In God’s common grace to all men, He created all things good for our enjoyment. Mathew 5:45 says, “For He makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” God gave us great food, great spouses, great experiences but we can take those good things and elevate them to a level where God should be. Proverbs 25:16 says it this way, “If you have found honey, eat only enough for you, lest you have your fill of it and vomit it.” God made the world good and pleasurable. When we rightly experience God’s good gifts in the world, it should culminate in giving glory to God. Our experiences should remind us of God’s grace and excellence that drives us to worship Him more and give Him glory.
When we desire the good gifts of God but fail to give Him the glory, it becomes a disordered desire. We worship the created things, (people, experiences, things) rather than the Creator (Romans 1:25). Scripture uses several words for these disordered desires: idols, lusts, desires, treasure, ect. Augustine used the term inordinate desires. Edwards spoke of them as passions. John Calvin said that our hearts are idol factories. All desires in themselves are not sinful but may grow to become more important than God in our hearts. When these desires create social dysfunction, we refer to them as addictions. An Addiction is a disordered desire that is ruling our lives. We order our lives around this addiction, whether it be sexual addiction, chemical addiction, gambling addiction, internet addiction, eating disorders, or any other addicting behavior.
Because of the Fall of Genesis 3, the world is broken. The curse of sin and death is apparent in everyday life. We can experience extreme suffering and brokenness in this world that can be too much for us to handle. Some respond to this sin and suffering by numbing the pain or seeking to escape from it. To avoid displeasure and discomfort at all costs.
In the book Screwtape Letters, CS Lewis writes about two demons and how to tempt and deceive their patients (humans). The wiser demon, Screwtape, advises the younger demon, Wormwood, to tempt the patient after periods of dullness and boredom with pleasures.
“You are much more likely to make your man a sound drunkard by pressing drink on him as an anodyne [painkilling drug or medicine] when he is dull and weary than by encouraging him to use it as a means of merriment among his friends when he is happy and expansive. Never forget that when we are dealing with any pleasure in its healthy and normal and satisfying form, we are, in a sense, on the Enemy’s ground. I know we have won many a soul through pleasure. All the same, it is His invention, not ours. He made the pleasures: all our research so far has not enabled us to produce one. All we can do is to encourage the humans to take the pleasures which our Enemy has produced, at times, or in ways, or in degrees, which He has forbidden. Hence, we always try to work away from the natural condition of any pleasure to that in which it is least natural, least redolent of its Maker, and least pleasurable. An ever-increasing craving for an ever diminishing pleasure is the formula. It is more certain; and it’s better style. To get the man’s soul and give him nothing in return-that is what really gladdens our Father’s [Satan’s] heart. And the troughs are the time for beginning the process.”
C.S. Lewis is getting at the tendency for addictions to be born out of an escape from our loneliness, boredom, or pain. This approach takes the good pleasures that God has given us and perverts them into a medication for the suffering we experience as humans. In doing so, they experience just enough pleasure to be distracted, but not enough to satisfy. The desire grows, but the pleasure diminishes. Like someone stranded at sea dying from thirst. The more they drink the saltwater to satisfy their thirst, the more they crave water. The futility in this thinking is that the escape ends up being just as bad as what we are escaping from. We trade one form of disfunction and sin for another.
“When it comes to addictions, we tend to divide humanity into two groups: those who are prone toward addictions and those who aren’t. The reality, of course, is very different. All human beings have already fallen into sin.”
Edward T. Welch, Addictions: A Banquet in the Grave
Addiction is an outward manifestation of inward heart problem. Addiction is not a disease, though it may seem like one. Diseases are conditions that we did not choose and can do little about. To say that an addiction is a disease means it is powerful and has control over us. Addictions lead to hopelessness when we believe there is no way out. This is not a Christian understanding of addiction. Addiction is an especially strong disordered desire that we choose to give ourselves over to and order our lives around. We fail to live in the sovereignty and fear of the Lord when we elevate any sinful desire above the transformative gift found in Christ. Help does not come from a system, or safeguards put into place, but from a person, Christ Jesus. Hope is found in Christ because He has already freed us from our sins/ Those that are united in Christ are set free from slavery to sin. Even though we are free from slavery to sin, we may still choose to give our lives over to sin. So how do we break free from the bondage of addiction?
Accountability and Access
Find accountability through spouses, friends, family, co-workers, pastors, and counseling. Accountability limits alone time and encourages you to fight against addiction. They must be people in your ordinary life that love you and are committed to holding you accountable. The more time they spend with you, the easier it will be to provide accountability. They are cheer leaders who serve to encourage and provide hope when things feel hopeless. They must be able to ask hard, uncomfortable questions as they seek to understand the full extent of your addictions. Addictions thrive in isolation and in darkness. Guilt and shame have a way of imprisoning those in their addiction and preventing them from seeking help. “If my family only knew what I do on my work trips;” “My wife would kill me if she only knew;” “My friends would never look at me the same if they knew.”
Another way people become trapped in our addictions is to deny that it is a problem. Because of indwelling sin in our hearts, we are self-deceived. We are often incapable of diagnosing our own sinfulness and disfunction. Accountability provides an unbiased view of your true situation. Do not rely on your own understanding and power to deal with addictions. Paul in his letter to the Ephesians calls those trapped in sin to drag it into the light by confessing it to others.
“Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, ‘Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.'”
Ephesians 5:11-14
Who can provide accountability for you? What holds you back from seeking accountability?
It is wise and prudent to build in safeguards that limit and prevent access. If you are experiencing sexual addiction or addicted to pornography, you need to limit access to porn through computer/phone safeguards such as Covenant Eyes. If you are experiencing chemical addiction, throw out and rid yourself of that substance. Safeguards provide an obstacle that causes you to work harder to get access to what you are desiring. They cause you to reconsider your decisions to give into your desire. One safeguard is to always have accountability in some form. If you are tempted to stop off at the bar on the way home from work, call your accountability partner and talk to them until you get home.
How can you limit access to what you are addicted to? How can you reduce the free time and increase your accountability?
Getting to the Heart
Reducing access and implementing safeguards are a great first step but are unlikely to completely free you from addiction. It is a break, a reprieve from the effects of addiction so that you can begin to address the issues at the heart. You cannot tame or domesticate an addiction. It is often helpful to find a biblical counselor who is able to help walk you through this process and minister to your particular situation.
The bible says the heart is the core of who we are and where our emotions, beliefs and actions flow out of. What is coming out of your heart? Why does your heart desire this addiction? What are you seeking and getting from your addiction? What would a life free from addiction look like?
John Piper says it best, “I know of no other way to triumph over sin long-term than to gain a distaste for it because of a superior satisfaction in God.”
There is freedom and hope found in Christ. While I cannot guarantee there will not be earthly consequences or repercussions from your addiction, I can promise that the life found in Christ is better than any pleasure on earth. Christ will meet you where you are in your brokenness and suffering. He will lift you out of the mud and mire and put your feet on solid ground (Psalm 40:2). You will experience a peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:6). You will not be free from struggles and suffering that are part of this fallen world, but you will experience a joy that can only be found in Christ.
Resources:
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Addictions – A Banquet in the Grave: Finding Hope in the Power of the Gospel By Edward T. Welch, Ph.D. |
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Finally Free: Fighting for Purity with the Power of Grace By Heath Lambert |