(Extensive inspiration for the sermons in this series derived from the sermon samples in the "Who Cares" promotional series by Outreach Ministries.)
(Opened this message with the "Who Cares" Sermon Starter on Addiction)
Smoking. Drinking. Drug Use. Sexual Addiction. Food Addictions. They can all be portrayed as cool. Trendy. Even “mature.” But they all carry with them another side. A much darker side. One that leaves the addict feeling enslaved and hopeless.
One news report said it well when it was speaking of an addiction to alcohol and it indicated that “Alcohol is closely linked with virtually every negative aspect of society; suicide, violent crime, birth defects, industrial accidents, domestic and sexual abuse, homelessness, death, and disease. It is the No.1 drug problem for people from all walks of life. It is No. 1 among whites, African Americans, and Hispanics, and it’s No. 1 among poor people and rich people, men and women, and young and old people alike.”
Young and old. In fact, chemical dependency among older adults is a growing problem. A government report stated that up to 17 percent of adults, 60 or older, have a problem with alcohol abuse, and over one-third of these developed the problem after reaching the age of 60. Factors involved in their addictions included: grief over the loss of a spouse or friend, loss of a job through retirement, loss of one’s home, or dislocation of the family.
Alcohol is currently used by more Americans than any other drug. And here is an absolutely incredibly amazing number. About 350 Americans die daily from alcohol-related problems while about 15 to 30 die daily from health effects of illegal drug use. Kind of makes you wonder which one should be illegal.
One member of Alcoholics Anonymous wrote the following:
We drank for happiness and became unhappy.
We drank for joy and became miserable.
We drank for sociability and became argumentative.
We drank for sophistication and became obnoxious.
We drank for friendship and made enemies.
We drank for sleep and awakened without rest.
We drank for strength and felt weak.
We drank "medicinally" and acquired health problems.
We drank for relaxation and got the shakes.
We drank for bravery and became afraid.
We drank for confidence and became doubtful.
We drank to make conversation easier and slurred our speech.
We drank to feel heavenly and ended up feeling like hell.
We drank to forget and were forever haunted.
We drank for freedom and became slaves.
We drank to erase problems and saw them multiply.
We drank to cope with life and invited death.
Despite the world’s best marketing efforts, there is definitely another side. . .a much darker side to substance use, abuse and addiction. Listen to this alcoholic’s testimony -
(Testimony 1 - Had read off stage by congregation member)
I always feel a little strange on Memorial Day weekend. You see, when I was a sophomore in high school, my parents went away for Memorial Day and left me at home alone. Big mistake! I threw the party to end all parties. There were people there I’d never seen before, a band, people drinking beer in every room of our house. Half way through the weekend, our house was a disaster.
I was twelve years old when I took my first drink. My mom and adopted father were hosting a Christmas party for several of their friends. They had an open bar, and the more the booze flowed, the less people noticed that I was helping myself to the orange juice and vodka drinks they called screwdrivers. I don’t remember exactly how many screwdrivers I drank, but I do remember spending the night throwing up in the bathroom. I also remember feeling absolutely awful the next day. In fact, I couldn’t drink orange juice without feeling like I was going to throw up for months after that.
Any normal person would’ve learned from that experience, but for me that night was just the beginning. Within a week I was regularly sneaking into my parents’ liquor cabinet. I didn’t care what I drank--bourbon, vodka, brandy--it didn’t matter. The drink was just the delivery system; what I was really interested in was the effect. Alcohol provided a numbness from the pain and confusion I was going through as a twelve year old.
And I didn’t stop with drinking. Soon I was experimenting with drugs as well, and by the time I was 13 years old I was a daily drug abuser. I tried everything I could get my hands on: marijuana, pills, meth, angel dust, LSD. The only thing I never tried was heroin. I figured if I avoided heroin, I wasn’t a drug addict.
For six years I drank and abused drugs on a regular basis. In fact, I can’t remember one sober day from the time I was twelve until the time I quit when I was 18 years old. My grades went from being A’s and B’s to F’s. My last year of junior high school I was suspended three times for getting into trouble. In fact, I failed all but one of my classes my last semester, but the school graduated me anyway, just to move me on to the high school. I coasted through high school in a continual mental haze.
