THE HEART OF ADDICTION
CHAPTER 10
Idolatry
The current fad in secular addiction counseling is that addiction is a “brain disease.” It is apparently no longer good enough to label addiction as a “disease” but to add that it is a “brain disease.” In twenty years, it will very likely change again. The secular world thinks it is discovering new, “scientific” information that points to addiction being a “brain disease” due to all of the genetic research of the current day. It is somewhat comical to me that the addiction counselors I know personally say this new “discovery” is “revolutionary” yet they still treat this supposed “brain disease” in the exact same manner that they did last year, ten years ago, and even twenty years ago! Secular counselors can only “treat” the symptoms of addiction because the heart of addiction is a spiritual problem requiring the power of Christ to transform an idolater into a true worshiper of God. God “treats” the heart of the addict by completely changing it. Are there genes that indicate one is prone to addiction? Research is inconclusive at the time of this book’s writing. Even if a specific gene is found that “predisposes” someone to a chemical addiction, the person will still be responsible before God for feeding that addiction. Scientists may never identify such a gene and it really doesn’t matter if they do since we know what is at the heart of addiction: “idolatry.” It’s not new. What is Idolatry? “Idolatry” is defined as “the worship of a physical object as a god or immoderate attachment or devotion to something.”82 Idolatry is the preoccupation in one’s thinking that leads to demanding any temporarily pleasurable desire that gratifies self. Addicted idolaters think and say, “I must have” this pleasurable substance. Idolatry can manifest in the form of drugs, alcohol, sex, sleep, work, gambling, shopping, eating, and living to please someone else more than God. These temporary pleasures are short-lived and do not permanently satisfy. The pleasures feel good for a time, but they bring with them many problematic consequences when responsibilities are neglected. The pleasures often bring feelings of guilt, shame, depression, and anger because one is seeking to satisfy an eternal appetite for God (called worship) with a temporary fix. Idolatrous desires seek to please self above pleasing God and others. Idolatry quite simply is the worship, or pleasing, of self. Christians can allow themselves to become idolaters. I Corinthians 10:7 is written to believers in Christ and says: “Do not be idolaters as some of them were…” Christians should not give themselves over to the worship of an idol, but many do and must repent once they realize the problem. Idolatry is not an unforgivable sin, but it is devastating as it separates idolaters from God and the people who love them most. Most people are blind to their idolatrous desires and need someone else to help them see idolatry. In order for an addict to overcome an addiction, other people need to point out their sinful, selfish heart attitudes, and these will become even more obvious when the alcohol or drug is taken away! Stopping the abuse of the mood-altering substance does not “fix” the idolatrous heart. Many addicts quit using their drug of choice only to become sober and even more selfish than ever before. It is a sad commentary on the human heart and is the primary reason why alcohol and drug usage are merely symptoms of a deeper, spiritual heart problem. By “heart,” I do not mean the organ that pumps blood throughout the body to all extremities. By “heart,” I mean the inner, spiritual person consisting of the mind, spirit, and soul. God created us to be a wonderful mixture of a physical body and a spiritual body. Your physical body consists of many intricate parts such as your brain. Your spiritual body is the “heart” of mankind and consists of your attitudes, will, soul, and thoughts (or mind). When secular addiction counselors deal with the brain, they are only addressing the physical person. The spiritual person consists of the mind, thoughts, and heart attitudes that interact with the physical person yet are distinctly spiritual. Genetics God says in Ephesians 2:10: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” God is your Creator; you are His workmanship. The world believes that people have a “genetic predisposition” to addiction or an “addictive personality.” The truth is that every human being on planet Earth is capable of becoming “addicted” to any pleasurable activity because of the capacity for idolatry in the human heart. Do not underestimate the power of sin and the wickedness of the human heart. The world’s definitions and terms for substance abuse are often man-made, half-truths, and often hopeless. If you believe you have an “addictive personality,” the world would explain that you have a “genetic predisposition” to substance abuse, drunkenness, or addiction. Essentially, the best the world can offer you is an excuse to blame the substance abuse problems in your life on your Creator for your “genetic predisposition” and “addictive personality.” The lie the world is promoting is that you are not responsible for your choices because you did not choose to be created with an “addictive personality” with genes that cannot be reversed. “Are my addictive behaviors genetic or learned?” is a common question from addicts who are looking for an explanation for why they would continue in the insanity of their destructive, addictive behaviors. Quite simply, the answer is that we are born with a sinful nature so our genes are “fallen.” Since the sins of Adam and Eve at the Fall, everyone is born with “genetic defects” of some type and everyone is destined to physically die. Romans 5:12 states it best: “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.” The one man through whom sin entered into this world was Adam in Genesis 3. Adam was the representative of all mankind. Some say that this is not fair: “Adam sinned, but if I were there to choose, then I would have made a right choice.” The Bible disagrees and tells us that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”83 Do not be self-righteous and think you could have chosen better than Adam. God’s Explanation God is not silent about our genetic predisposition toward particular sins. God’s Word in Hebrews 12:1 views you as having a “sin which clings so closely” to you. In other words, you know that every human being is inclined to sin in general because of a sin nature; however, each individual person differs in the specific type of sin in which he indulges. Therefore, those persons who do not struggle with a chemical addiction do not understand how someone could struggle with it. You can