How often you have to say this as an addict is astounding. You stand, or sit, in a room full of people with addictions just like you and hear “My name is Andrew, and I’m an alcoholic” (or addict). By no means am I glad to declare every single meeting that I have this particular affliction.
However, what if we as Christians had to stand up and share our sins with one another as addicts do. I can’t imagine a congregation of hundreds of people standing declaring “Hi, I am Bob, and I am a sinner in constant need of Christ.” The sad part of it all is that it’s true of all believers. We all fall short of the glory of God without Christ. Addictions grip us all in subtle ways as well as overt ones. I am in no way in position to judge anyone, how can I? There is only one Judge. I just know that as we learned in our sermons from the past week, there is an enemy. He seeks to devour us. Not all of the adversary’s ways are in the open; some are hidden and crafty.
The problem with society today is the understanding of what addiction truly is and how it affects someone. Yes, we certainly live in a time where more than ever people look to numb out emotion and true experience with substances. The thing is, the chemicals produced by addiction are easily found in any rabid activity that takes over the mind. For instance, have you ever tried to get in the way of a Tennessee Vols or Alabama Crimson Tide fan during a game? Imagine the uproar if during the previous college football playoff the Alabama game were cut off from its fans. This has overtures from 1 Corinthians 10:7 “Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.”
This is not an indictment on people relaxing and indulging in fun. I am only advising that not everything is as it seems. When there is a congregation, fight songs of worship, chants, and a slogan, we have to make sure that we’re only talking about songs of worship to the Lord, and other things doing the same. When we replace the things of the Lord with the things on Earth, we become in the world and of the world.
To my fellow addicts, the 12 steps can be researched by anyone, including those with family members who are afflicted. Please remember the third step, “Make a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.” The thing is, there is only one God. As we believers know, we don’t understand the ways of the Lord as it says in Isaiah 55:8-9: “ For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Whereas we try and supplement the ways of the Lord with those of Earth; too often do we also attempt to supplement biblical issues with moral quandaries. Remember, the principalities we fight against are sometimes overt, sometimes subtle. I don’t believe our adversary Satan is against “good morals.” He is against Christ. I urge us all to remember that when we look upon issues here on Earth.