A locked cockpit door turned an airliner into a weapon.
On March 24, 2015, German wings Flight 9525 was cruising from Barcelona to Düsseldorf. Nothing seemed unusual. Then, when the captain stepped out of the cockpit, tragedy began. Co-pilot Andreas Lubitz locked the reinforced cockpit door. From that moment, no one could get inside. He quietly programmed the plane into a steady descent toward the French Alps. The captain pounded on the door. Passengers screamed in the cabin. Air traffic controllers tried to make contact. But inside the cockpit, Lubitz said nothing. He simply watched the altitude fall. At 700 km/h, the Airbus A320 slammed into a mountainside. The crash killed all 150 people on board in seconds. Families, children, and an entire high school class on a trip — gone. The investigation revealed chilling details. Lubitz had a long history of severe depression. He had been declared unfit to work by doctors. But he hid his condition from his employer. He even searched online for ways to crash a plane in the days before the flight. A single locked door decided the fate of 150 people.
Depression is an emotional condition which is very rampart today and the story you just read is just one example of how it could end. It could be caused by stressful conditions at home or the office; it could be caused by a sense of lack of personal fulfilment, especially for those who set a very high target for themselves. For example, some set a target for themselves on what age they believe that they would have bought their first car, gotten married and/or built their own house. More often than not, other factors interrupt their plans and they fail to reach the goal at the intended time. This has resulted in depression for some people.
Leaning too much on public opinion; a senior accountant committed suicide and the suicide note said that people in his office did not openly appreciate his efforts in the company and he felt his life was not making any difference. Unfortunately, he was the highest paid staff in the company and the CEO held him in esteem.
A sense of rejection for women when they are not able to have their own baby and for the men, when they are not able to have sex with their wives. Some women have felt depressed at their middle-ages of 40s-50s when they noticed that men stopped showing interest in them for sex; this is especially when many of such women have a strong urge for sex at that age bracket. For men, when they are not able to meet the financial need of their family and unfortunately, some women nag such men to their early graves with words like, “How can I be suffering like this as if I am a widow even when I am living with a man in the house?”
It was reported few years ago that an American lad committed suicide when he noticed he had low grades during his examination. Unfortunately, it was discovered that the low grade was the result of a typographic error. We have heard reports of pastors who suffered from depression because they were not seeing growth in their ministry. A young minister pronounced curses on the elders in his church and resigned because they kept obstructing his plans to move the church forward. These are serious emotional conditions and only the victims know how it feels.
Hormonal changes in men and women; for women at the time of menopause their entire body system experience a lot of changes and they are not able to understand them self. In the absence of an understanding spouse, this could be catastrophic and a number of them have walked out of their marriage. I got to know what andropause was when I experienced it. If not for the emotional support of my wife, I don’t know how I would have turned out. I thought I was going impotent and many other things I cannot say here.
There are those who have this unfortunate factor in their genes; that means, depression is something that runs in their family line. That is why it is important that everyone should study their family tree, spiritually, medically and emotionally. The Lord Jesus Christ said that a tree is recognized by its fruit. It is not a death sentence if you have it on your family tree because He also said that you can work on your family tree. Matt. 12:33 to make it good. (You can learn more on the subject by reading my book, The Challenges Associated to the Family Tree. Available on the PNUR Online Bookstore. You can order directly from my office.)
Abuse of alcohol and hard drugs can lead to depression. Unfortunately, some people who are facing crisis run to these things for comfort and they end up making things worse. Gambling and pornography are major causes of depression. Anything that one does which he will not be proud to make public could cause depression.
Falling in love with someone who has no feeling for you. Many young women who have given all to a man only to discover that the man has no feeling for them, have spent the rest of their life depressed and unable to fall in love again.
Repeated illness and especially when the causes cannot be traced. This kind of patients are often depressed. Loss of loved one has also contributed to depression.
One last contributor is demonic possession and many counsellors are not even aware of it. In fact, most of the cases that ended in suicide are caused by demons. Once you cast out the demon, the person becomes relieved.
Mark 5:3-5
This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.
This scripture shows the level of danger those who stay around depressed people are exposed to;.
The next day an evil spirit from God came forcefully upon Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the harp, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand and he hurled it, saying to himself, "I'll pin David to the wall." But David eluded him twice. 1 Sam 18:10-11NIV
King Saul had a demon and that caused him discontent; he was not happy with himself and he expressed that towards another person who he considered a rival. There was the news of a man in the USA who killed his four children and invited the police to come and arrest him.
Some depressed people end up taking their own lives. Some make the mistake of resorting to hard drugs or alcohol. Some depression resulted from the nagging wives or abusive husbands and by this they extend their unhealthy emotional conditions to their immediate families and colleagues at work.
A Nigerian army man once opened fire on a number of his colleagues and then killed himself. It was traced to depression. Here in Port Harcourt the son of a pastor bought himself some poison and took his own life. He had returned from school a few days ago and was complaining about some things. His father saw it as one of those things young people do and left him to go to church but when he came back, he saw the lifeless body of his son in the house; he took his life.
Depression is more than just having a bad day; some things are not really in their rightful places in their mind. It is often connected to changes or movements in the brain. It could be the result of some demons driving their victim to self-destruction. What we refer to as OCD in the deliverance ministry.
For those who are facing this challenge currently, my advice is that you have to talk to someone; preferably a servant of God you respect. I want to say to parents and ministers of the gospel, at times all the person needs are listening ears and a hug after. At times what the victim is talking about does not make sense to you, but it means everything to him or her. Just listen. If you believe that you are not emotionally prepared for it, help him or her find someone who can handle it.
The Sovereign Lord has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught. Isa 50:4NIV
I also encourage us to try all we can, not to allow negative words out of our mouth. I remember when I used what I considered a joke at a brother, only to discover that I touched on a very serious matter in his life. I had to apologize immediately.
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. Eph 4:29NIV
This is very important for pastors and parents; a woman ran to my house after Sunday service in her church with eyes drenched in tears. She had been in a childless marriage for over ten years but during his sermon, her pastor had said that most women who are not able to have children was because they damaged their womb during unlawful abortion as young ladies. I can bet that her pastor did not have her in mind when he said that.
Some women who nagged their husbands to death only began to see their mistake after the man had died. A man threw out his wife to marry another woman because she could not have a baby. The same woman got pregnant only a few months after with another man. The other man received her the way she was and her body was relaxed to conceive. Her former husband got married to another woman who deceived him that he got her pregnant. Years after it was discovered because the child was a Sickler; the man was AA genotype. He lost it all. Let us learn to be there for one another.
This also goes for the way we treat our pastors. We hear people talk and insult pastors calling them jobless people. The work of the pastor is in the same level with the teachers’, lawyers and consultants. We gladly give these people money but ignore the pastor. For some people, the pastor is more like an ambulance that is only consulted when there is bad news. The result is that most genuine servants of God have abandoned their churches and members to search for secular jobs. Fake prophets now take their place and they are exploiting people. The same people who pushed away their pastor are complaining.
There is no one way to know the signs of depression in everyone. For some people, they sit quietly without talking to anyone. This is the worst condition because no one knows what is building inside. For some people, they complain about everything and weep over any little provocation. There are those who become violent. There are those who cover their condition with “always busy doing something” attitude. Some women get aggressive when approached for sex. They just want to remain alone. There are those who just accuse everyone of not thinking about their own problem. In whatever way it expresses itself, depression is a serious emotional condition that should not be overlooked.
Are there other ways you have noticed the signs of depression in yourself or others?
Kindly share with us at the comments section
Emma, your brother pnurnigeria@gmail.com
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