be certain that those who do not struggle with a chemical addiction do struggle with some type of sin in an “addictive” manner such as the love of work or the love of control. Each person has a “sin of preference” that “clings so closely.” These could be such sins as lying, coveting, drinking to excess, sexual immorality, murdering, gossiping, and the like.84 The King James Version of the Bible in Hebrews 12:1 states that this sin “so easily besets” a person. Everyone has a particular type of sin with which they struggle more than other sins. The sin “besets” you by entrapping you and knocking you off of the path in your walk with Christ. Your relationship with God is hindered as a result. What is your particular “besetting” sin? Do you have more than one? What sin “clings closely” to you that you could even be labeled and described as that type of sinner (such as a drunkard, liar, adulterer, man-pleaser, or glutton, to name a few)? As mentioned previously, if you are prone to sin by drinking or doing anything pleasurable to excess, the Bible labels you as a “drunkard” or “idolater.” You may have a “besetting sin” for alcohol, drugs, and mood-altering substances. If so, then you must take responsibility for your sin of preference and build in boundaries and safeguards to protect you from committing such sins in the future. Later chapters of this book will help you to do just that. The “Go Button” The following illustration is a helpful metaphor of how one has a sin of preference. In this illustration, all people have both types of buttons: the “go button” and the “stop button.” (The wiring of each button is connected to the sinful, human heart.) The majority of people who choose to drink alcohol today do so because they enjoy the initial “buzz” feeling that comes with it. What happens next is where we see two very different responses. One response is to stop drinking because the person despises the out of control feeling. The other response is to continue drinking (go) because the person desires to have that out of control feeling. A person who chooses to use his or her “stop button” drinks one or two alcoholic beverages and starts to get a “buzz.” The same “stop button” person then drinks one or two more alcoholic beverages and begins to feel as if he is really losing control. He thinks, “I don’t like this out of control feeling. I need to stop drinking right now,” and he stops drinking. This person chooses to use the “stop button.” On the other hand, a person who chooses to use his or her “go button” drinks one or two alcoholic beverages and starts to get a “buzz.” The “go button” person drinks one or two more alcoholic beverages and begins to feel as if he or she is really losing control. However, loving this out of control feeling, the “go button” person thinks, “I like this feeling. I want to keep drinking more,” and keeps drinking and drinking and drinking… you get the picture. This person chooses to push the “go button” when drinking alcohol or using drugs and wants to keep going. The sin that “clings so closely” to this person is drunkenness. He might also easily fit the category of lover of pleasure.’ Neither group understands the other group. People who choose to hit the “stop button” do not understand the people who choose to hit the “go button” and vice versa. The out of control feeling is drunkenness and ironically feels the same for both the “stop button” and “go button” persons; however, this same feeling produces a very different reaction! “Go button” pushers do not understand why “stop button” pushers would ever want to stop drinking. The stop button person realizes he doesn’t like being out of control and can’t understand the “go button” person. He says, “I hate this.” One group’s choice to either stop or go is perplexing to the opposite group.85 “Stop Button” Chemistry? There is a theory being tested in the realm of physiology and neurology called the “kindling effect.”86 The central idea in this theory is that there are natural enzymes and chemicals in the body that act as a buffer to counteract the effects of toxic drugs like cocaine, alcohol, nicotine, and marijuana.87 When a “stop button” pusher ingests one of these drugs, the person may not experience the intoxicating power of the drug because of the buffering effect of the counteracting enzymes (chemicals) in the body. The theorists believe that some people have this first line of defense built into their bodies to protect them from physical addiction. Perhaps, before the Fall of mankind in the garden recorded in Genesis, we all had these perfectly working buffering enzymes. “Stop button” persons must be warned that repeated use of a substance will often lead to a breakdown in this physical line of defense. When that breakdown occurs, physical addiction may result for anyone. Repeated use wears down your own body’s God-given defense and may result in a “stop button” person becoming addicted. The “kindling effect,” also known as the “buffering effect,” is still only a theory. It is being tested but is not proven fact at this time. Whether it is proven or not, every person has the potential to become physically addicted to drugs and alcohol. Prevention is the best medicine; it is better to never use addictive substances rather than to experiment with them. “Go Button” Chemistry? In contrast, “go button” pushers cannot curse God if the “kindling” theory is proven to be true and they do not have a buffering enzyme! The reason they cannot curse God is because they are responsible for their sin nature and could refuse to take that first drug or alcoholic drink. Substance abusers cannot play the role of a victim because it is one’s sin choice to have the desire for drunkenness which is idolatry. Typically, what happens to the “go button” pusher is that the first time he experiments by using his drug of choice to excess (remember that alcohol is a drug!), he says to himself, “Wow, this is the best thing since sliced bread. I’ve never felt this good before. Why haven’t I done this sooner?” The “go button” pusher’s eyes are now opened to the sin and there is no going back. It is similar to what happened to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden right after they ate of the forbidden fruit. In Genesis 3:7 it states: “Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked.” Just like Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:7, the “go button” pusher’s eyes are opened to the experience of the sin after he partakes of the desired drug. He now knows what the drug feels like and what it can do for him. There is no going back to the day when the addict had never experienced what the drug feels like just as Adam and Eve could not go back into the Garden