Is depression a sin? No. Depression is not a sin nor is it always caused by being sinful. Depression is a real physical mental illness. Having a medical condition is not a sin. God doesn’t punish us with illness or physical conditions. It is we who try to explain the pain and despair of illness as a punishment or a sin because we can’t understand why God allows it.

Depression is often caused by life circumstances such as job loss, death of a loved one, divorce, low self-esteem or abuse. When you ask God to help you and give you hope, it’s all part of healing. Asking God to take away the sin of depression won’t work because God knows depression isn’t a sin. Nor is depression some form of demonic possession. Laying on of hands and asking God to make the demon leave won’t work because God knows that depression isn’t demonic possession.

Even behaviour you consider sinful, God may not. Remember, no one knows the truth of a person’s soul except God and the person. You might judge an alcoholic as a sinful person because he’s chosen to drink to excess. That’s the sin of careless living. Yet the reason for the excessive or sinful drinking might be depression. An alcoholic might have been abused as a youth or had a parent die by suicide. Alcohol in that case is a painkiller because nothing else numbs the person’s despair. So while turning away from God to seek comfort in alcohol might be sinful, the depression itself is not a sin.

People today have a better understanding of depression. Telling someone, “You were sinful so you’re being punished with depression” only isolates the person more from society. When battling depression, the goal is to bring the person back into the world and closer to God. You want to give hope and encourage the person to bring the pain to God for healing.