My line of thought went down that path of pondering what it was about alcohol that could have such a devastating and destructive effect on so many people in so many ways. What was it about some people who could not ‘control it’ or probably more accurately...allowed it to ‘control them’? Personally speaking, I could sit down and drink one single glass of wine or one can of beer and think nothing of it. I would have no problem getting up after that one drink and going about my day. Others...would never be able to ‘find the brakes’ and would drink one after another until they just got ‘wasted’ which then created one major heartbreak after another for them and others around them. We are all too familiar with those tragic stories, some more so on a personal level than others.
But the point of this story came when I continued to wonder, almost in a prayerful manner, asking...why? What was it about some people’s ‘wiring’ within them that alcohol just took over them? Then, in the next moment, as if my question was being answered, I saw a big display for Oreos, of all things. And the ‘lightbulb’ went on. I was like...”Ohhhh....I get it.” And I laughed aloud. As I bet some of you did as well when you just read this. :- )
We ‘get it’. We can identify. You put a bag of Oreos on the counter near me and I could easily knock through a third of that bag in a heartbeat. Maybe for you, it’s Lay’s Potato chips that built its marketing around that phrase that ‘nobody can eat just one’. But we still want to ask: what is “it” about different people’s ‘wiring’ that they find themselves almost ‘addicted’ to a wide assortment of things out there.
And let’s be very careful here with our mindsets that are quick to justify our ‘own vice’ because it is not nearly as bad as someone else’s vice. I can see those ‘thought bubbles’ popping up in some of you getting a bit indignant wanting to ask me “Are you saying that eating too many cookies is just as bad as that person who sucked down 12 beers, then abused his wife or kids before getting into his truck and plowing in to a family of five killing them all!?” Easy there...take a chill pill and let’s just explore this further.
Anything...that seems to exert ‘control’ over a person against their ‘will’ is never good. And while on the surface, some ‘vices’ may seem more harmless or less destructive than others, try telling that person whose life is literally controlled by food that their struggle is not real. You may not be a candidate for that TV show ‘My 600-pound Life’, but many, many people can identify with those people’s struggles and pain.
And while you may easily justify being a ‘workaholic’ in your mind, your loved ones who never see you or feel valued by you because “something is driving” you to work like you do all those insane hours...it too...can have devastating results.
At least “we are not like those sinners over there”, right? (Luke 18:11). You know...those drinkers and drug addicts and folks addicted to porn and gambling, etc. (This could easily grow into a long list). Look...people who are controlled by these ‘vices’ will often be the first to admit that they are ‘bound’ and can’t find any freedom. They know they are controlled by something ‘bigger than them’. And we can talk about emotional and chemical imbalances all day long. We can point people to therapy and accountability groups and treatment programs galore.
But is it possible that we have failed to explore the idea that there is a ‘spiritual component’ to such bondages? And why is that? -Probably because “spiritual components’ just don’t fit conveniently into ‘scientific theory’ and we ‘educated folks’ don’t like intangibles. And the moment you start inferring that people can be influenced or controlled by ‘spirits’, the crowd will thin quickly.
Yet, back in the day when Jesus was going about ‘healing all who were oppressed by the devil and setting them free’ (Acts 10:38), people knew exactly what the source of their problem was. Look at that Syrophoenician woman who begged Jesus to deliver her daughter from that demon. Or what about that man whose son was repeatedly being thrown into a fire by a spirit. (Mark 7:25; 9:18)
Does Jesus not still ‘set the captives free’? Did Jesus not hold back any punches when he stated emphatically, or ‘most assuredly...I say unto you...whoever commits sin is a slave to sin.” (John 8:34). You do know that a ‘slave’ is bound to a master and has little choice in the matter unless...that slave gets set free, yes? And Jesus goes on to tell us in that passage that: “You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.” (35).
I’m afraid we have been just way too dismissive of addressing the spiritual root causes of so many of the problems and ills and sins...that are destroying our society. That is what sin does you know, it erodes and rots and eats away and destroys the fabric of our lives. When was the last time you heard a lengthy or in-depth study in your church addressing such issues. You know, expounding on Ephesians 2:1-4 that explains how demons operate through our flesh nature. Or teaching the ‘saints’ how to be alert and on guard for our spiritual enemy who is on the prowl (1 Pet. 5:8). And can you easily explain to a new convert how an unclean spirit when it goes out of a person will seek to reenter as Jesus taught us in Matt. 12:43-45 and how we are instructed to overcome this attempt and how we ‘resist the devil’? Yeah...we all...like those wise virgins in Matt. 25...have fallen asleep. And you know what the enemy does when men sleep? They sow bad stuff into our lives through a host of channels. (Matt. 13:25)
But before we start talking about how people can be ‘set free’ of these issues, it would help to understand how and why they ‘got in there’ to begin with. And it goes back to where I ended up yesterday at the close of my posting...where we were talking about ‘idols’ and how there are demon spirits attached or behind such things. God warned us over and over to be careful that we would not let our hearts be led astray where we would end up serving other ‘gods’ because it would lead to our destruction. We know what the ‘thief’ comes to do...to steal, kill, and destroy’. (John 10:10). But instead of calling it what it is...these spiritual bondages, we’ve given them a nice clinical term and refer to it as an ‘addiction’.
What is a convenient definition of addiction? –“An addiction is a chronic dysfunction of the brain system that involves reward, motivation, and memory. It's about the way your body craves a substance or behavior, especially if it causes a compulsive or obsessive pursuit of “reward” and lack of concern over consequences.”
That sounds nice. And remotely familiar to the idea of ‘other gods’ luring us away from serving the one True God who wants to be our source of joy, and comfort and security.
The serpent has always been so subtle in leading God’s people away...capturing the affections of their hearts and leading them into captivity. We hear how people are addicted to their mobile devices these days taking in all kinds of clutter into their minds that would counter Paul's admonition that we ‘set our minds on things above and not on the world.’ (Col.3:2). Years ago, I heard a gentleman make the statement that there is a spiritual war out there...and the church failed to show up. I tend to agree with him on that because I’m right there with you. Or was. I can’t adequately explain why He chose to wake me up and call me out of my tomb of darkness...but He did. And I will not stop blowing this trumpet of warning until He leads me to do otherwise.
Jesus is still setting the captives free and that would include you! See you tomorrow?
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