Read the Psalms and Scripture below to confirm that you acknowledge Step 1. Read out loud with your Christian group or with your sponsor.
My wounds fester and are loathsome
because of my sickness, addiction and folly.
I am bowed down and brought very low;
all day long I go about mourning.
My back is filled with searing pain;
there is no health in my body.
I am feeble and utterly crushed;
I groan in anguish of heart.
All my longings lie open before you, Lord;
my sighing is not hidden from you.
My heart pounds, my strength fails me;
even the light has gone from my eyes.
My friends and companions avoid me because of my wounds;
my neighbour’s stay far away.
(Psalm 38: 5-11)
The Lord is close to the broken hearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
(Psalm 34: 18)
My sacrifice Oh God, is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart
you, God, will not despise.
(Psalm 51: 17)
The above Psalms were written many thousands of years ago and are still prevalent today. The Bible has the ability to transform those that engage within these Biblical Psalms. ‘Bound down and brought very low’. ‘My friends and family avoid me because of my wounds’. ‘There is no health in my body’ are quotes still significant, particularly for those of us who have an addictive past. Saint Paul in his Biblical letter to the Romans tells us;
So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity,
(Ephesians 4: 17-19)
Addiction swaggers along in an undisciplined life. That bad energy struts around inside us. Those who continually give in to their cravings instead of exercising God’s restraint, rather they impose self-restraint, become weak and vulnerable to temptation. We know very well that self-restraint is a non-existent entity when up against addiction. White knuckle rides are a worthless attempt to shoo away such a powerful illness. We must have God’s strength so we can build on God’s platform for our lives.
Whoever is pregnant with evil
conceives trouble and gives birth to disillusionment.
Whoever digs a hole and scoops it out
falls into the pit they have made.
The trouble they cause recoils on them;
their violence comes down on their own heads.
I will give thanks to the Lord because of His righteousness;
I will sing the praises of the name of the Lord Most High.
(Psalm 7: 14-17)
The word ‘pregnant’ gives other connotations like child-bearing, expectant, meaningful and positive vibes concerning life giving, when we were precisely the opposite. Nevertheless, we understand what they are trying to say here, that the negative energy is alive and active within us. It is about being ballooned with evil where there is no room for good. Now-a-days however, we learn to give thanks because our turning has begun, where we can sing with praise for our soon to be newfound freedom. Saint Paul in Galatians 5 tells us that;
The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. (Galatians 5: 19-26)
Selwyn Hughes in his Bible Study book highlights that self-control is relegated to 9th position in the Fruits of the Spirit list that we see in the above Scripture. Self-control comes last behind the other 8 that are, according to Saint Paul, more prevalent than the need to control ourselves. It is interesting that God places self-control last, when we tried to get sober by ourselves self-control was at the top of our list! We craved self-control. With white knuckles, anx and the like, we set on a course of action determined never to drink, drug, indulge, gamble or overeat again. Having God in our lives on the other hand, we see that self-control is a byproduct of having Jesus in our lives, it just happens without any pressure bulb being set off by our own determined thinking. ‘When you begin with love, you end up with self-control’ (Every Day with Jesus p191). The love Selwyn Hughes is referring to is Jesus.
Blessed are those who have regard for the weak;
the Lord delivers them in times of trouble.
The Lord protects and preserves them
they are counted among the blessed in the land
He does not give them over to the desire of their foes.
The Lord sustains them on their sickbed
and restores them from their bed of illness.
(Psalm 41: 1-3)
Modern Psychology
Modern psychology often excuses addiction with social backgrounds, genetics and neurology that can come from our parentage or upbringing. While these can be tributary factors, Christian counselling focuses on the spiritual root causes of addiction, which takes a look at the old adage ‘sin’ and how we overcome it. I have forgotten how many times I have read terms like ‘universal heartbeat’ or ‘the heartbeat of the universe’ where psychologists have seen a living condition that has pulse amongst the greater energy of the cosmos. They miss the point however, of recognizing that the same heartbeat was crushed on the cross at Calvary. We too smash our own hearts with our impulsive addictions creating physical ailments, high blood pressure and mental health problems via self-will.
Christianity suggests that the primary root of addiction is idolatry, which is placing something above God and seeking satisfaction and escape in the addictive substance rather than in Him. Addiction is idolatry because it demands devotion, time and priority over God’s commands. Far too often, I hear that ‘a lack of self-control is another key factor of addictive behaviour’. When underneath the preliminaries suggested by professionals, we know damn well that self-control simply does not exist when up against this dark world. Under the umbrella of faith, the old social yard stick from which we gauged our ability not to drink or drug must be ditched, and we finally admit complete defeat. The interim battle with routines, gym visits, the right books and life choices are a long-forgotten ideal. We can’t, God can, is our only option. White knuckles with clenched fists while being determined to win the race has been swapped with a realization that God can do what we never could. It is only with God’s help that we win the race. There is of course a paradox here; when we stop for a moment and see the path that we are now on, and we know that we are travelling along life’s journey with just a tad more peace, we come to terms that God has the ability to help us change from the old to the new.
When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to addiction; and our addiction, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth. (James 1: 13-18)
Cantalamessa tells us in his book ‘Life in Christ’.
The world has lost its sense of sin. It treats it lightly, as if it were the most innocent of things. It advertises its products and activities with images of sin to make them more attractive. (P102)
If Jesus died for our sins, and if sin has no meaning, then He died for nothing because we fail to acknowledge sin anymore. On the other hand, perhaps the word has lost its meaning because it doesn’t translate in the way it used to in previous generations.
Within our hearts of hearts, so to speak, we know Jesus died for our ‘sin’, which is addiction, greed, gluttony, sexual immorality and so on. We don’t have to see death anymore, which is our new and ultimate bottom line. Our old self will die on the cross with Jesus, and we continue on in our newness, our resurrection with Him too. Jesus drew a line in the sand, and it’s best we don’t cross it. We need words of course and I personally still use the word sin, but it does appear that the translation to what ‘sin’ really means is clearly stated by Jesus. In other parts of the Bible it tells us again that drunkenness, gluttony, greed and so on are all sin.
To complete Step 1 we must; List weaknesses (addictions) and admit each one to a Christian sponsor. You can add a sentence or two to verify your dysfunctional behaviour. Once you have completed step 1, we must move on to Step 2 right away. There is no point in pondering over this boggy mess for too long. We are much better placed in handing these obsessions over to God.
For the waywardness of the addict will kill them,
and the complacency of fools will destroy them;
but whoever listens to God will live in safety
and be at ease, without fear of harm. (Proverbs 1: 32-33)
Now move on to Step 2 right away. You can close this page and open the Step 2 page, God bless.