Was Paul OCD?

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental disorder most commonly characterized by intrusive, repetitive thoughts resulting in compulsive behaviors and mental acts that the person feels driven to perform, according to rules that must be applied rigidly, aimed at preventing some imagined dreaded event; however, these behaviors or mental acts are not connected to the imagined dreaded event.

According to the current epidemiological data, OCD is the fourth most common mental disorder and OCD is considered nearly as common as asthma and diabetes mellitus.[1] In the United States, 1 in 50 adults have OCD.[2] In severe cases, it affects a person's ability to function in everyday activities. The disorder often has a serious impact on the sufferer's (and his/her family's) quality of life. Also, the psychological self-awareness of the irrationality of the disorder can be painful. For people with severe OCD, it may take several hours a day to carry out the compulsive acts.

Experts[who?] believe OCD may be related to levels of a normal chemical in the brain called serotonin. When the proper flow of serotonin is blocked, the brain's "alarm system" overreacts. Danger messages are mistakenly triggered. Instead of the brain filtering out these unnecessary thoughts, the brain dwells on them—and the person repeatedly experiences unrealistic fears and doubts.

The phrase "obsessive-compulsive" has become part of the English lexicon, and is often used in an informal or caricatured manner to describe someone who is meticulous, perfectionistic, absorbed in a cause, or otherwise fixated on something or someone.[3] Although these signs are often present in OCD, a person who exhibits them does not necessarily have OCD, and may instead have obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) or some other condition.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obsessive-compulsive_disorder


This will have a couple purposes. The first is to raise awareness of mental health issues. I now get aggrevated when I hear jokes about people with mental issues. Preachers poke fun at people taking Prozac, and kids that are ADHD. Where does this dark comedy come from? It is mostly because people to not fully understand this illnesses, and

So what does this have to with Paul? Man, I am glad ya'll ask so many questions. Here goes.

Saul was a well educated Jew. He was a student of Old Testament law, and new it in and out. He was trained by "the church". At some point he saw something that bothered him....people worshipping a man named Jesus. You and I know the Christ is our saviour, but Paul had issue. Why? Because, this went against everything that he had been taught. And I mean Saul was not just a C student. I know this because of his references to old testament scriptures in his many new testament letters. I think of Saul as the geek in the class. You remember the one that only studied, and had no life! That was Saul. If it was not in the old testament, he was not interested.

So he knew the law, and then he mixed in what seemed to be a toxic attribute.....obsessiveness. If Saul did not meet the definition of OCD, I challenge some Psychologist to explain why not. He was so passionate about a "perceived threat" that he was willing to kill for it. Now killing seems extreme, but you have to put it in perspective. In that time, it was the ultimate of wrongs to proclaim anyone to be as Holy as God. The jews did not first accept Christ as their saviour, so they killed Him. Paul was just living out a combination of how well he knew "the word" and his obsessive tendencies.

But he had not met Christ. So Paul is off to today, what he did so well, kill some Christians. He was not just going to knock off a couple, Wikipedia says he was going to anialate them. It was on his way that he met Christ. What is very interesting to me is that it was not a powerful sermon, followed by a couple lines of "come to Jesus" and the a pastor's out-stretched hands that they met. It was actually a pretty violent event. Enough so, that Paul fell down, and was blinded by Jesus. Wow.

Have you ever had an encounter in your life like that. We usually associate this with salvation, but I want to spin it a little. I believe that some of us have these moments smack dab in the middle of doing what we think God wants us to do. For those of us that are obsessive, it takes a little bit more than "He will save you, right now, right now."

Another point I want to raise is the "new Paul" Jesus changed his name to symbolize the change in side. So, was Paul delivered from OCD? I love to read/hear the scripture where Paul talked about praying thrice (three times for the unchurched...lol) for God to take something bad from him. Was it OCD that Paul was trying to get rid of? We don't know, so the blogger will use poetic license. Maybe it was, or at least was one of Paul's overwhelming issues. We all have at least one. We all have the one thing we know we should not do, but still do. Just ask David. So, Paul kept asking God, and God kept saying no. I will not take it from you. My grace is all you need to handle it.

So here is the juicy part. Maybe Paul's OCD was not a bad thing. I mean when he met Christ, what did he do. He obsessed. Same issue, new direction. He did not stop dancing, just changed partners.

I believe that God is calling to people that have fought themselves over "faults". Those of us who have been labeled, misunderstood, insecure, over something that God gave you. David told us in Psalm that we are beautifully, and wonderfully made. By the way, David was a murderer, judgemental, and he slept (though there was no much snoring) with another man's wife....yet a man after God's own heart.

Pray today that God will reveal your thorn in the flesh is. Ask God if you need to stop praying for him to take it away, and just start praying for His grace to use it for His glory. That's what Paul did.