It was only through my involvement in Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous when I was 18 years old that I was able to finally break free from my addiction. It’s easy to imagine my drug and alcohol problem wasn’t really that bad; after all, I only used drugs and drank for six years. Yet during those six years my life spun out of control, I was unable to sustain healthy relationships, and I consistently turned to drugs and alcohol to numb my pain and cope with life. I was young, but I truly was an alcoholic and a drug addict.
For all our efforts to fight a war on drugs, drug abuse continues to climb. Last year approximately 14 million Americans abused an illegal drug. And that doesn’t count people who abuse prescription drugs given to them by their doctor.
But let’s move even beyond that. Plenty of us aren’t using illegal drugs, or abusing alcohol. So are we in the clear of a message on addiction? Or are there some others forms of addiction hiding in our closets?
(Testimony 2 - read off stage by congregation memeber)
Last year – in fact for a number of years now I have been aware that I have been struggling with an addiction. As soon as I say the word it arouses concern in us – and rightly so because addictive behavior is unhealthy and destructive. And if you’re like me you probably wonder what is it – drugs, pornography, alcohol, gambling – what’s she into?
If I told you that the addiction I struggle with is eating you will probably breathe a sigh of relief – you might even say look at me and say ‘hey it’s no big deal’ because it doesn’t show in any visible way – I’m not fat and I’m reasonably fit. But in that there is a deception.
And maybe it’s not an all-consuming desire at the moment – but I’m aware and I have been aware for some time that my relationship with food (if you can call it that!) is unhealthy. I have felt for some time that I am not in control of my eating – can’t walk past a bakery, dreaming about food – and yet it seems normal – food is something I love – something that makes me feel good – when I’m down I eat – in fact when I’m ‘up’ I eat. I eat most of the time – when I’m not eating I’m thinking about when I will be eating – my favorite words are ‘all you can eat’ – I tend to take them quite literally. I just love to eat – I don’t eat because I’m hungry – I eat because I enjoy the sensual pleasure of taste.
Late last year I started to realize this was a problem – and it was highlighted when I felt God challenging me this year to practice the spiritual discipline of fasting. I had only ever fasted once before – I told people the only thing I gained from it was a greater appreciation of food. I was fairly resistant to the idea – which actually started alarm bells ringing again. I realized that I loved food too much to go a day or two without it.
I felt though that God was saying this so I decided to bite the bullet and do it. But I wanted to understand a bit more about fasting so I read John Piper’s book ‘Hungry For God’ and in the preface I had a ‘lights on’ moment. I saw what was happening in my life – not just with food.
As I read the intro I knew I was onto something – the first sentence says ‘Beware of books on fasting’ I like this guy already! So many fasting books seem to promise that God will change the world if I go without food and pray. Then I read a caption at the start of the chapter ‘The weakness of our hunger for God is not because he is unsavory, but because we “keep ourselves stuffed with other things.”’ That rung some bells.
A little further down that page he explained what he meant. He wrote “If you don’t feel strong desires for the manifestation of the glory of God, it is not because you have drunk deeply and are satisfied. It is because you have nibbled so long at the table of the world. Your soul is stuffed with small things and there is no room for the great. God did not create you for this. There is an appetite for God. And it can be awakened.”
I thought ‘he’s talking about me’ – that’s what I feel. That’s what I’ve felt for a while now. Too ‘full’ at times to really desire God. Too full and yet never full. And food was just one way I kept ‘full’.
Wikipedia, the modern day cultural authority on everything, defines addiction as “a recurring compulsion by an individual to engage in some specific activity. The term is often reserved for drug addictions but it is sometimes applied to other compulsions, such as problem gambling and compulsive overeating.”
A recurring compulsion by an individual to engage in some specific activity. So let me ask you, what are you addicted to? What do you find yourself compulsively engaged in?
Television? Eating? Surfing the Web? Watching SportsCenter? Drinking coffee? How about gardening? Or how about simply emotions – anger, addicted to worry, or fear? What are you addicted to?