of Eden after just one sin. Genesis 3:23-24 states: Therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life. Don’t you think Adam and Eve regretted their decision to sin and wanted to return to the days when they knew no sin? Do you wish you had never tasted or tried the substance so you would not know what it feels like for you? Now you love the feeling of the drug, how it relieves your misery and pain, and what it does for you temporarily. It takes you out of reality and into a “perfect” world. However, there is no turning back now, and you cannot return to the paradise of the Garden of Eden of not knowing what feelings the drug produces. But there is hope for •better feelings •better experiences •more peace beyond your capacity to understand •freedom from the bondage of sin •rich fellowship with your Savior •mercy and healing of relationships •forgiveness from God and potential for forgiveness from others You cannot conceive of things that God has prepared for you if you love Him. “But, as it is written, What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.’”88 If you are influenced by the world’s theory of addiction as a disease, you may be thinking, “Well, if God made me with the potential to push the “go button,” then I’m not responsible for my actions.” Wrong! You chose to continue pushing your “go button.” Many have attempted to blame God by using the excuse of ‘God made me this way’ in order to keep sinning by excessively using drugs or alcohol. If, indeed, you recognize that you tend to push the “go button,” then you actually have a greater responsibility to not drink or drug excessively. It has been argued that “go button” pushers may not process alcohol and other drugs in their bodies as well as “stop button” pushers, but whether there is a physical, genetic reason or not, you are still responsible for your choices and how you respond to the heart of the problem. “Why did God do this to me? Why did he create me with the potential ‘hardwiring’ of a drunkard?” are questions often asked but with a wrong motive. Is it God’s fault that you like this feeling so much? God created all things including you; therefore, He knows you better than you know yourself. He created you to worship Him, and He wants you to be “addicted” to worshiping Him alone. The crucial matter is that an “addiction” to anything other than God is a focus upon pleasing yourself, or idolatry. The reality is that you need to focus upon pleasing God and others. 21st Century Idolatry Theoretically, anyone can become physically addicted to alcohol or drugs. “Go button” pushers excessively satisfy their natural appetites of thirst, hunger, sex, work, and sleep, so they must guard their hearts when doing anything pleasurable. Essentially, this love of pleasure is idolatry–worshiping the creation rather than the Creator. What or who is the thing (idol) that is being worshiped? At the core, it is the worship of self (not the worship of any one particular substance or pleasure) because the idol is desired for selfish reasons. For this reason, you must recognize addiction as a spiritual problem of the heart. Idolatry is a foreign concept to our modern minds, but idolatry is alive and well today in the hearts of people. In Bible times, men and women worshiped idols of various forms, often in the likeness of animals or humans. The idol became an object the person could see and touch when praying. No faith was required to worship because one could see and touch the idol. People worshiped different idols because they wanted different things. For example, if a Hebrew wanted a financial blessing, he might worship the idol for the god named Molech. The worship of the idol always came down to a selfish, self-centered view of what the person desired to receive from the idol. The idol was a “god” designed to serve the idolater who was really acting in the place of god. In Christianity, biblical churches teach that worship is God-centered and consists of what a person desires to give to God. Acts 20:35 states: In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ So What Do I Do With the “Go Button”? Every person likely pushes the “go button” for some type of temporary pleasure or pursuit. “Go button” pushing is just another label for “idolatry.” So are you now required to abstain from every appetite known to man? No, of course not, but you are to be moderate in the fulfillment of all appetites. Will you ever be able to drink, eat, work, partake in marital sex, or sleep again? Find out what God’s protective parameters are for experiencing each appetite. Find out what pleases Him first. Do you find yourself engaging excessively in various pleasurable activities? If you are, you may be an “all or nothing” type of person who takes things to an extreme measure. The only extreme that I can recommend is the “radical amputation” and abstinence from strong drink and intoxicating substances. Do not drink or take the first pleasure because your appetites coupled with your impaired judgment from the substance will lead to excess. It is almost a guarantee, so do not deceive yourself by thinking, “Maybe I can drink like other people. Maybe this time will be different. Maybe I can just drink one or two and stop.” Addicts often wish they could drink and take drugs like “normal” people, but they cannot. Rather than listen to yourself at moments of temptation and deception, you must talk to yourself with biblical truth and act upon it. In time, the Lord will make you more moderate in satisfying your appetites. For now, however, you need to admit your tendency to go to the extreme in this one area of addiction, that you are a “go button” pusher. You can begin to channel this way of thinking and acting toward bringing glory to your wonderful Creator. Praise the Lord that He will begin teaching you to be moderate in all things and pray that you will learn to produce the fruit of the Spirit of self-control.89 If you are married to someone who pushes the “stop button” with regard to alcohol and drugs, you can learn how to be moderate from your spouse. After consulting with your primary physician, I recommend that “go button” pushers willingly abstain from alcohol and other narcotic drugs for a period of at least six months if at all possible. The biblical principle of abstinence is called the “expediency principle”90 and it is mentioned in two places in the Bible. First, I Corinthians 6:12 states: “‘All things are lawful for me,’ but not all things are helpful. ‘All things are lawful for me,’ but I will not be enslaved by anything.” Second, I Corinthians 10:23 states: “‘All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. ‘All things are lawful,’ but not all things build up.” I urge you