Broken Relationship

Romans 5:12
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, that through sin, and thus death was spread to all men because all sinned.

Romans 5;17
For if by the one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

I have been called crazy by some.
I have been referred to as "out of touch".
But I hold fast to the one thing I teach over and over and over.
You don't have an addiction problem....
You have a living problem.
The drugs and alcohol are symptoms of a wrong inside.
You have a broken relationship with Jesus.
It was broken in the garden by the first man and woman.
And the resulting presence of sin has multiplied and compounded over the years, to the extent that today it all seems pretty normal. In other words, we are use to sin and the destruction it brings. We have accepted it as being part of our "normal" world.
God never intended it to be this way. He never put in His plans that drug and alcohol treatment centers were to be a part of normal every day life. But they are.
We can thank sin for this.

Addiction is complex and there aren't any easy answers.
Pastor's and religious people want to get the addict saved, put a Bible in their hands and get them joined up with a local church.
The Doctor wants to treat the addiction as a disease. Now a day's there are even medications to help the one who is addicted.
The Psychiatrist wants to treat the addiction as part of a mental problem. Like the doctor, there are labels attached to the one who is addicted. Throw in some medication to help the mental struggle the addict goes through as a bonus.
To me, addiction is a combination of all three of the views I have shared.

There is the "Sin" side of addiction.
We are born with a sin nature, a bent to do the wrong thing...choose the wrong thing....and desire the wrong thing. It manifest in different ways in different people. Some never succumb to the level or degree of "bad" choices as others may do. But none the less, sin reigns in the heart of every person born.

Paul writes in Romans 7 (Message Bible)- "I realize that I don't have what it takes. I can will it, but I can't do it. I decide to do good, but I don't really do it. I decide not to bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don't result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the best of me every time." How many times have I heard these words..."I would tell myself that this was the last time I was going to use...but then within hours, I was back on the street looking for my next fix.

To me, all addiction begins with a choice. Why we choose has many sides and many different levels, but it begins with a choice driven by that old nature, that sin nature. So we use.
Over time, we alter the brain chemistry of our body. We alter the cellular make up of our body so that signals are sent out that demand we use again. We try....we want to stop..but we can't. So there is a physical side to addiction that goes beyond willpower and want to.
Eventually the brain and mental process gives up the struggle of will and we resolve ourselves with what we refer to as False Belief #4. I am what I am, I cannot change, I am hopeless.

Such as these three different views are all a part of the addiction problem, it takes a POWER greater than out thoughts...our will...and our willpower to break us free from the cycle of using. Such POWER is found in only one place....Jesus Christ.
With the salvation that Jesus brings to the life of an addict, There is a need to become a part of a community of like minded believers. To be surrounded by others who are on the same path. To become a lover of the Word of God, to study and digest it. In other words, there is a need for healing in the life of the user. Physically, mentally and spiritually, we are in need of the kind of healing that only Jesus can bring.

"I thought you wrote earlier in this posting that pastor's said all that was needed was to get the addict saved, put a Bible in their hands and get them to join a church." You said that was a wrong view.
It's not that it's a wrong view. It is an incomplete view.
We need to add a plan of discipline and instruction to the new life of the former user. That discipline is made evident in working the twelve steps. The Power that is brought into the new life of a believer through God's Holy Spirit, is then directed to begin a path that deals with changing character and patterns of sin.
Believe me when I say, "Rarely have we seen anyone fail who has thoroughly followed our path."
There is hope and a new way of living found only in Christ.
God on you.....
mb