Because I think a Christian definition of addiction has to go a bit further than the world’s. The Christian definition of addiction might read more like “To occupy oneself with or involve oneself in something habitually or compulsively. Speaking to an unnatural, for the Christian at least, obsession with anything other than God: sports, work, shopping and/or acquiring “stuff,” even family or children.
Deuteronomy 6: 5 says we are to “Love the Lord, your God, with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” Jesus even says this is the first and greatest commandment, and adds the word “mind” to it. So an addiction, occupying oneself with something habitually or compulsively that is anything other than God Himself is wrong.
Let’s look at what the wisdom of Solomon might tell us about addiction. Turn with me to the book of Proverbs. Proverbs 23:19 (read through verse 34).
From this passage, we can draw some consequences of intoxication. Too much alcohol. Drunkenness. But consequences that I think can apply to any addiction other than an addiction to God. First, let’s look at. . .
1. THE CONSEQUENCES OF INTOXICATION (AND ADDICTION)
Verse 29 (read through 30). In these two verses we find the first reality: we wise up about alcohol in particular and addiction in general when we understand the consequences of intoxication. And we find six different consequences listed in v. 29, each one in the form of a rhetorical question.
“Who has woe?” The Hebrew word translated "woe" here is an expression of despair, a feeling of hopelessness and impending doom. Woe is that overwhelming feeling that there’s no way out, that life is crushing you and grinding you to bits, and that there’s nothing you can do about it. Woe is the suicide note of a troubled sixteen year old girl, it’s the despair of a middle aged man who gives up on life. In fact, it’s no coincidence that 40% of all suicide attempts each year in our nation are alcohol related. God’s word tells us, despair is a natural consequence of drug and alcohol intoxication. And I believe, a natural consequence of addiction.
Another consequence from this verse is sorrow. The Hebrew word for "sorrow" in this second question is literally, "ouch." It’s an exclamation of pain. Sorrow is anguish and distress, a life filled with inner pain.
The question, "Who has strife?" focuses on the consequence of broken relationships. Strife is a general word that refers to arguments with other people. Again, it’s no coincidence that 80% of all domestic abuse in our nation is alcohol related. But it isn’t just physical abuse. It includes hurtful words hastily spoken, angry actions, and so forth.
Are we getting the idea? These rhetorical questions point to the consequences of intoxication. And again, I believe, addiction on a broader scale.
Now understand, the Bible was written at a time when almost everyone drank alcohol to some degree or another, but it was also written before people discovered distilling, so most alcoholic drinks had a low level of alcohol in them. And it was only when used in excess that the people in Bible times would experience some of these consequences.
So while the Bible doesn’t forbid drinking alcohol, today is a different day, and today’s drinks are different drinks. Using a different alcohol. And while the Bible warns about getting drunk, the numbers make it difficult to find much good in any drinking to outweigh the overwhelming bad of using alcohol.
And in my 38 years of life I have noticed two things. First, I have never met anyone who became an alcoholic without ever having taking that first drink. Probably cases of fetal alcohol syndrome. But I personally have never met one, and would venture to say they make up a very small portion of alcoholics.
And secondly, I have never met anyone who took that first drink saying, “I am doing this because I want to become a hopeless, bound-up, alcoholic.” But it all starts somewhere. With alcohol and every other addiction. So we better be aware of the consequences.
Beyond that, we can also see that there are. . .
2. THE PROMISES ASSOCIATED WITH DRINKING (AND ADDICTION)
Imagine watching a TV commercial trying to sell you a new product. The announcer tells you that using this product will eventually produce despair and sorrow in your life. The more you use this product, the more isolated you’ll become from people. Using this product will cause all kinds of new problems in your life, including bodily injury and dulled senses. Because it’s Memorial Day weekend, you can buy this product at half price. Would you spend your money to buy that product? Of course not. But that’s not how alcohol, tobacco, pornography, illicit TV, or fast food is sold, is it?
Look at verse 31 (read through verse 32). Here we find our second reality. We wise up about alcohol and addiction when we distrust the promises associated with it.
Even back when Proverbs was written, people who produced wine tried to make it look cool and refreshing. There was a whole lifestyle associated with beer and wine. A lifestyle that was carefully cultivated by those whose livelihood depended on people buying beer and wine. So according to this text, the wine looks refreshing, sparkling in the cup and going down smoothly. But the appearance you see at first is quite different than the viper’s bite it delivers once it’s in your system. It’s like a harmless looking snake that suddenly hisses and strikes you with its venomous fangs.