abstain temporarily until you can learn to be more self-controlled. Talk to your medical doctor first and submit to his or her medical advice before proceeding in this. In the secular world, the term “harm reduction” refers to controlled drinking and drugging. I do not encourage this. You are beginning the new process of transforming your addiction to drugs into an addiction for serving Christ. Christian addicts should abstain from alcohol and drugs for a long period of time before ever using those substances again. In reality, most Christian “go button” pushers recognize that they can never drink and take drugs without going to excess so they avoid drinking entirely as they operate under the biblical “expediency principle.” Not all things that are lawful “build” the addict up, and not all of those same things are advantageous and expedient to the Christian “go button” pusher. Often, the “go button” Christian must “radically amputate”91 alcohol and drugs out of his life for an extended period of time. God Owns You Some ask “Why, Lord, did you create me this way?” as if being “hardwired” to worship God is a bad thing. God wants you to worship and serve Him in an extreme manner. Those who followed Jesus thought he was extreme at times during His ministry because He radically obeyed the Father’s will. Being a follower of Christ is an extreme, radical way to live and is what Christians should desire. You can never pay God back for salvation, nor can you pay up to God in advance in order to earn salvation. However, if you are a Christian who has been shown much love by receiving the precious gift of salvation, then you will want to please God by paying out good works unto Him.92 You cannot earn salvation from God. You are not working for God as you would work for a paycheck from an employer. My hope is that you will see how good God is and because He is so good, you will desire to do good works for His glory. As your Creator, God made you as He wanted you to be, and to bring Him glory. Mankind is now a strange combination of being made in His image yet being marred by the fallen genetics of sin. In Romans 9:20-21, Paul writes to the church at Rome: But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honored use and another for dishonorable use? God is the Creator and “Molder” while you are the clay that is being “molded” by God. The Lord does whatever He pleases. He is your Creator. He is Sovereign. He glorifies Himself through us because we are created in His image. Look at how much glory He gets when He uses fallible, fallen man to do His will! Use the “Go Button” for the Lord It has been my experience that persons who have been born again by the Holy Spirit and who have used the “go button” for drugs and alcohol make excellent transformed Christians because they have been forgiven much; therefore, they love much. In Luke 7:47, Jesus taught His disciples about the sinning woman who blessed Jesus with the alabaster flask of oil: “Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” “Go button” pushers ought to go to the extreme as this woman did, in serving God because God is changing them from their selfish nature into new creations in Christ. What a radical transformation! Our Heavenly Father uses these people in unique and providentially ordained ways.93 For this reason, you are not to be ashamed of using the “go button” for worship of God. You are to be ashamed if you continue to use the “go button” by squandering it upon pleasing yourself with continued substance abuse (or any other selfish desire). Take responsibility now for your actions by repenting and being used by Him and for His glory. Repent from your selfish heart desires and shameful deeds of the past by seeking to please God and love others first. God is forgiving of repentant Christians. If you are using your “go button” for God, then get ready to live an exciting life full of the blessings of God Almighty! Nurturing At the beginning of this chapter, the question was asked, “Are my addictive behaviors genetic or learned?” So now we turn to the role of nurture, or learning, in this issue. To answer this question in a nutshell, learning is most often accomplished through modeling. If you have children, you know this is true because all children model their parents’ words and behaviors. If you do not have children, you know how much you have turned out to be like the persons who raised you, and you might not like it in some ways! The Bible warns you in Proverbs 22:24-25: “Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man, lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare.” The Bible also warns you in I Corinthians 15:33: “Do not be misled: Bad company ruins good morals.” The persons with whom you choose to spend the most time are going to be the biggest influences in your life. You will become like them because you will mimic their words and behaviors. Whether you realize it or not, you will be changed by their influence as you observe, model, practice, and learn many of their ways. You are designed by God to be a creature that is influenced by others. Because of this truth, you must replace your old friends with godly new friends. To the Christian in particular, God warns you in Proverbs 23:20-21: “Be not among drunkards or among gluttonous eaters of meat, for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and slumber will clothe them with rags.” If you tend to be a “go button” pusher, you must take extra precautions not to associate with persons who continually give themselves over to drinking to excess because you will be influenced by their way of thinking, and you will end up in physical and spiritual poverty. Only associate with another “go button” pusher if they have turned their “go buttons” “on” toward serving our Lord Jesus Christ. Find a same-sex, more mature Christian to model in your transformation process. There are many great Christians who have turned the misuse and abuse of the “go button” into a blessing from God. Some of the best preachers have been “go button” pushers who are now “on fire” and passionate about their Savior and Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. Like these men of God, you also must learn to use the “go button” for the higher calling-for the ultimate benefit of the kingdom of the Lord.
Prayer of Heart Change and Application:
Dear Heavenly Father, you have a good purpose for making me and because of my sin nature, I am a “go button” person. I look forward to serving you with my “go button.” I want to turn my “go button” “on” for you, Lord, rather than to fulfill my temporary desires and passions. Father, transform me from being selfish into becoming more focused upon pleasing you and serving others. Amen.
