DEFINITION: “Addiction is a primary, chronic disease of brain reward…the individual pursuing reward and/or relief by substance abuse and other behaviors… characterized by impairment, craving and diminished recognition of significant problems with one’s behaviors and interpersonal relationships…”[1]
Most therapy is focused on physical addiction like drugs and alcohol. A few also look at behaviors like abusiveness and eating. Much harder to find in the lists are addictions to pornography and the internet. No one lists addictions to Welfare or subsidized housing. The article quoted above, healthyplace.com, describes addictions as “characterized by craving, compulsion, an inability to stop using the drug and lifestyle dysfunction…”[2] Most of the time the cures are focused on psychological and alternate drug treatment to curb the dysfunction. Maybe that is the “fight fire with fire” approach, but too often our world of experts ignores the best solutions. The possible solutions listed above are not necessarily wrong or bad, but they definitely leave out the spiritual aspects of all these dysfunctions. The world is afraid of defining anything as sin, so instead, all of these things are merely diseases of the mind and body.
If the experts are not believers in Jesus Christ, then their spirit is, by biblical definition, dead (Ephesians 2:1-2). They cannot see sin as sin unless the Holy Spirit opens their eyes to see it. They are left with only the traditional means for helping those who are caught in sin’s death traps. There is an old saying that says, “Don’t bring a knife to a gunfight” (quoted in movies such as: The Untouchables and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid). Truly, the weapons or tools or instruments you utilize should always be appropriate for the task and need at hand. Using a pocketknife saw blade to cut down a tree pales in comparison to a 4 foot, two man crosscut saw or a chainsaw. The point is obvious but so often missed in the world around us because of spiritual shortcomings.
When we encounter those that are suffering from any of the many addictions our world entraps them in, we need to bring the best resources that God offers to us for breaking those chains. Always begin with the power of the Holy Spirit through salvation in the name of Jesus; the life-giving words of the Holy Bible; the support and encouragement of a body of believers (the church); and through it all, prayer. Substances including the oils of the Bible or alternate drugs can also be helpful, and the help and direction of doctors in many fields of expertise should also be consulted.
People of this world are entrapped in the slavery of addictions of all types and forms. Always begin by bringing them to the One Who sets us free – Jesus. Remember the song by Zack Williams, Jonathan Lindley Smith and Mia Fieldes, “If you’ve got pain, He’s a pain taker. If you feel lost, He’s a way maker. If you need freedom or saving, He’s a prison-shaking Savior. If you’ve got chains, He’s a chain breaker.
Ephesians 2:1-10. Our world needs Jesus and He has appointed us to show Him to them.
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