Beneath the Surface-Part 2

                                                                     

In "Beneath the Surface-Part 1," I discuss demons and drug addiction.  In Part 2, I will discuss the confluence of sin with drug addiction and begin a discussion of how to spiritually help someone who is struggling with addiction.

SIN AND ADDICTION

1. Beginnings

Not every addict has demonic overtones to their addiction but all have a spiritual condition of sin.  The Bible from beginning to end has much to say about intoxication.  When I was in High School, I actively studied all religions and even explored atheism.  Yet, from time to time, I would be drawn to the Bible.  During those times I felt drawn to the Book of Proverbs.  Little did I know then, that Proverbs has always been a study tool for young Jewish boys approaching Bar Mitzvah.  No wonder I was drawn to that Book.  It seemed to explore all the issues that I was trying to make sense of as a teenager.  One of those issues was drinking and drugs.

The first time I was offered drugs, was when I was 13 years old, I said no.  I had no idea what a big issue drugs was about to become as I entered High School. In High School, it seemed like practically everybody was doing drugs or drinking alcohol.  Saying no to drugs seemed to make one a permanent member of the uncool underclass.  During those perplexing days, sitting down with the Bible, was so refreshing and everything it said in Proverbs made sense to me.  I wanted to live my life the way it spoke of, and stay away from the madness I saw around me.  Some of my favorite scripture verses from Proverbs were :

"Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging : and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise."
Proverbs 20:1.

"Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat." Proverbs 23:20 (NIV).

"Who hath woe?  Who hath sorrow?  Who hath contentions?  Who hath babbling?  Who hath wounds without cause?  Who has redness of eyes?"  Proverbs 23:29.

"In the end, it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper."  Proverbs 23:32.

These four quotes alone blew my mind.  Here in a nutshell was everything I was noticing at school.  I saw fights breaking out, and kids who lead problem-free lives suddenly beset on all sides.  Kids who were full of promise suddenly turned into babbling idiots who had nothing to contribute.  I was not quite ready to tell my parents everything that was going on in school but I now thank God that His Word kept me on the straight and narrow as far as drugs were concerned.  In the end, I saw that drugs and alcohol were poison to all those that I knew who partook of it. How true the Word of God is!

 
2. Adam and Eve

Nothing ever changes.  Every story that I have ever heard about the beginnings of an addiction start
out just like the story of Adam and Eve.  First off, in today's world everyone has heard over an over
from parents, teachers and pastors about staying away from drugs.  There is absolutely no one who can say that they were not forewarned, and so it was with Adam and Eve.  You can eat of all the other trees, just stay away from THAT TREE!  Why don't we listen?

The answers can be gleaned from a close perusal of the Story of Adam and Eve.  The forbidden fruit appeals to a rebellious spirit within us wishing to have parity or even superiority to our parents or
God.  So, actually, a decision to take drugs is identical to that decision whereby sin first entered into the world.  The Bible tells us that rebellion and sin will ultimately lead us away from a relationship with God and everything else that we hold dear.  Adam and Eve lost an amazing closeness with God and were cast out from the Garden of Eden.  There were many consequences that they would suffer as a result of saying yes to sin.

What else can we learn from the story of Adam and Eve which will help us get insight into how addictions begin? First that societies throughout history have depicted drugs and alcohol as mind expanding experiences exactly as Satan depicted things to Eve.  Eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil would expand her horizons so that she would know all the mysteries of the universe.  People throughout history have mistakenly gotten addicted to drugs in a quest to expand their knowledge, creativity or strength.

We are often told that addictions begin in an effort to medicate some condition or numb some pain.  In reality, this life contains painful chapters for each and every one of us and saying yes to any drug, will have the opposite effect of helping us feel better or giving us relief.  It will instead eventually multiply our sorrows in a way that we can not imagine.  What can we do?

3. Solutions in God

We are all sinners.  Do you struggle with shopping too much, lying, forgiveness or lust?  All sin is wrong to a righteous God.  Let us all realize that in a very real way we are no different than a drug addict needing a fix.  When dealing with an addict let us start from a place of love and humility.  Our first step in solutions is letting go of any moral sense of superiority that we may feel over an addict.  We must all work on our problems with sin.  The good news is that Jesus died for all our sins and as we have established, addictions are sin!  So,  addictions are going to have to bite the dust!  Science tells us that in a surprisingly short time that  we can undergo a detoxification from an addictive substance.  Medicine does confirm that there is much more that has to happen in order to be in so-called recovery.  The Bible has been there and done that already.  Read these verses from Matthew 12:43-45 (KJV).
43"When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. 44Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth [it] empty, swept, and garnished. 45Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last [state] of that man is worse than the first."

The imagery in the above verses show us the realities of battling sin.  After we have victory and 
conquer sin in our life we need to understand that sin will return and invite us to say yes to it again.  
The temptation may even be more powerful.  So, let's say that a son or daughter kicks an 
addiction but a few years down the line they lose a job, get a divorce or their grandfather dies, the craving will return.  We must be ready for it.

Strategies

1. Realize that God is our Salvation and through Jesus Christ we can be victorious.  Never give up hope for those people that you know struggling with addiction. 
2. Pray and ask God for the strength to persevere in the situation.  
3. We have to begin to change our life in a meaningful way.  If you are an addict that includes staying 
away from people and activities that can be a bad influence.  Family members must support this.  Even something as simple as a television show or serving wine at supper  can challenge someone on a bad day. 
4. We must attend Church regularly and develop closer relationships with other 
 Christians in our family and at Church.  Christians who are supportive of these goals. 
5. Get into a Bible Study and begin to claim God's promises.

We must keep it real if we are to stay clean and sober or be a positive influence in an addict's life.  If your Church has never preached on the topic of addictions let them know that you would appreciate it if they did.  Real means that if you are in a dead Church or Bible Study get out.   

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Notes on my photos : top two were taken from museums in Loire Valley, France followed by a sculpture depicting a risen Jesus Christ from Italy and a stained glass window from a Cathedral in Bermuda.