Confessions of a Good Christian Guy by Thomas J. Davis

Author:Thomas J. Davis
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Published: 2014-03-01T00:00:00+00:00

Unquestionably, addiction is sin. It’s a misuse of God’s gifts, a missing of the mark, as Romans 3:23 describes. It’s also a form of idolatry, in that something or someone other than God—in this case, booze—becomes the essential center of our universe. No matter what we profess with our lips or think with our mind, if we’re addicted we are essentially worshiping the object of our addiction.

And addiction is intertwined with sin in so many other ways. It involves behavior that hurts ourselves and others and gets in the way of our relationship with God—lies and deception, drunkenness, sexual immorality, abuse, even murder. And one person’s sin can push another person toward addiction. Thus an alcoholic father’s abuse influences a child to numb the pain by taking drugs.

Addiction is a sin problem—there’s no way around it. But simply addressing the sin element in addiction tends to be ineffective because addiction is also a sickness, a complicated disease that affects the whole person—body, mind, emotions, and spirit.

Alcohol and drug dependency are actually listed as diseases by the American Medical Association. In fact, almost all addictions fit the basic description of a chronic disease. There is some evidence that susceptibility to certain addictions is genetic. There is a clear and predictable progression of symptoms. The attachment is chronic; it doesn’t go away on its own. It’s also progressive; it gets worse without treatment. It’s treatable, though relapses are not uncommon. And if not treated, addictions can lead to added complications and even death.

Some Christians object to describing addiction as disease because they believe it excuses an addict of responsibility. “If you say you’re sick,” they charge, “that means you just couldn’t help it—it’s an excuse to sin.” But I have absolutely no problem with thinking of addiction as both a sin and a sickness. In fact, I think recovery is more likely if we think that way.

After all, there are plenty of purely physical illnesses that are at least partially caused or spread by human sin and irresponsibility—lung cancer from smoking, heart attacks from overeating, STDs from illicit sex, colds spread by not covering the mouth or washing hands. Treatment of any disease calls for responsibility on the part of the victim—taking medications, eating right, exercising, physical or mental therapy, whatever the doctor orders.

And God always requires our cooperation in the process of our own healing. He asks us to repent and accept forgiveness and forgive others. He requires us to adjust our lifestyles and cooperate with doctors to be healed of physical illness. He wants us to look at ourselves honestly and kindly—to examine our hearts and understand our emotions and forgive ourselves to be healed of emotional diseases. And when we find ourselves trapped in addictions, all of the above apply.

I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO PROBLEM WITH THINKING OF ADDICTION AS BOTH A SIN AND A SICKNESS. IN FACT, I THINK RECOVERY IS MORE LIKELY IF WE THINK THAT WAY.

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