Christian Family Services Ministry

4-1-2022 – A Word to the Wise – PART 3 Let us turn now to the cure for addiction. It should be noted that man has been working desperately to find a cure. For some, the belief is that education is the answer. So in an attempt to stop drug abuse among teens, there has been a dramatic increase in the advertisements aimed at this segment of society. Does education work? The reality is that there has been a tremendous increase in the use of both alcohol and drugs among young people.

Rehabilitation centers are popping up all over the country with magical cures (if you have money or insurance) the chief aim of which is to soothe the panic ridden family that has reached its “wits end.” The ultimate failure of rehabilitation lies in its failure to recognize the basic biblical principle that abstinence is no cure for addiction. The therapies are endless, and the success rate is small. For instance, over 90% of cigarette smokers return to smoking the first year. Even if the abstinence works, nothing has been done about the underlying causes. A new object eventually replaces the present object of addiction.

We understand that certain medicines may affect one type of illness and yet not affect others. Thus, while one type of antibiotic may destroy bacteria in the lungs it has no effect on infection of the kidneys. Just so, the malady of addiction has a specific treatment.

How would you respond, if having pneumonia you went to a doctor and he told you just to take a bath, and you will get well? As if cleansing the outside of the body would cure the inside. Yet, how frequently we try to cure heart problems with cognitive behavior or spiritual problems with radical emotional changes. Addiction is a malady of the heart. Effective treatment means getting to the root of the problem and employing the cure that is most effective with the problem.

Man identifies abstinence as the cure the Lord does not. The Apostle Paul introduces the subject of abstinence and its failures in Colossians 2:20-23. He states that severity to the body such as do not taste, do not touch, while seemingly wise, is actually of no value in checking the indulgence of the flesh.

Attempts to handle addictive behavior with self-control are doomed to failure. True, one may actually give up the behavior; however the character problems remain. The problems are magnified because we focus on a physical desire (being thin) as opposed to setting our minds on Christ.

These principles hold true whether the addiction is to food, chemicals, sex, or any other object man might deify. There is a heavy price to pay for abstinence. Abstinence alerts and shuts down every physical, psychological, and spiritual function. Abstinence, instead of taking the mind off the addiction, focuses and concentrates on it. It is like the child who has chapped lips. You tell them not to lick them, but they do anyway. The hope of the child is the pain will go away. The result is they get worse and the entire focus becomes the lips.

The addictive person is a self-absorbed person. His existence has been centered in “getting” for himself. As anyone who is an addict, or who has lived with one knows the addict pleases only him/herself. Even when doing for others the addict’s actions are motivated by “what can I get out of it.” Nine of the ten lepers that Jesus healed had this problem. Cleansed on the outside, they still bore the attitude of ingratitude, which resulted in little faith.

By changing direction from how much can I get to how much can I give, the covetous person is able to set aside addiction. How does one come to the point where they are willing to give instead of get? By experiencing gratitude. Gratitude is the little golden egg.

The characteristic of gratitude is the central truth by which the addict changes. Gratitude is an inward attitude directed toward the Lord, expressing appreciation for all benefits received from Him. It is experienced in the spirit of man. Gratitude is manifested in an outward expression called thankfulness. It originates in the heart. Giving is a result of the inward attitude of gratitude and an outward expression of thanksgiving.

This change is imperative if the addict is to find peace. Whereas, most treatments for addiction tend to modify the outward behavior or mental imagery, they have little effect on the spirit-soul of man.

The Lord’s approach to treatment is different. The person changes from the inside out. The behavior is not the focus of attention, nor is it the central problem. One of the assignments I give to clients is directed towards acquiring gratitude. It begins by listing everyday 25 things you are grateful for in the past and present.

Gratitude is achieved by choice, never by duty. As one examines the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual gifts that God has bestowed, expresses thanksgiving to God in each of these areas for these gifts, then the gratitude batteries recharge. It is not how many gifts God has given, rather how one feels, what one does, and how one expresses thanksgiving for those gifts received.

Gratitude is not focused on “what is not” but on “what is.” It is not focused on losses, but on one’s gains through those losses. This quality does not focus on one’s afflictions, but rather on the results of those afflictions. The depth of gratitude is determined by humility. The greater the humility, the deeper the gratitude. Levels of gratitude are attained through sacrifice. Thus, the greater the sacrifice, the greater the level attained. By writing out one is grateful for eventual transforms the soul. Not the first day, or month or even six months. After the first few weeks the addict has to get serious about his thankfulness. He has to really dig. It is this process that helps transform the person.

When gratitude is exercised, it acts as a protective cover shielding one from the addictive forces of the world. Gratitude, like faith is dead without works. The works of thanksgiving are charitable, unmerited acts towards others. This is the second part of an assignment. One is required to find widows, orphans, or unlovable individuals and on a daily basis meet a need of theirs. Both searches, the one for things one is grateful for the other finding the unlovable, the ungrateful, those who can not return good and shedding blessings on them is the therapy.

Addiction is not a sin—addiction is the consequences of sin. This explains why one cannot stop the addiction until the root sin is discovered and repentance occurs. If one fights the addiction it becomes stronger, and if perchance one conquers it then it will break out in other areas. Paul tells us in Rom 6:16 “if you yield yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin which leads to death or of obedience which leads to righteousness.” The slavery of addiction—and who would deny the heavy burden of addiction is the result of disobedience.