What do you think of Christians taking antidepressants? I have been on them and have been accused of not relying on God.

That relates to an earlier question about how any physical or personal means that you use can signify that you're not relying on God. So eating might be a failure to rely on God, because he might just fill your stomach by miracle, and you don't have to eat. Or not sleeping would be a way of relying more on God, since you don't have to have your psyche made stable by sleep at night. And so on.

God has ordained physical means. Aside from the ones that seem more natural, like food, there's medicine: aspirin, Nyquil, etc. This water is helping my throat right now. [Sips it.] Was that sip a failure to rely on God?

Could be. "Just throw this away and rely on God! He will keep your throat moist. You don't need to be drinking. You're an idolater, Piper. You're idolizing this because you're depending on it."

Well, the reason that's not the case is because God has ordained for me to thank him for that. He created it and he made this body to need a lot of fluid. And it's not a dishonor to him if I honor him through his gift.

Now the question is, "What medicines are like that or not like that?" Taking an aspirin?

My ophthalmologist told me about 4 years ago, "Take one baby aspirin a day and you will postpone cataracts or glaucoma or something." He said, "I can see just the slightest little discoloration, and the way it works is that circulation helps." So he told me to pop one of these little pills in my little vitamin thing. And I take it every day. And I just said, "Lord, whether I have eyes or not is totally dependent on you. But if you would like me to use this means, I would."

My answer is that when you start working with peoples' minds, you are in a very very tricky and difficult situation. But I think I want to say that, while nobody should hasten towards medication to alter their mental states—even as I say it I think of caffeine, right?—nevertheless, I know from reading history, like on William Cooper, and by dealing with many people over the years, that there are profoundly physical dimensions to our mental conditions.

Since that's the case, physical means can be appropriate. For me it's jogging. I produce stuff in my brain by jogging. But that might not work for somebody else, and they might be constantly unable to get on top of it emotionally. I just don't want to rule out the possibility that there is a physical medication that just might, hopefully temporarily, enable them to get their equilibrium, process the truth, live out of the strength of the truth, honor God, and go off it.

When I preached on this one Easter Sunday a woman wrote me, thanking me that I took this approach. She said, "You just need to know that I live on these things, and I know what it was like 20 years ago and the horrors and the blackness of my life. And now I love Christ, I trust Christ, I love my husband, our marriage is preserved, and I'll probably be on these till I'm dead."

So I'm not in principle opposed. I just want to be very cautious in the way we use antidepressants.