Did you know that according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) that in 2010 “23.1 million people needed treatment for a drug or alcohol problem, and only 2.6 million, or 11.2 percent, received it.”. Another statistic states that 1 in 11 Americans 12 or older are addicted. Addiction is an enormous, enormous problem in our culture and society. Its consequences are greater than we can comprehend. Whatever preconceived notions there have been about the face of a drug addict, we know that today addiction is everywhere and can affect people with all backgrounds. And that means, yes, even people and leaders in the church can be addicted. Families are suffering, companies are affected, the healthcare system is bogged down, jails and prisons are overcrowded and people don\’t know what to do with the epidemic. With so much more technology, advanced \”scientific\” research and more access to help then ever before, why is addiction getting worse, not better?
Treating Addiction with Truth
Defining the root drive of addiction is perhaps the greatest source of division on this topic. The medical community claims the physical brain and other genetic dispositions are the culprit behind addiction. Medical science seems unable to treat addiction except with oftentimes more medication, and thus the transferring of one substance to another. There is no question that the brain gets altered by substance abuse, but the medical community claims the brain is the cause, not just the effect of substance abuse. Ironically, most medical doctors know that the most effective way to treat addiction is through a spiritual remedy of the 12 step process.
Christians also range in their understanding of addiction. Some Christians and churches simply label it as willful sin, thus consider the person struggling with addiction as merely rebellious. They may even look at the addictive nature of a person and resolve that their behavior is explained because \”they are not really a Christian in the first place\”. Other churches may try to help an addict, but don\’t have the understanding of the power of addiction, and the tools that are required to create an atmosphere where addicts can seek help.
Whatever our own perception of addiction is, somewhere lies the actual truth of its roots and cause. How we find ourselves defining addiction will lie in direct correlation to the solution we seek to apply to it. If we see people as merely the effect of a medical disorder, we\’ll find security in sending a person through the scientific approach, relying on medication and other approaches. If we believe addiction is just a \”sin\” issue, we\’ll judge and form conclusions about the addict\’s spiritual status, and thus be prone to the \”throw them out.\”
Seeking Truth
As Christians, we\’ve been granted the gift of a lifetime – the access to truth. This truth is not just stated in God\’s Word, but can be used to interpret the world around us through the mind of Christ. Truth isn\’t just a Bible passage, but the ability to take God\’s wisdom and apply it to our daily lives, including the reality of addiction.
What Do We Believe?
Our perspective of what constitutes the source of truth will determine the outcome of our lives. If we seek medical digests and human knowledge as truth, that\’s where we go to access solutions. And what we will receive is whatever resources the medical community has available, namely medication and mental health specialists who use human theories to treat addiction. If we use the Bible as our source of truth, we will be able to access its resources. We will have the opportunity to see God\’s viewpoint of life, relationships, dependencies and sin, and given the power and resources that God\’s promises offer.
But learning God\’s Word and accessing and applying it to our lives is where the battle will be waged. That\’s because oftentimes we are told things in the Bible that contradict what we see with our eyes, and what our modern-day society has deemed as \”truth.\” In fact, the Bible tells us that we are engaged in a battle for our minds – the very essence of our belief systems. This battle is not happening through flesh and blood people (although it manifests through people and systems), but we are engaged with \”forces of darkness.\” Now let\’s be honest. That is an uncomfortable truth! It\’s a truth that we would rather brush under the rug and choose to ignore. Yet, if God\’s Word is the source of truth, we cannot deny it\’s statement.
How We Receive Truth
Many times truth is distorted because it\’s used as a rule book and a measuring stick, rather than a revelation of heart and purposes of God. Thus \”truth\” that claims to know the Bible and have the answers, but lacks a deep encounter of Jesus Christ, isn\’t truth at all. That\’s because when Jesus walked this earth, He became \”truth\” in flesh and blood. Let\’s read:
In the beginning the Word already existed.The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through Him, and nothing was created except through Him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and His life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. – John 1: 1-5 (NLT)
A relationship with Jesus Christ lead us to the source of truth, because it gives us access to Him. When we are spiritual blind and caught in the perils of denial, we in essence are walking in darkness. But when Jesus enters into our life, He gives light, and the ability to see. With addiction, as with all areas of our lives, the person suffering will first need \”see truth\” before they will have access to God\’s solution.
Truth and the Holy Spirit
Sadly, the work of the Holy Spirit gets desperately misunderstood and neglected in the life of many believers. For the addict, it is imperative and absolutely necessary to learn to walk and live in the Spirit. That\’s because the Holy Spirit performs functions that oppose our human default patterns. The addict isn\’t just doing \”bad stuff\” on purpose. There is an entire infected system in their life that needs to be re-wired. The mind of the addict is broken and filled with faulty information. Their thoughts have been bound by lies that contradict God\’s plans and purposes for their life. Through faulty belief systems, they have formed habitual patterns that led to strongholds. Strongholds are lies that become a truth. They are an automatic response over a period of time, rather than a choice.
Because of this very important component, that\’s why a central focus in the treatment or the recovery process must be in the arena of truth. Truth finding is not about a human counselor standing with a bunch of \”therapeutic\” knowledge and claiming to have the insight to a person\’s problem. Rather, truth finding is a process that occurs ONLY when a person is able to engage with the Holy Spirit. To set things straight – the Holy Spirit is a Person and part of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit actually houses the very mind of Christ. This is God Almighty coming inside us and giving us the ability to think, feel and behave under His influence, not our own flesh, in a given situation.
Because the addict has been programmed to think, feel and act based on wrong data, it will take the work of the Holy Spirit to reprogram that data. This will occur gradually as each lie and stronghold is brought to the light and replaced with the truth of God in that situation.
Does it seem radical that only the power of Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit can cure an addict? If so, stop and assess your own ideas of addiction.
- Do you recognize that addiction is terrible and can lead to death physically, emotionally and spiritually? Have you resolved that you or the person you love must get help, and that it will require God\’s intervention?
- Do you recognize that all spiritual ailments come in the forms of lies that take our minds captives and cause us to think, feel and behave in a negative way. Thus, addiction recovery must occur by the renewing of the mind, not merely adjusting outward behaviors or treating addiction as a medical condition?
- Do you believe in the power of the Holy Spirit? What role does He play in your life? Has He revealed His truth? Do you limit Him to the Word of the Bible alone, or do you let Him press deeply into your heart and reveal how God\’s Word must be activated and made alive in your heart?
- Where do you bank the hope for the addict in your life? And what pathway must you take to follow that?
Whatever you respond, the questions can be pondered, but they can also be brought directly to the throne of grace. No person can dictate truth to you. It must be worked out with God. No matter your situation, make today the day you claim to receive truth – allow God to penetrate your heart and trust in Him to initiate the processes necessary to bring you or someone you love our of bondage and into freedom.
Lord God,
I need truth to understand addiction in myself or someone I love. I have tried to figure it out on my own, and it is beyond my grasp. Shine a light before me and show me where to go. Lead me to the answers I need in my own situation. Don\’t let me be tricked or deceived. When I am afraid, I ask that reveal with kindness and gentleness the pathways of Your will, and offer me Your hope and the fulfillment of Your promises.
In Jesus Name – Amen
Great article. Nice work explaining how the Holy Spirit performs functions that oppose our human default patterns. We all desperately need God’s truth every day. Thankful for His grace.
Thanks Mike!
And the truth will set you free!
Amen!