At church Sunday, we continued with our "5 Easy Steps to Wreck Your Life" series, and addressed the issue of addiction.
Nobody wakes up one day and decides to become an addict. 1 Corinthians 6:12 says that "everything is permissible for me, but not everything is beneficial." Everything is permissible, but we should not be mastered (controlled, enslaved). We know what is right/wrong, but under that power of addiction, we choose wrong. We become enslaved by the desire of having the next fix; controlled by an outside force.
What has mastered you?
Alcohol? Drugs? Caffeine? Smoking? Work? Exercise?
Addiction is not the problem; it's the symptom of an issue, which basically is idolatry. It's filling your life with a functional savior. We say to our addiction, "save me and provide for me" and it controls us to where we can't do life without it. You can't even see straight in the grips of addiction. We seek to find what only God can provide in something besides God Himself. God wants to provide peace, but we look for it elsewhere. We want to be accepted by others, but God wants to meet that need.
5 Easy Steps to Become an Addict:
1. Don't admit you have a problem.
Tell yourself it's under control and you can quit anytime.
Jer. 3:13
2. Gratify all of your fleshly desires.
You are born again to live by the Spirit, but there is a war between the Spirit and the flesh.
Gal. 5:16-18
3. Rationalize your behavior and make excuses.
Do whatever makes you happy.
Luke 14:18-20
4. Keep your addiction a secret.
Sin grows best in the dark. Make sure to isolate yourself.
Prov. 28:13
5. Depend on your own power, never God's.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 says we are to take captive every thought. It is a choice of who's power
to live by. We have the power to demolish strongholds, not just to overcome, but to
obliterate every idol. But, most choose to live by their own power because that comes
natural to us.
The root of the problem of addiction is that we seek to find our identity, but our only identity is in Him. We aren't our clothes, cars, jobs, clubs we belong to. We see our problems like Goliaths and we think we can't break free. We forget how big our God is. We serve a great God more powerful than anything we could ever face. What else could provide more than God? We have to stop settling for cheap imitations and the status quo. Our identity is in Him. Christ set us free, but often we walk right out of that cell and into another one. Many of us don't live in complete freedom. We must choose to live by His power and take back control of our life by letting go of it to Him!
"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." Galatians 5:1
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3 comments:
Well, that last verse on here is exactly what you and I need to say to our fears! :)
The Lord's been showing me lately that I need to trust him ever more instead of trying to rely on my own strengths. That my problems aren't too big for him and that he is MORE than enough.
I'm so excited about where he's taking me and how he continues to walk by my side and show me things in a new light. This was a great message!
That was a great sermon! I love how you share so others can learn, too.
Your wedding picture is so pretty & I am glad you had a nice celebration.
I was extra sensitive at school like Lily and I do hope she comes out of it. Glad the teacher is working with you. I still remember the fears & insecurities I had.
Love the smell of Dreft! It does bring back good memories. I loved Ivory Snow, too, but don't know if they still make it. (((HUGS)))
This was a good post to read. I really think perhaps I have an internet addiction! Yikes!
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