Addiction (9/6/04)

1 Corinthians 10:13-14 reads

"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry."

Giving in to temptation leads to idolatry which is another term for addiction. Do you know someone who is addicted to something? Are you addicted to something (perhaps more than 1 thing)? There are the addictions we commonly think of such as drugs or alcohol. But things like money, shopping, poor eating habits, Television, sex, pornography, or even attention are also addictions. An addiction is an idol. It is something we worship and it carries a certain amount of control over our lives. God gives us the direction that we are to have no idols before Him. He is to be our one and only addiction. But how do we go about getting rid of the addictions? I heard a sermon last week in which the pastor was emphasizing that the process is to "decide and lean".

Decide - The first step is deciding that we want to be rid of the addiction. In this step, we need to recognize the addiction and decide we don't want to be a slave to it anymore. It's important that we don't wait until we feel like doing it. Our feelings are probably what put us in bondage in the first place. Remember, we are not tempted beyond what we can bear.

Lean - Once we've resolved to be rid of it, we need to lean on Him to carry it out. He may put others in our lives to help. After all, the verse above says our temptations and idols are common to man. Others have been in the same boat before. Likewise, through the process, God may be preparing you to be the empathetic guide for others in the same boat. He tends to take our weaknesses and turn them into blessings for others.

This Wednesday, let's pray for our own addictions as well as the addictions of those around us. Let's pray to decide to be rid of these addictions and to let Him help us do it.

Have a great week and a great fast.
Your brother,
Bob