The current fad in secular addiction counseling is that addiction is a “brain disease.” It is apparently no longer good enough to label addiction as a “disease” but to add that it is a “brain disease.” In twenty years, it will very likely change again. The secular world thinks it is discovering new, “scientific” information that points to addiction being a “brain disease” due to all of the genetic research of the current day. It is somewhat comical to me that the addiction counselors I know personally say this new “discovery” is “revolutionary” yet they still treat this supposed “brain disease” in the exact same manner that they did last year, ten years ago, and even twenty years ago! Secular counselors can only “treat” the symptoms of addiction because the heart of addiction is a spiritual problem requiring the power of Christ to transform an idolater into a true worshiper of God. God “treats” the heart of the addict by completely changing it. Are there genes that indicate one is prone to addiction? Research is inconclusive at the time of this book’s writing. Even if a specific gene is found that “predisposes” someone to a chemical addiction, the person will still be responsible before God for feeding that addiction. Scientists may never identify such a gene and it really doesn’t matter if they do since we know what is at the heart of addiction: “idolatry.” It’s not new. What is Idolatry? “Idolatry” is defined as “the worship of a physical object as a god or immoderate attachment or devotion to something.”82 Idolatry is the preoccupation in one’s thinking that leads to demanding any temporarily pleasurable desire that gratifies self. Addicted idolaters think and say, “I must have” this pleasurable substance. Idolatry can manifest in the form of drugs, alcohol, sex, sleep, work, gambling, shopping, eating, and living to please someone else more than God. These temporary pleasures are short-lived and do not permanently satisfy. The pleasures feel good for a time, but they bring with them many problematic consequences when responsibilities are neglected. The pleasures often bring feelings of guilt, shame, depression, and anger because one is seeking to satisfy an eternal appetite for God (called worship) with a temporary fix. Idolatrous desires seek to please self above pleasing God and others. Idolatry quite simply is the worship, or pleasing, of self. Christians can allow themselves to become idolaters. I Corinthians 10:7 is written to believers in Christ and says: “Do not be idolaters as some of them were…” Christians should not give themselves over to the worship of an idol, but many do and must repent once they realize the problem. Idolatry is not an unforgivable sin, but it is devastating as it separates idolaters from God and the people who love them most. Most people are blind to their idolatrous desires and need someone else to help them see idolatry. In order for an addict to overcome an addiction, other people need to point out their sinful, selfish heart attitudes, and these will become even more obvious when the alcohol or drug is taken away! Stopping the abuse of the mood-altering substance does not “fix” the idolatrous heart. Many addicts quit using their drug of choice only to become sober and even more selfish than ever before. It is a sad commentary on the human heart and is the primary reason why alcohol and drug usage are merely symptoms of a deeper, spiritual heart problem. By “heart,” I do not mean the organ that pumps blood throughout the body to all extremities. By “heart,” I mean the inner, spiritual person consisting of the mind, spirit, and soul. God created us to be a wonderful mixture of a physical body and a spiritual body. Your physical body consists of many intricate parts such as your brain. Your spiritual body is the “heart” of mankind and consists of your attitudes, will, soul, and thoughts (or mind). When secular addiction counselors deal with the brain, they are only addressing the physical person. The spiritual person consists of the mind, thoughts, and heart attitudes that interact with the physical person yet are distinctly spiritual. Genetics God says in Ephesians 2:10: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” God is your Creator; you are His workmanship. The world believes that people have a “genetic predisposition” to addiction or an “addictive personality.” The truth is that every human being on planet Earth is capable of becoming “addicted” to any pleasurable activity because of the capacity for idolatry in the human heart. Do not underestimate the power of sin and the wickedness of the human heart. The world’s definitions and terms for substance abuse are often man-made, half-truths, and often hopeless. If you believe you have an “addictive personality,” the world would explain that you have a “genetic predisposition” to substance abuse, drunkenness, or addiction. Essentially, the best the world can offer you is an excuse to blame the substance abuse problems in your life on your Creator for your “genetic predisposition” and “addictive personality.” The lie the world is promoting is that you are not responsible for your choices because you did not choose to be created with an “addictive personality” with genes that cannot be reversed. “Are my addictive behaviors genetic or learned?” is a common question from addicts who are looking for an explanation for why they would continue in the insanity of their destructive, addictive behaviors. Quite simply, the answer is that we are born with a sinful nature so our genes are “fallen.” Since the sins of Adam and Eve at the Fall, everyone is born with “genetic defects” of some type and everyone is destined to physically die. Romans 5:12 states it best: “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.” The one man through whom sin entered into this world was Adam in Genesis 3. Adam was the representative of all mankind. Some say that this is not fair: “Adam sinned, but if I were there to choose, then I would have made a right choice.” The Bible disagrees and tells us that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”83 Do not be self-righteous and think you could have chosen better than Adam. God’s Explanation God is not silent about our genetic predisposition toward particular sins. God’s Word in Hebrews 12:1 views you as having a “sin which clings so closely” to you. In other words, you know that every human being is inclined to sin in general because of a sin nature; however, each individual person differs in the specific type of sin in which he indulges. Therefore, those persons who do not struggle with a chemical addiction do not understand how someone could struggle with it. You can be certain that those who do not