This is my last post in my series of blogs on addiction.
Our souls may have been scarred by the chains with which our addictions have bound us, but at least they were familiar chains. We were used to them. And as they loosen, we are likely to feel a vague sense of loss. The things to which we were addicted may still be with us, but we no longer give them the ultimate importance we once did. We are like caged animals beginning to experience freedom, and there is something we miss about the cage. - Gerald May
As I've talked with people throughout the years, one of the common threads I see in their struggles is an ignorance of their union with Christ and the freedom they have as a son or daughter of the King. Most of them are bound by a great, nagging sense of condemnation as they view and critique their lives through the religious lens of what I term "Institutional Christianity". I was having a conversation recently with a friend and we were discussing how their goal of perfection in behavior had actually resulted in very negative effects. I'm not saying that right behavior is not desirable; I'm saying that it's how one goes about it that matters.
In this series on addiction, we've learned that our attempts to control our lives lead to addiction. Either through concerted effort and reliance on some source other than Christ for strength, or an escape through some other object of attachment when our efforts have failed, addiction is the result of our search for peace when that search leads us to something or someone other than Christ Himself. This search and reliance is not necessarily because we're weak, but it has more to do with the fact that we were created to be in union with God our Father. Religion is simply man's effort to construct a reliable, predictable engine to help us keep things underway and simulate the benefits of what would have been that union with God.
With this in mind, we go back to the discussion I mention above to realize how a religious goal of perfect behavior is so deadly. This goal can either be God's law itself or its imprint, in that our own law which we've placed upon ourselves reflects God's handiwork on our hearts and minds. From wherever it comes, the law we are under will never free us, because it will always point out our own failures. Additionally, where our own law may justify us, we know in scripture that God's law is greater and will only condemn, for that is its purpose toward those who seek to justify themselves.
The result of our addiction, then, is that freedom becomes a lost concept to us. We desire it. We work for it, but it has become less familiar than the chains our addiction has brought to us. So, we choose to remain with the chains. Like a prisoner freed after years of imprisonment, we yearn for someone else to structure our day. We've become accustomed to confinement and darkness.
It is for this very reason that Christ became one of us. To be among us and work to convince us that we are free. He took sentence for our crimes upon Himself and became a prisoner on our behalf. Because His life is eternal, He could fulfill the terms of our imprisonment, but He also eventually destroyed the jail, leaving us free from fear. Our freedom from Pharaoh and his army is secure for evermore. It's just that we have a hard time believing it.
The goal for us to understand now is not so much that we should behave perfectly, but more so that we have been given the grace and freedom to enjoy our freedom. In other words, Christ empowers us to say "Yes" to His life within us.
I want to end this series with one last quote from Dr. May:
...addiction to a religious system and its tangible representations, like addiction to anything else, brings slavery, not freedom. Freedom can be risky and frightening to someone who has learned to rely upon the tangible, either through objects in hand or through emotions. God calls us to trust Him anew each day and turn from that with which we've found familiarity.
Our faith must include our emotions. Emotions are vital. I know many Christians who are afraid of their emotions and view the emotions of others in worship as weird and out of place. It is in those same people that I rarely, if ever, see real joy, especially in regard to the reality of the gospel and the new covenant. To be painfully honest, their prayers are boring, although very sincere, and so is their worship. There's no engagement. There's no excitement about an impossible situation being answered by an all-powerful, all-loving God. I don't see the outbursts of joy as seen in Acts. The miracles are also absent--and they should not be. The same Holy Spirit Who was alive and active then is also now alive and active, and yet His people seem to be stuck in the mud. There is a vitally important place for emotions inspired by the Holy Spirit and when I see a Christian who is not joyful, I wonder if a foundation of the true gospel has been laid.
However, as I have said before, our faith cannot rest on our emotions. It is this idea that Dr. May addresses: Freedom can be risky and frightening to someone who has learned to rely upon the tangible, either through objects in hand or through emotions.
Our faith cannot rest on our emotions; it must rest on Truth. This is also to say that Christ is the foundation of our faith, and yet many Christians do not rest their faith on His person. We must read scripture and hear teaching that, just as Paul did, exalts Christ alone and our union with Him, both in death and in life. He is our life. He is our righteousness. He is our holiness, our sanctification. As He is, so are we. He represents us fully and perfectly. All of our prior efforts to survive judgment through our good deeds are pointless, because only true faith and trust in Him provides the acceptable foundation which instills confidence and boldness. His hope is the anchor for our souls.
Thus, as we see Christ, addictions fall away and freedom becomes more tangible, because we begin to see the futility in our efforts. Those objects of attachment lose their power. He not only frees us, but He also supports us as our beliefs transition from condemnation resulting in addiction to acceptance resulting in freedom. Our emotions will be affected, but we cannot define our condition based on our emotions. We cannot say "I am close to God because I feel Him". Let truth influence emotion, not the other way around.
Finally, I'll share something that God spoke to me nine years ago. Sitting in a church service, I was worried about something very specific. In fact, I was jealous that someone was about to experience a blessing I lacked. In the multitude of thoughts spinning around inside my head, I heard one very noticeable, calming voice: "Trust Me". I knew instantly that is was God. I wish I could say that I trusted instantly or that I've trusted perfectly ever since, because I haven't. What I want to say is this: God is good and He is always safe toward His children, even though trusting Him seems like a risk on our part. His character is reliable and throughout my dealings with addictions, with the use of spiritual gifts, and in the uncertainty of life's issues, He has spoken to me and through me and been patient as I stumbled here and there. Perfect behavior is great, but it can't be a goal we strive for in our strength. Perfect use of spiritual gifts such as prayer for healing or prophetic words can't be the goal, but they are a part of our inheritance in the kingdom. I felt freedom from God to make mistakes and take risks as I learned how to do those things. I pray that your death to the law will show you how much freedom you have and how much Christ has given you.
Trust God.
Grace=Peace,
Jeremy
May, Gerald G. Addiction and Grace: Love and Spirituality in the Healing of Addictions. San Francisco, CA: HarperOne, 2005. Print. pp. 105 and 97, respectively. The above quotes may have been edited for clarity and understanding outside their context.
No comments:
Post a Comment