You were not born predisposed to addiction! You’re not powerless to overcome addiction!
In this series of five articles, I’m making five bold and biblical statements about addiction.
Each of these statements, while contradicting human wisdom and contemporarily accepted thought, actually offers both truth and hope. You can overcome addiction! Your loved ones don’t have to live in the bondage of addiction even if they’ve struggled for decades. Even if they’ve tried every plan, program, and rehab out there.
I’m going to tell you about our Overcoming Addictions in Christ ministry at Community Baptist Church at the end of the article but first, let’s talk about why you can be certain that you’re not in some sort of genetic bondage that requires you to abuse drugs and alcohol. You don’t have to habitually drink, do drugs, overeat, gamble, look at pornography, or any of the other things people struggle with under the heading of addiction.
In the last article, I talked about how the idea of addiction being a disease worked its way into popular thinking. I told you that although many people accept the notion that addiction is a disease there’s no legitimate scientific evidence that supports that. Cancer is a disease, diabetes is a disease, alcohol and drug abuse are habitual choices made over time so much so that those choices become automatic default responses. That’s why it feels out of control. That’s also part of the reason addiction is believed to be genetic.
Habitual behavior is learned passed down from one generation to the next by practice. While I reject the idea that people are born predisposed to addiction, I do wholeheartedly believe Hebrews 12:1 “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,” You see the writer mentions those sins which so easily entangle us. That talks about those sins that are near and dear to our hearts.
Maybe someone else doesn’t struggle in the same way we do but we all have sins that so easily entangle us. One person may be easily entangled by alcohol while not being tempted at all by pornography. By the same token someone habitually speaks slanderously of other people while harboring bitterness in their heart and yet they would never be tempted with crystal meth.
In addition to that, we know that God has gifted each person according to His will (Ephesians 4 tells us that). While most of us tend to ease into things slowly and comfortably, maybe preferring to stay closer to the edges of the shore, at least at first. God gifted others to seem to want to jump into things full force. Whatever they’re into they’re totally into. Maybe it’s their job, their hobby, their family. Whatever it is we sometimes describe them as being addicted to that.
Let me ask you a question, have you ever known one of these people? Have you ever known one who got saved? Maybe you see them at church, they seem to get lost in Jesus. They’re on fire for God, and everything is so much about Jesus they can even make pastors feel uncomfortable.
Is it possible that people who think they have some genetic predisposition to addiction are just folks who are misusing a gift from God? You know those people who are addicted to Jesus tend to pull people like me who are a little more reserved along a little closer to the throne of God. I don’t believe there’s any genetic thing that makes you powerless to overcome addiction, but I wonder if someone might be misusing their gift? Listen- if you or someone you love is struggling with addiction- there’s hope!
On Thursday evenings at 7:00 pm, we do our Overcoming Addictions in Christ ministry in the Fellowship Hall at Community Baptist Church 956 S. Old Dixie Hwy. Bunnell. I want to invite you to come if you struggle with addiction. You don’t need to sign up in advance and you can start at any time. There is hope and you can overcome addiction.