Some things never change. Our culture today tries to sell us alcohol by creating a fantasy around drinking. Think about the slogans of beer commercials.
- Budweiser’s slogan: "True." One simple word. “True.” How ironic is that?
- Miller Genuine Draft’s slogan: "Pure." Almost sounds spiritual, huh?
- Or the current slogan for Coors: "The official sponsor of guy’s night out."
What are beer commercials selling us? Same thing pornography and drug pushers sell. A fantasy. According to Dr. Jean Killbourne, an international lecturer on alcohol advertising, alcohol ads link drinking with happiness, wealth, prestige, sophistication, success, maturity, athletic ability, virility, creativity and sexual satisfaction. The irony is that these are the very things that addiction destroys. Yet millions of Americans believe the commercials. We believe the promises.
We live with the grain of God’s wisdom when we distrust the promises associated with drinking alcohol, and see the venomous snake bite of addiction. Which brings us to the third reality.
3. ALCOHOL’S ADDICTIVE POWER
Verse 33 (read through verse 35). The true consequences in vivid detail for us. A person intoxicated by drugs or alcohol will see strange things. Hallucinations aren’t unusual among drug abusers and long term alcoholics. In fact, some drugs actually specialize in producing hallucinations.
And that second half of verse 33 in the Hebrew literally reads, "Your mind will tell you opposite things." This refers to thoughts that are contrary to what you know to be true and right. When controlled by an addiction, your mind will whisper ideas into your thought processes that are totally out of character with what you believe and what you believe is right.
“It’s just a TV show. It doesn’t really impact my thinking.” “It’s just a magazine. I would never really cheat on my wife.” “It’s just a hobby. It doesn’t control me.” Our mind will tell us opposite things of what we know is true.
This explains why a person who is totally against drunk driving suddenly grabs his keys to go for a ride after a few beers. His mind is telling him things contrary to what he really believes. This is why a happily married woman, who loves her children, will flirt with the guy in the next cubicle. Her mind tells her things contrary to what she truly believes.
But the kicker of course is the very last phrase, "When will I wake up so I can find another drink?" Now why would this person want another drink after such an awful experience? The simple answer is that drinking alcohol is addictive, and the person who drinks too much gradually becomes captive to the power of addiction.
Why would someone want to smoke something they know destroys their lungs, physically changes their appearances, and will eventually kill them. Because it is addictive.
Why can I watch the same sports highlights over and over again instead of picking up my Bible, or going for a walk? Because it is addictive. That is how the marketers intended for it to be. And we wise up about addiction when we recognize the reality of the addictive power of our own particular vices.
But here is the real trap of addiction. When you’re addicted to something, just trying harder to stop doesn’t help. Willpower alone is helpless against the power of an addiction. Anyone who has ever gone on a diet knows that. And whenever we as Christians see addiction as no more than a moral problem or an issue of willpower, we fail to acknowledge the power of addiction. It takes more than moral effort or willpower to conquer an addiction. It takes a spiritual transformation.
This is where some of our holiness teachings have failed generations of church attending people. You see, if we focus only on the moral dimension of an addiction. If we reduce recovery to simply trying harder, ignoring the power of addiction. Or if we focus just on addiction as a disease. A behavior wired into our DNA, then we avoid the real issue.
The issue isn’t as simple as either a sin or a sickness. The reality is that addiction, of any kind is both sin and sickness. In fact, the Bible often pictures sin as a disease.
Jeremiah 17:9 says, "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" The heart is diseased by sin. By addiction.
When Jesus Christ was criticized for hanging out with sinful people, he said, "It’s not the healthy who need a doctor, but it’s the sick." (Mark 2:17).
Conversely, Psalm 41:4 says, "Heal me Lord, for I have sinned against you."
So it’s not either/or; it’s both/and. Addiction is both a sin and a disease. And true recovery is not simply available via the physical or psychological treatments. True recovery requires a change from God, a spiritual transformation, a relational healing by removing the addiction that exists between us and God so that we can experience the fullness of Christ.