struggle with a chemical addiction do struggle with some type of sin in an “addictive” manner such as the love of work or the love of control. Each person has a “sin of preference” that “clings so closely.” These could be such sins as lying, coveting, drinking to excess, sexual immorality, murdering, gossiping, and the like.84 The King James Version of the Bible in Hebrews 12:1 states that this sin “so easily besets” a person. Everyone has a particular type of sin with which they struggle more than other sins. The sin “besets” you by entrapping you and knocking you off of the path in your walk with Christ. Your relationship with God is hindered as a result. What is your particular “besetting” sin? Do you have more than one? What sin “clings closely” to you that you could even be labeled and described as that type of sinner (such as a drunkard, liar, adulterer, man-pleaser, or glutton, to name a few)? As mentioned previously, if you are prone to sin by drinking or doing anything pleasurable to excess, the Bible labels you as a “drunkard” or “idolater.” You may have a “besetting sin” for alcohol, drugs, and mood-altering substances. If so, then you must take responsibility for your sin of preference and build in boundaries and safeguards to protect you from committing such sins in the future. Later chapters of this book will help you to do just that. The “Go Button” The following illustration is a helpful metaphor of how one has a sin of preference. In this illustration, all people have both types of buttons: the “go button” and the “stop button.” (The wiring of each button is connected to the sinful, human heart.) The majority of people who choose to drink alcohol today do so because they enjoy the initial “buzz” feeling that comes with it. What happens next is where we see two very different responses. One response is to stop drinking because the person despises the out of control feeling. The other response is to continue drinking (go) because the person desires to have that out of control feeling. A person who chooses to use his or her “stop button” drinks one or two alcoholic beverages and starts to get a “buzz.” The same “stop button” person then drinks one or two more alcoholic beverages and begins to feel as if he is really losing control. He thinks, “I don’t like this out of control feeling. I need to stop drinking right now,” and he stops drinking. This person chooses to use the “stop button.” On the other hand, a person who chooses to use his or her “go button” drinks one or two alcoholic beverages and starts to get a “buzz.” The “go button” person drinks one or two more alcoholic beverages and begins to feel as if he or she is really losing control. However, loving this out of control feeling, the “go button” person thinks, “I like this feeling. I want to keep drinking more,” and keeps drinking and drinking and drinking… you get the picture. This person chooses to push the “go button” when drinking alcohol or using drugs and wants to keep going. The sin that “clings so closely” to this person is drunkenness. He might also easily fit the category of lover of pleasure.’ Neither group understands the other group. People who choose to hit the “stop button” do not understand the people who choose to hit the “go button” and vice versa. The out of control feeling is drunkenness and ironically feels the same for both the “stop button” and “go button” persons; however, this same feeling produces a very different reaction! “Go button” pushers do not understand why “stop button” pushers would ever want to stop drinking. The stop button person realizes he doesn’t like being out of control and can’t understand the “go button” person. He says, “I hate this.” One group’s choice to either stop or go is perplexing to the opposite group.85 “Stop Button” Chemistry? There is a theory being tested in the realm of physiology and neurology called the “kindling effect.”86 The central idea in this theory is that there are natural enzymes and chemicals in the body that act as a buffer to counteract the effects of toxic drugs like cocaine, alcohol, nicotine, and marijuana.87 When a “stop button” pusher ingests one of these drugs, the person may not experience the intoxicating power of the drug because of the buffering effect of the counteracting enzymes (chemicals) in the body. The theorists believe that some people have this first line of defense built into their bodies to protect them from physical addiction. Perhaps, before the Fall of mankind in the garden recorded in Genesis, we all had these perfectly working buffering enzymes. “Stop button” persons must be warned that repeated use of a substance will often lead to a breakdown in this physical line of defense. When that breakdown occurs, physical addiction may result for anyone. Repeated use wears down your own body’s God-given defense and may result in a “stop button” person becoming addicted. The “kindling effect,” also known as the “buffering effect,” is still only a theory. It is being tested but is not proven fact at this time. Whether it is proven or not, every person has the potential to become physically addicted to drugs and alcohol. Prevention is the best medicine; it is better to never use addictive substances rather than to experiment with them. “Go Button” Chemistry? In contrast, “go button” pushers cannot curse God if the “kindling” theory is proven to be true and they do not have a buffering enzyme! The reason they cannot curse God is because they are responsible for their sin nature and could refuse to take that first drug or alcoholic drink. Substance abusers cannot play the role of a victim because it is one’s sin choice to have the desire for drunkenness which is idolatry. Typically, what happens to the “go button” pusher is that the first time he experiments by using his drug of choice to excess (remember that alcohol is a drug!), he says to himself, “Wow, this is the best thing since sliced bread. I’ve never felt this good before. Why haven’t I done this sooner?” The “go button” pusher’s eyes are now opened to the sin and there is no going back. It is similar to what happened to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden right after they ate of the forbidden fruit. In Genesis 3:7 it states: “Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked.” Just like Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:7, the “go button” pusher’s eyes are opened to the experience of the sin after he partakes of the desired drug. He now knows what the drug feels like and what it can do for him. There is no going back to the day when the addict had never experienced what the drug feels like just as Adam and Eve could not go back into the Garden of Eden after just