Compiled by Cindy Goad from materials edited by David Sper, written by Tim Jackson and Jeff Olson, "When We Just Can't Stop: Overcoming Addiction"
Addictions raise many questions. Are they moral weaknesses, diseases, habits, or sins? Are they physical dependencies, or complicated spiritual cycles? What’s needed for change? Is it medical treatment, family intervention, daily group accountability, or spiritual transformation? Can behaviors be changed quickly, or will recovery be the process of a lifetime? The answer to these questions are anything but simple. Honesty demands that we acknowledge the complexity of addiction. Defining Addiction: An addiction is an enslaving, destructive dependency… “the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming, to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma.”
Because a person can be physically predisposed to an addiction, and because of the likelihood of medical complications, addictions are often viewed as a disease. It would be a mistake, however, to think only in terms of the physical dimensions. Most addictions are rooted in moral choices and spiritual needs.
What is most important is not whether we are predisposed to an enslaving habit, but whether we are willing to do whatever it takes to bring this predisposed “diseased body,” habit or idol under the control of reason and faith. Addictions are not just diversions of choice. We see them as lifeboats necessary for our survival. Addictions give us something we believe we must have in order to live. They provide predictable relief and power in an unpredictable and painful world. Our addictions provide a remedy that helps us to forget the pain--at least for a little while. In time, they become worse than the pain we were trying to relieve. Now we find ourselves needing relief not only from our inescapable losses but also from the shame of our own foolishness. We feel shame for an addictive behavior that made our problems worse.
Shame, however, is also a deceiver. In the beginning, pleasure holds us in the addiction.
In time, shame has the same effect.
In time, shame has the same effect.
With shame, unless you first identify the problem, you will pass by the many treatments in Scripture without ever seeing or hearing them. Shame. You feel worthless, rejected, dirty and exposed. Sometimes you feel it because of what you have done, in which case your badness must exceed community standards. Shame attaches itself to our sins and does indeed have many faces. It seems to be everywhere and yet still be elusive. Maybe that’s why we can’t do anything with it until we put words on it. But God puts words on it, so we should too. That itself can be hopeful. It can also leave us wanting more. If you want more right away, just watch Jesus. He goes out of his way to meet, touch, bless and restore the shamed and addicted.
At this crossroads of invitation, there is an opportunity for change. It is an opportunity to discover life through a process of admitting our addiction, acknowledging our pain, accepting responsibility for the damage we've done, pleading for mercy, choosing surrender, and caring for others. Here at this crossroads, our hearts can come alive in the presence of One who, while knowing everything about us, still wants to come into us and be the God and Friend we've been looking for. It will become clear that we need undeserved help and forgiveness. Mercy will become our new found joy. Mercy invites us to a change of heart, a repentance, that will cause us to gladly turn from our idolatrous obsessions. With failure behind us, mercy now calls us to a new dependence on God. For the first time, we will have more than momentary pleasure. Now we will have reason to destroy the idol and break all ties with it.
In our reflective moments we will always have to admit that the pleasure of our addiction doesn't deserve to be compared to the mercies of God.
Titus 2:11-14
“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”
--Cindy Chapple | Leader of Overcoming through Christ at Advance Memphis | cgoad@advancememphis.org
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