Feeling SAD? Get Some Light!

First published in The Daily Sentinel, Friday, February 1, 2008

The rush of Christmas is behind us (whew!), and summer seems so far away. In the bleak midwinter, it is easy to get the bad-weather blues. In recent years, scientists have even developed a name for it: Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Sad, indeed!

Scientists tell us that the cure for SAD is light; we just don’t get enough of it during the shortened winter days for some people’s brains to produce the specific chemical that wards off depression (or to shut off the production of another hormone that can cause depression). Interestingly, women get SAD over men by a 3-to-1 ratio. But no matter your gender, I have a word of advice: if you’re feeling SAD, get into the Light!

Call it a stretch, but I think this resonates with the Christian experience. The Gospel of John opens with the image of Jesus as the Light: “In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” Life can be extremely SAD (Sinful And Doubtful) – especially without Jesus Christ. But He – the Light – is a cure for our SADness, if only we could understand and accept it.

It seems to me that much of the time, we only want a little Light – not too much, because our eyes start to squint and sometimes the Light hurts our eyes. I especially have a hard time turning on the light in the bathroom first thing in the morning. Let me just us the nightlight, that’s enough…

Actually, no it is not. I remember once reaching into the bathtub to turn on the shower. The nightlight didn’t reveal anything, but the moment I turned on the water, a cat shrieked and jumped out of the bathtub. I nearly jumped out of my skin!

Spiritually speaking, we are often only half-awake. We don’t want too much Light – just a little will do. But when the cats of disaster appear out of nowhere, we are not ready. Going to church once a week for an hour for worship is not enough Light to get you through the SAD times. And if you participate in church less than that, you are still walking in total darkness!

The only way to get enough Light to cure your SAD is to truly commit yourself to the Light! Be involved in an ongoing relationship with Jesus and with other Christians. Join a Sunday school class and/or weekday Bible study. Get involved in an outreach program that helps others. Begin afterschool tutoring, hospital and/or nursing home visitations – anything that brings your attention off of yourself and on to others.

When people tell me that their lives are spiritually empty, I ask them what they’re doing about it. Are they taking time for personal prayer and Bible devotions? Are they sharing love and kindness towards others? Are they active beyond the boundaries of occasional Sunday morning worship? If they’re not, then of course their lives are empty. The paradox of Christian living is that the more you give, the more you receive. Show Light and you see Light!

It is tempting to think that our pastors are the ones paid to do ministry on behalf of their churches. But that is not Jesus’ model. When we read his “Great Commission” in Matthew 28:19, it doesn’t say “go and pay someone to make disciples…” Instead, Jesus says “go and make disciples… and surely I am with you always.” Pastors are ordinary people tasked with the extraordinary responsibility to get EVERYONE involved in disciple-making. And that means YOU!

Know what the difference is between a spiritually alive church and a spiritually dead church? LIGHT!! The alive church has opened themselves up to share more Light by reflecting more Light and therefore experiencing more Light. For Christmas, I gave my family custom t-shirts. On the front, there’s a picture of the moon and a caption: “Be the Moon.” On the back of the shirt is an incredibly colorful icon of Jesus that looks like stained glass. Its caption: “Reflect the Son.”

There is only one way to stop being SAD, and that’s to have Light! My friends: Be the Moon; reflect the Son!!