one sin. Genesis 3:23-24 states: Therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life. Don’t you think Adam and Eve regretted their decision to sin and wanted to return to the days when they knew no sin? Do you wish you had never tasted or tried the substance so you would not know what it feels like for you? Now you love the feeling of the drug, how it relieves your misery and pain, and what it does for you temporarily. It takes you out of reality and into a “perfect” world. However, there is no turning back now, and you cannot return to the paradise of the Garden of Eden of not knowing what feelings the drug produces. But there is hope for •better feelings •better experiences •more peace beyond your capacity to understand •freedom from the bondage of sin •rich fellowship with your Savior •mercy and healing of relationships •forgiveness from God and potential for forgiveness from others You cannot conceive of things that God has prepared for you if you love Him. “But, as it is written, What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.’”88 If you are influenced by the world’s theory of addiction as a disease, you may be thinking, “Well, if God made me with the potential to push the “go button,” then I’m not responsible for my actions.” Wrong! You chose to continue pushing your “go button.” Many have attempted to blame God by using the excuse of ‘God made me this way’ in order to keep sinning by excessively using drugs or alcohol. If, indeed, you recognize that you tend to push the “go button,” then you actually have a greater responsibility to not drink or drug excessively. It has been argued that “go button” pushers may not process alcohol and other drugs in their bodies as well as “stop button” pushers, but whether there is a physical, genetic reason or not, you are still responsible for your choices and how you respond to the heart of the problem. “Why did God do this to me? Why did he create me with the potential ‘hardwiring’ of a drunkard?” are questions often asked but with a wrong motive. Is it God’s fault that you like this feeling so much? God created all things including you; therefore, He knows you better than you know yourself. He created you to worship Him, and He wants you to be “addicted” to worshiping Him alone. The crucial matter is that an “addiction” to anything other than God is a focus upon pleasing yourself, or idolatry. The reality is that you need to focus upon pleasing God and others. 21st Century Idolatry Theoretically, anyone can become physically addicted to alcohol or drugs. “Go button” pushers excessively satisfy their natural appetites of thirst, hunger, sex, work, and sleep, so they must guard their hearts when doing anything pleasurable. Essentially, this love of pleasure is idolatry–worshiping the creation rather than the Creator. What or who is the thing (idol) that is being worshiped? At the core, it is the worship of self (not the worship of any one particular substance or pleasure) because the idol is desired for selfish reasons. For this reason, you must recognize addiction as a spiritual problem of the heart. Idolatry is a foreign concept to our modern minds, but idolatry is alive and well today in the hearts of people. In Bible times, men and women worshiped idols of various forms, often in the likeness of animals or humans. The idol became an object the person could see and touch when praying. No faith was required to worship because one could see and touch the idol. People worshiped different idols because they wanted different things. For example, if a Hebrew wanted a financial blessing, he might worship the idol for the god named Molech. The worship of the idol always came down to a selfish, self-centered view of what the person desired to receive from the idol. The idol was a “god” designed to serve the idolater who was really acting in the place of god. In Christianity, biblical churches teach that worship is God-centered and consists of what a person desires to give to God. Acts 20:35 states: In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ So What Do I Do With the “Go Button”? Every person likely pushes the “go button” for some type of temporary pleasure or pursuit. “Go button” pushing is just another label for “idolatry.” So are you now required to abstain from every appetite known to man? No, of course not, but you are to be moderate in the fulfillment of all appetites. Will you ever be able to drink, eat, work, partake in marital sex, or sleep again? Find out what God’s protective parameters are for experiencing each appetite. Find out what pleases Him first. Do you find yourself engaging excessively in various pleasurable activities? If you are, you may be an “all or nothing” type of person who takes things to an extreme measure. The only extreme that I can recommend is the “radical amputation” and abstinence from strong drink and intoxicating substances. Do not drink or take the first pleasure because your appetites coupled with your impaired judgment from the substance will lead to excess. It is almost a guarantee, so do not deceive yourself by thinking, “Maybe I can drink like other people. Maybe this time will be different. Maybe I can just drink one or two and stop.” Addicts often wish they could drink and take drugs like “normal” people, but they cannot. Rather than listen to yourself at moments of temptation and deception, you must talk to yourself with biblical truth and act upon it. In time, the Lord will make you more moderate in satisfying your appetites. For now, however, you need to admit your tendency to go to the extreme in this one area of addiction, that you are a “go button” pusher. You can begin to channel this way of thinking and acting toward bringing glory to your wonderful Creator. Praise the Lord that He will begin teaching you to be moderate in all things and pray that you will learn to produce the fruit of the Spirit of self-control.89 If you are married to someone who pushes the “stop button” with regard to alcohol and drugs, you can learn how to be moderate from your spouse. After consulting with your primary physician, I recommend that “go button” pushers willingly abstain from alcohol and other narcotic drugs for a period of at least six months if at all possible. The biblical principle of abstinence is called the “expediency principle”90 and it is mentioned in two places in the Bible. First, I Corinthians 6:12 states: “‘All things are lawful for me,’ but not all things are helpful. ‘All things are lawful for me,’ but I will not be enslaved by anything.” Second, I Corinthians 10:23 states: “‘All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. ‘All things are lawful,’ but not all things build up.” I urge you abstain