Are You an Addict?

Of course not. Obviously!

Really? Are you sure?

Our church has been involved in addictions ministries for a number of years now, but more people might need a ministry like this than just those that think they need it.

We had the great blessing of having Dr. Jim Berg ministering to us recently. There were a lot of helpful takeaways for me from the sessions but one that stood out was the changing definition of an addict.

The clinical definition of addiction is changing in the secular world, and it actually fits better with our understanding of life-dominating sins as believers. There is a difference between chemical dependency and addiction. Our speaker described it this way.

Grandma is in the hospital for a broken hip, which is causing her extreme pain. While she is in the hospital she is given fairly heavy doses of pain medication. She receives this over long enough time to become chemically dependent. If she stops using the pain medication she will experience physical withdrawal, which will be very unpleasant.

However, pain medications have other effects. They cause brain fog, inhibit social interaction, cause stomach upset, and other biomedical issues. Grandma wants to get off of these as soon as she can because she wants so badly to be back in the loving family that she had before her hospitalization. The pain meds come between her and her children and grandchildren. While it is terribly unpleasant she is willing to deal with the suffering of detoxification in order to get her life back. She is chemically dependent but not an addict.

An addict LIKES the brain fog and the social side effects of the meds. He uses the medication as a means of coping with the sadness, failures, and various unpleasant aspects of his life. In other words, the addict is more than chemically dependent, he uses chemicals—or another vice of choice—as a means of coping. Even if he gets off the drug, he will relapse—or chose a different vice—because he has no good way of coping with the difficulties of life. For Christians, he uses unbiblical ways of coping with life’s difficulties.

Chemicals are one of the ways that people, even God’s people, unbiblically cope with life’s trials. Others might immerse themselves in gaming, sex, or fantasy entertainment. Others use exercise, current events, food, dieting, obsession with sports teams, and even sleeping to escape from life’s realities. Many of these are good things, but they are being used in the wrong way.

I had to take a long look at myself, and I found some unpleasant things that I had not even considered a problem before. I had to ask myself some difficult questions.

Am I using this activity as a God substitute?

For a believer, my primary source of joy should be found in Jesus. For that, I must fellowship with Him daily. I must walk with Him, listen to Him, follow Him, and surrender to Him. Am I finding my joy in other things?

Am I using this activity as a people avoidance tool?

Sometimes we used an activity to escape from people–people that we have sinned against and the sin we must address–people that God has called us to love, that have hurt us. There are so many scenarios here. Even work can be an addiction.

Am I using this activity to forget about my problems rather than take biblical steps toward solutions?

Sometimes we cannot sleep at night because we are thinking about our problems. Maybe God wants us to think about our problems until we are willing to address those problems biblically. We have to learn to cast our cares on Him, rather than drown those cares in alcohol or sleeping pills.

Does this give me an excitement that I should be found in other, more wholesome, or biblical pursuits?

Adrenaline addiction is real. Is that kind of thrill something that God wants for me in my life, or are there biblical ways to find that same sense of joy. An adrenaline rush is a poor substitute for godly joy.

Is this activity helping me numb the bitterness or anger that I am harboring in my heart?

Mourning is real and godly people mourn. Mourning like physical pain and sickness is one of the unavoidable consequences of living in a fallen world. Even Jesus mourned—on several occasions. The idea that I have to feel emotionally “good” all the time is a lie of Satan. In some cases, my bad feelings are the result of my bad thinking or bad choices. However, mourning is something we experience. We need to find comfort in our mourning in our God, not in a bottle or a movie.

Am I resisting God in an area of my life, and I am using this activity to mask the reality of my rebellion?

Christians often grow quickly until they hit a surrender roadblock. I am not talking about the “two crosses” here. I am talking about a point in God’s revelation to us or His demands where we balk at what He wants. It stops us dead in our tracks. God wants her to break up with her boyfriend because the boyfriend clearly is not the person God wants. God wants him to leave his high-paying job because of the unbiblical and spiritually destructive demands of his employer. God wants me to give up a particular form of entertainment because it is distracting from him. There are so many possible scenarios. Instead of making the right decision, I immerse myself in some activity—even something that seems otherwise good—as an avoidance mechanism.

Am I using this activity as a means of getting unbiblical affirmation from others rather than the smile of our Savior?

I might want to lose weight, get in good physical shape, excel in sports, or fine arts or business because of the affirmation I receive from others. Even “likes” or “shares” on social media can become a substitute for the approval of God. We become addicted to the adoration of others and the activities that provide me that adoration. Even preaching for preachers can fill this role.

Some appropriate introspection might be in order for you. It was for me.

Lord, life becomes more simple

When all I seek is You,

When walking in Your Spirit

Is all that I pursue,

When knowing You are with me

Is all the light I need,

When all my heart is hungry

For You to shape and lead.

 

–Ken Bible

 

 

Photo–https://www.amenclinics.com/