Rush Limbaugh was released from the hospital this week after experiencing chest pains.
"They found absolutely nothing wrong. It was a blessing. No arterial disease, no coronary disease whatsoever," Limbaugh said as he left the hospital.
There are few if any issues that I agree with Mr. Limbaugh on. But I am happy for him that physicians found no systemic health programs that Mr. Limbaugh was willing to discuss. I’m not, however, convinced that Mr. Limbaugh is well.
We disagree on political and social issues, of course. Yet Mr. Limbaugh’s advocacy on issues goes far beyond the usual disagreement that people often have on important public policy issues.
Each day on his radio program he expresses real hatred toward those he disagrees with. Mr. Limbaugh offers particular venom when discussing African-Americans, Hispanics, gays, and women. To say that Mr. Limbaugh is racist, sexist and homophobic is a fair assessment.
I’m an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ and not a mental health professional, but I have enough professional experience to question whether or not Mr. Limbaugh's hatred toward others does not provide evidence of mental health problems. We already know that Mr. Limbaugh is a (recovering) drug addict. Could it be that his personal anger is contributing to his health and addiction problems?
The New York Times, in a story linking anger to health concerns, once reported:
People who often explode in hostile rages or who sit around fuming over every perceived slight may be doing more than making themselves unpleasant. They may be killing themselves.
Researchers have gathered a wealth of data lately suggesting that chronic anger is so damaging to the body that it ranks with, or even exceeds, cigarette smoking, obesity and a high-fat diet as a powerful risk factor for early death…
A series of long-term epidemiological studies support theories that hostility can be lethal. In two studies begun in the 1960's, 155 medical students and 118 law students were given standard personality tests at the age of 25 in which their hostility was gauged by their described reactions to about 50 everyday situations.
Following up the study 25 years later, researchers found that among the lawyers who were rated as basically easygoing and had scored in the lowest quarter on the hostility scale, only 4 percent had died by the age of 50. But among those ranking in the top quarter of the hostility chart, 20 percent had died.
There has been a longstanding theological debate about sin and judgment. Many believe that God punishes sin through eternal damnation. Some might argue that Mr. Limbaugh’s attempts to divide the American people across political, racial and religious lines constitute sin. I would agree with that.
I’m not worried about Mr. Limbaugh’s eternal soul, however. He’s creating his own hell on earth where his hate and anger appear to be consuming him. Leading a sinful life has consequences and perhaps Mr. Limbaugh's ill health is a direct result of his own actions.
It would be easy for people impacted by Mr. Limbaugh’s hateful rhetoric – the ways in which he has inspired anti-government feelings that helped fuel the Oklahoma City bombing, for example, or the ways he has given cause to those who wish to restrict civil rights for gays, blacks and women – to respond to his own hate with more hate but perhaps we should simply pray for Mr. Limbaugh. Maybe one day he’ll seek true healing and reconciliation that cannot be found in a hospital. Maybe God's love can still save Mr. Limbaugh from being consumed so fully by hate. If so, let’s hope that occurs before he is on his death bed.
Love your enemy, teaches Jesus. Mr. Limbaugh’s recent illness provides us with an opportunity to do just that even as we work to oppose his agenda for America.
