This week I have invited Martin Luther to share his thoughts on spiritual depression. In this letter he counsels Prince Joachim of Anhalt, a mutual friend of Luther and Nicholas Hausmann, on how to deal with apathy, burn-out, and depression. Enjoy!
"Be merry, then, both inwardly in Christ himself and outwardly in his gifts and the good things of life." Luther
“Your Grace has Master Nicholas Hausmann and many others near at hand. Be merry with them; for gladness and good cheer, when decent and proper, are the best medicine for a young person - indeed, for all people. I myself, who have spent a good part of my life in sorrow and gloom, now seek and find pleasure wherever I can. Praise God, we now have sufficient understanding [of the Word of God] to be able to rejoice with a good conscience and to use God's gifts with thanksgiving, for he created them for this purpose and is pleased when we use them.
If I am mistaken in my judgment and have done Your Grace an injustice, I hope that Your Grace will be good enough to forgive me. But it is my opinion that Your Grace is reluctant to be merry, as if this were sinful. This has often been my case, and sometimes it still is. To be sure, to have pleasure in sins is of the devil, but participation in proper and honorable pleasures with good and God-fearing people is pleasing to God, even if one may at times carry playfulness too far.
Be merry, then, both inwardly in Christ himself and outwardly in his gifts and the good things of life. He will have it so. It is for this that he is with us. It is for this that he provides his gifts - that we may use them and be glad, and that we may praise, love, and thank him forever and ever.
Old age and other circumstances will in time render present depression and melancholy superfluous. Christ cares for us and will not forsake us. To his keeping I commit Your Grace forever. Amen.
Your Grace's willing [servant],
Martin Luther, Doctor.
The eve of Pentecost in the year 1543
The well wisher of your soul’s happiness,
Pastor Tom
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