temporarily until you can learn to be more self-controlled. Talk to your medical doctor first and submit to his or her medical advice before proceeding in this. In the secular world, the term “harm reduction” refers to controlled drinking and drugging. I do not encourage this. You are beginning the new process of transforming your addiction to drugs into an addiction for serving Christ. Christian addicts should abstain from alcohol and drugs for a long period of time before ever using those substances again. In reality, most Christian “go button” pushers recognize that they can never drink and take drugs without going to excess so they avoid drinking entirely as they operate under the biblical “expediency principle.” Not all things that are lawful “build” the addict up, and not all of those same things are advantageous and expedient to the Christian “go button” pusher. Often, the “go button” Christian must “radically amputate”91 alcohol and drugs out of his life for an extended period of time. God Owns You Some ask “Why, Lord, did you create me this way?” as if being “hardwired” to worship God is a bad thing. God wants you to worship and serve Him in an extreme manner. Those who followed Jesus thought he was extreme at times during His ministry because He radically obeyed the Father’s will. Being a follower of Christ is an extreme, radical way to live and is what Christians should desire. You can never pay God back for salvation, nor can you pay up to God in advance in order to earn salvation. However, if you are a Christian who has been shown much love by receiving the precious gift of salvation, then you will want to please God by paying out good works unto Him.92 You cannot earn salvation from God. You are not working for God as you would work for a paycheck from an employer. My hope is that you will see how good God is and because He is so good, you will desire to do good works for His glory. As your Creator, God made you as He wanted you to be, and to bring Him glory. Mankind is now a strange combination of being made in His image yet being marred by the fallen genetics of sin. In Romans 9:20-21, Paul writes to the church at Rome: But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honored use and another for dishonorable use? God is the Creator and “Molder” while you are the clay that is being “molded” by God. The Lord does whatever He pleases. He is your Creator. He is Sovereign. He glorifies Himself through us because we are created in His image. Look at how much glory He gets when He uses fallible, fallen man to do His will! Use the “Go Button” for the Lord It has been my experience that persons who have been born again by the Holy Spirit and who have used the “go button” for drugs and alcohol make excellent transformed Christians because they have been forgiven much; therefore, they love much. In Luke 7:47, Jesus taught His disciples about the sinning woman who blessed Jesus with the alabaster flask of oil: “Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” “Go button” pushers ought to go to the extreme as this woman did, in serving God because God is changing them from their selfish nature into new creations in Christ. What a radical transformation! Our Heavenly Father uses these people in unique and providentially ordained ways.93 For this reason, you are not to be ashamed of using the “go button” for worship of God. You are to be ashamed if you continue to use the “go button” by squandering it upon pleasing yourself with continued substance abuse (or any other selfish desire). Take responsibility now for your actions by repenting and being used by Him and for His glory. Repent from your selfish heart desires and shameful deeds of the past by seeking to please God and love others first. God is forgiving of repentant Christians. If you are using your “go button” for God, then get ready to live an exciting life full of the blessings of God Almighty! Nurturing At the beginning of this chapter, the question was asked, “Are my addictive behaviors genetic or learned?” So now we turn to the role of nurture, or learning, in this issue. To answer this question in a nutshell, learning is most often accomplished through modeling. If you have children, you know this is true because all children model their parents’ words and behaviors. If you do not have children, you know how much you have turned out to be like the persons who raised you, and you might not like it in some ways! The Bible warns you in Proverbs 22:24-25: “Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man, lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare.” The Bible also warns you in I Corinthians 15:33: “Do not be misled: Bad company ruins good morals.” The persons with whom you choose to spend the most time are going to be the biggest influences in your life. You will become like them because you will mimic their words and behaviors. Whether you realize it or not, you will be changed by their influence as you observe, model, practice, and learn many of their ways. You are designed by God to be a creature that is influenced by others. Because of this truth, you must replace your old friends with godly new friends. To the Christian in particular, God warns you in Proverbs 23:20-21: “Be not among drunkards or among gluttonous eaters of meat, for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and slumber will clothe them with rags.” If you tend to be a “go button” pusher, you must take extra precautions not to associate with persons who continually give themselves over to drinking to excess because you will be influenced by their way of thinking, and you will end up in physical and spiritual poverty. Only associate with another “go button” pusher if they have turned their “go buttons” “on” toward serving our Lord Jesus Christ. Find a same-sex, more mature Christian to model in your transformation process. There are many great Christians who have turned the misuse and abuse of the “go button” into a blessing from God. Some of the best preachers have been “go button” pushers who are now “on fire” and passionate about their Savior and Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. Like these men of God, you also must learn to use the “go button” for the higher calling-for the ultimate benefit of the kingdom of the Lord.
Prayer of Heart Change and Application:
Dear Heavenly Father, you have a good purpose for making me and because of my sin nature, I am a “go button” person. I look forward to serving you with my “go button.” I want to turn my “go button” “on” for you, Lord, rather than to fulfill my temporary desires and passions. Father, transform me from being selfish into becoming more focused upon pleasing you and serving others. Amen.