"Addiction uses up desire. It is like a psychic malignancy, sucking our life energy into specific obsessions and compulsions, leaving less and less energy available for other people and other pursuits. Addiction displaces and supplants God's love as the source and object of our deepest true desire." ~ Gerald May.
We give our lives away each day. Louie Giglio said it roughly this way: Dig up any culture and you will find objects of worship. The question is not whether we worship, but rather how worthy the objects we worship are--big or small. Either way, when we worship, we devote our lives to that object.
The sad reality of addictions is that they're like a black hole that saps us of our life and energy. Instead of enjoying fellowship and the blessing of friendship, often some addictions can cause us to isolate ourselves from those who could be loving us. Addictions rob us, when all the while they promise us happiness and security. It's a classic bait and switch.
Of course, this isolation is not unfamiliar to those who do battle addictions, which means those who are addicted are all too aware of their condition. As a solution, I would begin by suggesting these basic steps:
We give our lives away each day. Louie Giglio said it roughly this way: Dig up any culture and you will find objects of worship. The question is not whether we worship, but rather how worthy the objects we worship are--big or small. Either way, when we worship, we devote our lives to that object.
The sad reality of addictions is that they're like a black hole that saps us of our life and energy. Instead of enjoying fellowship and the blessing of friendship, often some addictions can cause us to isolate ourselves from those who could be loving us. Addictions rob us, when all the while they promise us happiness and security. It's a classic bait and switch.
Of course, this isolation is not unfamiliar to those who do battle addictions, which means those who are addicted are all too aware of their condition. As a solution, I would begin by suggesting these basic steps:
First, refuse to believe the offer of comfort and security the addiction offers you; it's a lie and you're being robbed of love, both from people and from God.
Second, be willing to go through the pain and suffering as the object of your addiction is removed. In other words, you've been dependent upon that object for happiness and it may well be difficult for you to find happiness in something that is actually healthy for you. It may take time to endure withdrawal, but the reward is everything you've really been wanting.
Next, find one or two trusted friends who can help you walk toward your goal (ok, they can help you make a goal to even begin with). Let them in and trust them when they help to remove the object of addiction from you.
Lastly, as much as you may feel compelled to do so, DO NOT confess your need for help indiscriminately or to everyone you meet. It can be very draining for people to hear your struggles, but more importantly, it actually causes you to focus on your problem (which is bad) AND take your eyes off Jesus as your life (also bad). Confide in those one or two close, trusted friends who will hopefully help you to see Jesus as the fulfillment of everything your addiction has promised you. In other words, the only true way to become free from addiction is to see Jesus as your life. There, I said it three times, and now a fourth: Jesus is your life.
Realize the truth and be set free in your mind from something Christ has already freed you in reality.
Grace=Peace,
Jeremy
Second, be willing to go through the pain and suffering as the object of your addiction is removed. In other words, you've been dependent upon that object for happiness and it may well be difficult for you to find happiness in something that is actually healthy for you. It may take time to endure withdrawal, but the reward is everything you've really been wanting.
Next, find one or two trusted friends who can help you walk toward your goal (ok, they can help you make a goal to even begin with). Let them in and trust them when they help to remove the object of addiction from you.
Lastly, as much as you may feel compelled to do so, DO NOT confess your need for help indiscriminately or to everyone you meet. It can be very draining for people to hear your struggles, but more importantly, it actually causes you to focus on your problem (which is bad) AND take your eyes off Jesus as your life (also bad). Confide in those one or two close, trusted friends who will hopefully help you to see Jesus as the fulfillment of everything your addiction has promised you. In other words, the only true way to become free from addiction is to see Jesus as your life. There, I said it three times, and now a fourth: Jesus is your life.
Realize the truth and be set free in your mind from something Christ has already freed you in reality.
Grace=Peace,
Jeremy
May, Gerald G. Addiction and Grace: Love and Spirituality in the Healing of Addictions. San Francisco, CA: HarperOne, 2005. Print. p. 13. The above quote may have been edited for clarity and understanding outside its context.
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