It is permanent. The usage of the word syndrome in the definition indicates that we cer- tainly do not have all the answers. We also realize that mental health is not learned behavior…. For purposes of this series, we will be referring to behavioral health issues. Most laymen do not consider the dif- ference. Therefore, I will not dwell on the contrast either, except to say that behavioral health is the outcome of dysfunction thought processing which can be retrained or reversed. I had the opportunity to listen to one of so many brilliant sermons deliv- ered by Reverend Otis Moss, III. He expounded on the concept of Holistic Worship which reinforced the impor- tance of spirituality relative to our capacity to process thought. It begins with theology, our relationship with God which informs our psychology (our perception and how we process thought) which informs our anthropol- ogy which informs our sociology which informs our biology. This chain of influence reminds us that our central nervous system controls everything in our physical body. When we exer- cise mind control, the most important foundation is a sense of peace and well-being which is often informed by our theology. For me that is relation- ship with God within the context of my Christian faith. There are others who cloak/frame their theology through other venues. In closing, at least for the time being, remember that for purposes of this series, we are addressing mental/ behavioral health as reversable and informed by our relationship with God. We look forward to continuing in next issue. Spiritual Insight on Mental Health Marjorie Lewis By Rev. Marjorie B. Lewis, Ph.D. HEALTH When we think about mental health in the traditional sense it is defined as an incurable cognitive condition such as, developmentally delayed, a traumatic brain injury, as well as other irreversible thought processes.