“Addiction is a self-defeating force that abuses our freedom and makes us do things we really do not want to do. It enslaves the energy of desire to certain specific behaviors, things, or people. These objects of attachment then become preoccupations and obsessions; they come to rule our lives.” Gerald May, Addiction and Grace
What comes to mind when you read the word, “ADDICT”?
It may bring up a person in your life or from your childhood that hurt you because of their addiction. You might picture a leather-skinned alcoholic taking a crackly drag from a cigarette and drinking crappy coffee from a styrofoam cup. The word has become so polarized that I can’t help but attach it to images of junkies, crackheads and tweakers.
It is a word that distinguishes “us” from “them”. There’s no way you will ever spiral into one of them. You are the opposite of an addict, you are…..well, not exactly the beacon of sobriety.
You take the edge off with a few glasses of wine,
You avoid deep thinking with the constant jerk of your hand tapping on your screen for a quick hit of dopamine,
You stay “engaged” with trivial stuff so you don’t have to think of the stuff that matters,
You're constantly posting so others can see how wonderful your life is, and maybe their perception of you outweighs what YOU think of YOU.
Being fully present to yourself and the reality of your life may be too much so you find yourself chasing the next project so you can carve out an outlet from all the things you can’t control in your life. Instead of surrendering to un-control, which is hard, you take hold of new things to control, which seems easy at the moment. Maybe you put all of your attention into your kids so you don’t have to give attention to the prickly feelings about your past; those cute little humans provide the perfect distraction.
There is a reason Jesus insightfully states that where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matthew 6:21). Jesus wasn’t just referring to money in this passage; he uses the word “mammon,” which includes the lust for power, wealth, gain, and status. In biblical culture, the word was often used to describe gluttony, greed, and unhealthy conduct in business and life.
If you’re like me, you might read this list and take a sigh of relief because you don’t pursue these things but I ask, how much time do you spend thinking about possessions, things you need, things you will build, decorate, clean? How much time are you on Pinterest dreaming of what you want to do next?
Not that these things are wrong, but anything that takes up a big chunk of real estate in the mind has the potential to captivate the heart. It devolves us from fully alive human beings to partially numb humans doing. It’s easy to become the person we think we should be or the person the world needs us to be, to learn who WE ARE requires that we rip away from all of our attachments: the things, the relationships, the social channels, the substances, the lifestyle, etc.
How far you are willing to go is how deep you will come to know yourself and the God who created you.
For 20 years, I advocated for orphaned and vulnerable young persons. What started out as a Bible study for 7th-grade girls in inner-city Houston led me to step into the margins of the lives of teens. That work evolved into cross-cultural mission work, foster care advocacy, adoption, and social entrepreneurship for aging-out youth in Haiti. It was a labor of love, and a lot of good happened during those years, but at some point, I took a hard left from God’s plan for my well-being. I became obsessed with the cause and addicted to the work. I let the burdens of the “shoulds” dictate my life and yielded to the tyranny of the urgent. All that good work kept me from tending to my soul. In other words, my treasure was no longer found in God but in the work He had called me to do.
We are not called to something, but to Someone and if anything gets in the way, no matter how good and noble, then perhaps it is time to examine it for what it truly is: an unhealthy attachment that “enslaves the energy of desire” to our Creator and Sustainer.
According to Gerald May, psychiatrist and spiritual counselor, the dynamics that are at play in the life of a substance abuser, are also responsible for “addiction to ideas, work, relationships, power, moods, fantasies, and an endless variety of other things. We are all addicts in every sense of the word."
In light of all of this, it leaves me to wonder what exactly is the opposite of an addict? Is it a sober person? If so, what does sobriety mean, exactly?
In Thessalonians Chapter 5, Paul concludes his letter by reminding his readers that they are children of the day and that because of that identity, they are to “keep wide awake and clear headed”, according to the Passion Translation. Although he contrasts this with drunk people sleeping the night away, I do not think he was referencing the literal use of alcohol here.
This is a call for awakening; to be aware of what we do so that we can be awakened to who we are. The thing is, many believers have allowed themselves to be lulled by cultural christianity which has become so sanitized that “dirty people” stay away from it and “clean people” cling to it for fear of getting dirty.
Becoming aware and sober means accepting that we are all created from dirt and one day our bodies will return to it. We are earth-people in need of Heaven. In God’s quest for love and human redemption, he limited his own divinity and took a risk among the natives so that He could open the path for us with love, grace and Spirit-Truth. Yes, he suffered rejection but there were beautiful exchanges of grace, love, joy, healing and acceptance within his earthly relationships. In the end, I’d say God thought it was worth the risk. The Life-Giving connection offered on the other side of the cross is worth the risk for me, too. At least on the good days.
Our addictions keep us stuck, but when we recognize them and turn our face towards Jesus, we see the freedom before us, the restored Garden of Eden, the land of milk and honey, the New Jerusalem, the heavenly realm, Paradise. It exists here, my friend. It is the abundant life God promised us if we are willing to set aside our addictions, no matter how mildly they present themselves, and put our hearts where the Treasure is.
So call a friend, host your extended family for dinner, grab that cup of coffee with your co-worker, take yourself on a date, do the yoga, read the book, admit your faults to your spouse, confess to a friend, say “sorry” to your child, lay bare before Jesus, be okay with the silence, and maybe little, by little you will loosen yourself from the thing that keeps you from being connected to self, others and God.
You will see that the line between “us” and “them” doesn’t actually exist, what does exist is the line between the "you" that the world says you are and the "YOU" that God says you are.
Maybe then you will see that the opposite of addiction isn’t sobriety, it is Awakening.
—--------------------------------------
Questions to Ponder:
What have you allowed to take up too much space in your mind and heart?
What are some ways you can connect to people in a meaningful way?
After reading this, can you list some addictions in your life?
What are some steps you can take to release their hold on your life?
Comentários