February 26, 2002
Our friend, a doctor, says he loves working with people who have addictions because “treating them is a game.” He explains that an addict will eventually agree to treatment, but only because he secretly thinks he can get out of it. This doctor likes to “out-manipulate” addicts and “put them in a position of giving up their will.”
Does this treatment succeed? Perhaps some people are freed from addictions, but I’m not sure anyone actually gives up their will. God gave us freedom to make choices and unless physically forced or chemically induced, our will is too strong to easily take from us. Perhaps some would say this doctor is doing a bit of “god-playing” with his treatment. He backs the addict into a corner leaving only one clear option. The patient sees he must choose cooperation and abandon his addiction. Or is “god-playing” an appropriate term? Does God work like that?
In the New Testament book of Romans, the Apostle Paul talks about some who commit gross kinds of sin. He explains in chapter one how “God gave them over to the sinful desires of their hearts” and “to a depraved mind.” He explains how consequences are a “due penalty for their perversion.”
In other words, if a person wants to persist in doing wrong, God will not necessarily interfere. In fact, He might pull back all help and let that person become totally addicted to their sin. This is one opportunity He gives us to change our minds about doing things His way. He lets us find out that our way does not work.
Why would God do let anyone become addicted? The passage gives some answers. First, letting people go into deep sin is a revelation of His wrath. If people reject God and the dangers of sin and “suppresses the truth by their wickedness,” God reveals the results of their rejection: they become slaves to the very thing they wanted the freedom to do.
A second reason is that God makes Himself known to everyone through creation. The passage says, “ . . . what may be known about God is plain to them because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”
It goes on to explain that some, “although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.”
Rejection of God’s revelation brings blindness to spiritual truth. In that darkness, people succumb to habits and substances that become their gods. These sins bind them like slaves.
How does God release people from that bondage? In this case, those who are enslaved by an addiction can start loosening their chains by acknowledging God as Creator. As they do, they must also admit that He has a claim on their lives.
Another thing an addict can do is be thankful, not only for life and its good things but also for their problems. Even though they used an addiction to escape from them, these problems can be a driving force in a better direction — to God instead of to their habit.
God does not play mind-games. We cannot accuse Him of manipulation. He knows how to pull desperate people out of the clutches of an addiction. The human side is to recognize and admit helplessness, even admit being out of control and not wanting to stop. Then can call to God for help. God’s part is not backing people into a corner — we get there ourselves. Instead, He hears our cry for help and gladly works in us — making us to not only want His will but also setting us free so we can do it.
Showing posts with label addictions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label addictions. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 23, 2018
Friday, June 2, 2017
Overcoming the worst addiction ................ Parables 596
(No tear sheet)
According to the manufacturer, nearly 16,000 Smarties are eaten every minute. That is about 960,000 per hour and about 23 million per day. Since at least 3/4 of the world’s population do not have access to Smarties, a few people are consuming a great deal of candy.
The candy industry would not exist apart from our craving for sweets. For some, a penchant for sugar becomes an addiction, causing problems with weight gain and nutrition. I’ve noticed that eating sugar kills my appetite for carrots, corn, broccoli, oranges, bananas and other fresh fruit and vegetables. To put it simply, the body confuses its hunger for nutrients with its sweet tooth. In no time, a good diet becomes a craving for junk food.
Every now and then, I get angry with myself and determine to stop eating sweets. The first week or so is awful but once the cravings stop, I can manage without desserts. . . for a month or so. Then I just have to have something sweet. My conclusion is that the body needs a certain amount. The problem is maintaining moderation. Like eating salted peanuts, it is difficult to stop at just one.
In an article about addictions, TIME magazine says that the twelve-step program seems to be the most helpful. This program was made popular by Alcoholics Anonymous and is now used by other groups trying to overcome obsessive or addictive behaviors.
These twelve steps begin with admission of need and taking ownership of the problem. They go on to acknowledging that the problem is bigger than one’s own ability to solve it. A “higher power” is needed, sometimes referred to as “God, however you perceive him.”
Although many twelve-step programs use terminology designed to include all religions, participants think of God as this higher power, and suitably so — the steps are biblical in their general form. They were originally prescribed by Him as part of His remedy for sin, the most destructive and insidious addiction of all.