But understand, it’s not enough to simply condemn drug abuse and alcohol abuse as immoral. We need to acknowledge the addictive power of alcohol and drugs. And we do that in part by acknowledging the power of addiction while being sensitive to those around us struggling with addictions.
And then, through the grace of God, we might experience the fourth reality.
4. A LIFE OF RECOVERY
Notice, the author of Proverbs doesn’t tell us to never drink. Instead he tells us to wise up about alcohol. Understand the consequences of intoxication. Distrust the promises associated with drinking. Acknowledging the addictive power of alcohol. And that will enable us to enter into the life of recovery.
So what if you’ve already started down the path of addiction? What if you’re already experiencing the consequences of addiction in your life? What if you’ve bought the promises of your particular addiction hook, line and sinker? What if you’re captive to an addictive habit that you can’t seem to shake free from?
Well, the rest of the Bible assures us that the power of God is sufficient to deliver us from our addictions. And it doesn’t come from trying harder or will power. Genuine recovery comes from a spiritual transformation. And through Jesus Christ, God can transform the most hopeless addict, and bring that person into freedom.
A life of recovery is hard work. It doesn’t come from just going to church or praying a prayer. A life of recovery comes from becoming a different kind of person, a spiritual person, a follower of Jesus Christ. A person who longs and thirst, and hungers for all of their addictions to be filled by the presence and knowledge and relationship with Jesus Christ.
The New Testament church was filled with former drunks and druggies, former adulterers and thieves, former con men and liars, former gossips and haters, former racists and religious hypocrites, who had all been transformed by the good news of Jesus Christ. People that exchanged the addiction of this world, for an addiction to God. People like Vicki.
(Testimony 3 - read offstage by a congregation member)
My name is Vicki, and I am addicted. I am not attempting at this time to recover, though I am growing more aware of my neediness daily. I’ll tell you of this obsession, which began in my childhood. My mother knew the same dependence, though I feel she is not as addicted as I am today. I wish she were. It would give us a stronger bond.
In my early teen years, I went through a brief period where I was focused on friends and fun, and didn’t think much about it. But then, when I got back into it—this addiction—it with was with a passion. I’ve gone along my whole life progressing rather than declining in dependence. Even with this steady decline of personal control of my life, a couple of years ago I made a dramatic plunge. Today, it’s the first thing I think about as I gain consciousness in the morning. Without a fix, I can barely stand to face the world or leave my house. And though my mind is often on it throughout the day, in the late evening there is this resurgence—of, how do I describe it—my need for yet another fix. I often feel no peace unless I give in. Things I used to take great pleasure in—watching television, playing tennis—are often an irritating distraction to me. And even saying this, I can freely admit I’m not planning to turn back. I feel like I’ve only begun and I daily ache for more. I know I won’t be satiated in this life and often thoughts of leaving this world provide my greatest comfort.
This power that has hold of me won’t stop with me. As I tell you about my dependence, I will shamelessly try to drag you in too. I will try to impress you with truths: It will not make you ill, but healthy. It will not damage the relationships you have with others…it will heal them. It will not make you say crazy things that you’ll regret…it will make you say things that will sound crazy to others. You won’t care. What the others think of as sanity is mediocrity. Obsession is the only life worth living.
Please try my obsession. Although it is illegal in some countries, thankfully you can still legally use here.
What’s it like? Mild responses can be as simple as having a good night sleep or a general sense of peace. Sometimes (and I pray this for you all) you can experience such joy, peace, even euphoria that you don’t want to breathe, for fear of ending it. Although I’ve had this happen rarely, I can only describe it as having liquid warmth, happiness and joy wash over you. Nuclear-strength cocaine can’t possibly match the buzz that my drug offers.
My drug of choice has many street names. It can be inhaled—it is the Breath of Life. You can drink it—it is Living Water. Other popular street names are: Alpha and Omega. Jesus. Prince of Peace. Almighty God.
Warning! There is no safe dosage. One encounter with this powerful Being can leave you changed forever.
Where can you get this? The better question is how. The best answer is seek. Want it bad. Don’t stop seeking. Don’t ever want anything else more. Aim to not want anything else—period. That’s a good place to be.
