I have the right to do anything,” you
say — but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything” — but
I will not be mastered by anything.
1 Corinthians 6:12
Addiction is a loaded word with many
meanings. We tend to think of it as extreme, however, anyone can suffer from
addiction, and it’s far more common than you think.
The World Health Organization tells us
that worldwide, 6 million people die every year due to tobacco use, and 3.3
million die due to alcohol related causes.
Alcohol, drugs, and smoking have caused
much misery for years. But now, we can add pornography, TV
binge-watching, overeating, shopping, and video games. For
instance, one woman in New Mexico, USA, was spending over 12 hours a day
playing a multiplayer video game — and let her 3-year-old daughter starve to
death. Clearly, our world needs to healed from addiction.
Even normal activities can harm us when
taken to extremes. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 6:12, “‘I have the right to do anything,’
you say — but not everything is beneficial. ‘I have the right to do anything’ —
but I will not be mastered by anything.” An
addiction means we have let ourselves be “mastered” by something.
Perhaps other believers have told you
to “Flee from youthful lusts” (2 Timothy 2:22) or
to “Resist the devil” (James 4:7).
But addictions come with mental, emotional and physical components that
together exert a much more powerful pull than a regular temptation.
Here are three things that can put you
on the road to healing addiction...
1. Cry out to God
First things first — are you a follower
of Christ? Even
before asking for help with addiction, you must get right with God.
During a time of extreme trouble, David
wrote: “I called on the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and he saved me
from my enemies. The ropes of death entangled me; floods of destruction swept
over me” (Psalm 18:3-4).
God did not answer David until he had called on Him.
Start by acknowledging that you cannot
conquer your addiction in your own strength. Jesus said, “Humanly
speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible” (Matthew 19:26).
2. Get Help from Others
When trapped in sin, our impulse is to
isolate ourselves from other believers. This is what Satan wants as well!
Spending time with caring believers and sharing your struggles is an important
step in escaping it. Yes, it can be humbling, and even humiliating, but your
Christian brothers and sisters can help you with prayer. “Confess your
sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed” (James 5:16).
Also see Hebrews 10:24.
3. Cut it Off
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus spoke
of sexual temptation this way: “So if your eye — even your good eye —
causes you to lust, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to
lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell” (Matthew 6:29).
Jesus was telling us that if any object
or person consistently leads us to sin, we need to get that thing out of our
lives. For
example, if your friends want you to take drugs with them, you need to find
some new friends. If you tend to look at women with lust,
don’t go to the beach in summertime. If you can’t resist pornography on the
Internet, you need to install filters on your computer — or get rid of the
computer altogether.
If you have struggled with an addiction,
please know that there is hope, and that the God who made the universe is ready
to help deliver you when you cry out to him.
Pray this week:
Lord, I am tired of being mastered by
addictions. Please
show me the way out, and give me strength from Your Holy Spirit to go that way.
Help me to help others who need this help as well.
SOURCE: GODLIFE
Comments
Post a Comment