To overcome sin, a person must recognize that it is not only a problem but their problem. It is easy to point fingers or shift blame yet we cannot conquer it by passing it off as “not a big deal,” “everyone does it,” or “I am not really so bad.” The Bible says “the wages of sin is death.”
Anyone who takes the battle against sin seriously soon finds out it is more difficult to stop sinning than to stop eating salted peanuts or sweets. Just when we think we have made progress, we slip again. Like an alcoholic cannot think themselves cured, we cannot think this problem is behind us. We also need to acknowledge that we cannot do anything ourselves, that sin is bigger than our determination to avoid it or our good efforts to replace it.
To make matters worse, even if we have some success, pride moves in, and pride is sin. The challenge is not to reform outward behavior, which may or may not last, but receive inner purification and a change of heart about our problem.
God provides both through Christ, the One who is totally pure. He not only died for us, that our sins may be forgiven, but He also comes to live in the hearts of those who believe in Him. When He does that, we are given divine desire and power to fight sin. The Bible says, “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness.” It also explains that the promises of God combined with the power of the indwelling Christ help us “escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”
For some, this can be an instant escape. Others struggle longer against their addictions as they learn how to rely on the Lord and not their own strength. However, the battle to stop at “just one” takes on a different flavor when Christ is present to help us overcome.
According to the manufacturer, nearly 16,000 Smarties are eaten every minute. That is about 960,000 per hour and about 23 million per day. Since at least 3/4 of the world’s population do not have access to Smarties, a few people are consuming a great deal of candy.
The candy industry would not exist apart from our craving for sweets. For some, a penchant for sugar becomes an addiction, causing problems with weight gain and nutrition. I’ve noticed that eating sugar kills my appetite for carrots, corn, broccoli, oranges, bananas and other fresh fruit and vegetables. To put it simply, the body confuses its hunger for nutrients with its sweet tooth. In no time, a good diet becomes a craving for junk food.
Every now and then, I get angry with myself and determine to stop eating sweets. The first week or so is awful but once the cravings stop, I can manage without desserts. . . for a month or so. Then I just have to have something sweet. My conclusion is that the body needs a certain amount. The problem is maintaining moderation. Like eating salted peanuts, it is difficult to stop at just one.
In an article about addictions, TIME magazine says that the twelve-step program seems to be the most helpful. This program was made popular by Alcoholics Anonymous and is now used by other groups trying to overcome obsessive or addictive behaviors.
These twelve steps begin with admission of need and taking ownership of the problem. They go on to acknowledging that the problem is bigger than one’s own ability to solve it. A “higher power” is needed, sometimes referred to as “God, however you perceive him.”
Although many twelve-step programs use terminology designed to include all religions, participants think of God as this higher power, and suitably so — the steps are biblical in their general form. They were originally prescribed by Him as part of His remedy for sin, the most destructive and insidious addiction of all.
To overcome sin, a person must recognize that it is not only a problem but their problem. It is easy to point fingers or shift blame yet we cannot conquer it by passing it off as “not a big deal,” “everyone does it,” or “I am not really so bad.” The Bible says “the wages of sin is death.”
Anyone who takes the battle against sin seriously soon finds out it is more difficult to stop sinning than to stop eating salted peanuts or sweets. Just when we think we have made progress, we slip again. Like an alcoholic cannot think themselves cured, we cannot think this problem is behind us. We also need to acknowledge that we cannot do anything ourselves, that sin is bigger than our determination to avoid it or our good efforts to replace it.
To make matters worse, even if we have some success, pride moves in, and pride is sin. The challenge is not to reform outward behavior, which may or may not last, but receive inner purification and a change of heart about our problem.
God provides both through Christ, the One who is totally pure. He not only died for us, that our sins may be forgiven, but He also comes to live in the hearts of those who believe in Him. When He does that, we are given divine desire and power to fight sin. The Bible says, “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness.” It also explains that the promises of God combined with the power of the indwelling Christ help us “escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”
For some, this can be an instant escape. Others struggle longer against their addictions as they learn how to rely on the Lord and not their own strength. However, the battle to stop at “just one” takes on a different flavor when Christ is present to help us overcome.
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