As kids we often wondered if monsters existed. We would look under our bed to be sure there wasn’t one hiding there. Well, a monster does exist and it is often kept hidden. That monster is addiction.
That’s how Hunter Thompson described it. Thompson was a writer for Rolling Stone magazine. He had a wonderful job and all the opportunities a person could ask for. The problem was that he was addicted to drugs and alcohol for most of his life. He committed suicide in 2005. Shortly after his death, his first wife Sandy said:
“I will never forget something Hunter once said to me. In one of his tender moments I asked him if he knew when he was about to become The Monster. He said, ‘Sandy, it’s like this. I sense it first, and before I have completely turned around he is there. He is me’” (Sondi Wright, “He Was Full Spectrum,” Rolling Stone, March 2005, p. 52).
The elephant of addiction is quite a monster. It lives in millions of homes and destroys individuals, marriages, and families. This monster lurks in the homes of some here this morning.
The Facts of the Monster*
Here are the hard facts about addiction:
- One of every eight Americans has a significant problem with alcohol or drugs, with 40 percent of the group having a "dual diagnosis," or concurrent mental/nervous disorder
- Approximately 27 million Americans either use illicit drugs regularly or are "heavy drinkers." Of these almost 16 million are estimated to need immediate treatment
- By age eighteen, almost 12 percent of all young people are illicit drug users
- An untreated alcoholic's medical costs are approximately 300 percent higher than a non-alcoholic's medical costs
- Approximately 70 percent of illegal drug users are employed and contribute significantly to workplace absenteeism, accidents and injuries, decreased productivity, increased insurance expenses, employee turnover costs and on-the-job violence
- The estimated annual direct cost to our society resulting from substance abuse is more than 250 billion dollars
- It is generally accepted that chemical dependency, along with associated mental health disorders, has become one of the most severe health and social problems facing the United States
*Source: SAMHSA (U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration)
Addiction is quite a monster!
Paul Knew the Monster!
You may be surprised to know that the Bible addresses the problem of addiction. In fact, the Apostle Paul admitted to having addictive tendencies. See if the following words don’t sound like someone who struggles with addiction:
“I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate…I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do.” (Romans 7:15, 18-19)
This passage is one of the most controversial writings in the New Testament. We don’t know if Paul was addict, but he is admitting to feeling powerless over his impulses.
Those who do not like Paul’s honesty have tried to explain this passage away by saying, “Well, Paul wrote this before he became a Christian.” Wrong. Just a casual study of this passage shows us that Paul is speaking the hard truth about living the Christian life. Take a look:
Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me…Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. (Romans 7:20-22)
Paul is basically saying there is a healthy side to us and a destructive side. Every day those two sides do battle over who is going to win. There is a side to all of us that wants to live the Christian life, do good, love God and others, pray and serve. And there is another side to us that wants to relish in sin – get drunk, run up the credit card bill, sleep around, kick the living tar out of the guy who is driving too slow in front of us, ball out a person who annoys us. Just pick your sin of choice. The monster of addiction does its best to make sure the destructive side takes over.
What Is Addiction?
Addiction takes many forms. The most common form is addiction to drugs and alcohol. But that is just the tip of the iceberg. People get addicted to just about anything – food, work, sex, gambling, and pornography. Gambling and internet pornography addiction has risen to alarming rates:
- In America, approximately 2.5 million adults suffer from compulsive gambling, about 3 million are considered problem gamblers, around 15 million adults are under the risk of becoming problem gamblers. A majority of gambling addicts also have problems of drug and alcohol abuse.
- 18 percent of men are addicted to internet pornography. That’s about 21 million men. And an alarming number of women are addicted to it as well.
But there are other addictions not as well known, but just as toxic. People are addicted to perfectionism, tanning beds, to working out at the gym, and to playing and watching sports. I once read about a guy who became addicted to Tic-Tacs! It took over his life and he had to receive counseling.
So how in the world does addiction get such a firm grip on so many people? A colleague of mine, Chuck Roberts, explains it well:
“It begins with a wonderful peak experience you seek to repeat again and again. After a while you develop an emotional craving for that experience; this euphoria lures you away from the immediate environment and people around you. The experience becomes an escape.
“In the second stage, the monster takes over your life, so that having the experience is what you now live for, and your personality may change. You may become defensive or irritable as you try to create the illusion of being in charge when really your life is spinning out of control.
“In the third stage, you need more and more of the experience because your body has developed a growing tolerance. It takes more and more and more to hit the high, and there is a crisis because often the amount needed to hit that high is financially impossible without stealing, lying or borrowing.” Often when addicts hit the third stage they will lie, cheat, steal, and commit all sorts of crime in order to feed their addictions.”
Who or What is to Blame?
There are many experts who have studied addiction and what causes it. Most agree that addiction has many contributing factors. There is the factor of genetics. Many addictions run in families. This is why most people agree that addiction is a disease. There is also the factor of environment. Many addicts grew up in an environment that encouraged addiction. There is also the factor of mental illness. Some develop an addiction when seeking to mask or alleviate a mental disorder.
There is also the factor of escape. Life gets stressful. There are problems at work. The marriage is falling apart. There are issues in their personality. And instead of dealing with these issues, addicts choose to escape them by turning to their addiction. This is why addiction is often a symptom of a problem. Behind many addictions is another elephant that has not been confronted.
Ultimately, there is the factor of personal responsibility. This is one factor that exists within every addiction. Regardless of what outside and inside forces influence people to become addicted, they have a choice as to how they will respond to their disease.
Addiction is a Spiritual Problem
How does someone get free from addiction? The first step is to understand that, at its very core, addiction is a spiritual problem.
God put within every human being the desire to draw close to him. We were created to be in relationship with God. Addiction can occur when we seek to fulfill this desire for God with other things. Addiction is simply misplaced desire. St. Augustine expressed this profound truth so long ago: “Our hearts are restless until they rest in thee, O Lord.” Or as Billy Graham has said so many times, “There is a God shaped void within us that only God can fill.” Paul spoke of it too in the beginning of Romans when he said that when we try to satisfy our souls with things other than God we become like a thirsty person drinking salt water. We can never get enough!
Addicts destroy their lives trying to cram their addictions into a God-shaped hole. It never fits! If you want an old fashioned, biblical word for addiction you can call it idolatry – worshipping created things instead of the Creator. Oh, so many people try so hard to get away from the truth found in the Bible, but we can never get away from it. It is eternally true! We will never be whole, free, or satisfied until we rest in the arms of God and allow him to lead our lives.
Getting Free From Addiction
If you are listening this morning and you are struggling with addiction or you have a loved one struggling with addiction, listen close to what I am about to say. What I am about to tell you could save your life, your marriage, your family, or the life of your loved one. How do you get free from addiction? You get free by remembering a three letter word that has been taught in 12 step programs for a long time: H.O.W.
Honesty
If you want to be set free from the monster of addiction you MUST be honest about your addiction. You must tear down the wall of denial to be set free. There is no other way around it. You must face the truth about how you are destroying your life and the lives of those around you. You must face the truth that addiction is a fatal disease and a spiritual problem that will lead to physical and spiritual death if you do not get help. There is no sugar coating any of this – you must face the truth. No more lying to yourself saying “I can handle it. I don’t have a problem. I can just have one drink or do this just one time.” You must look the elephant right in the face and recognize that your addiction is not measured in how often or how many but in the toll it is taking on your life! You must say, “I am powerless over this and my life has become unmanageable.”
To family and friends of addicts let me say a word to you about honesty. There is nothing Christian or Godly about ignoring or enabling a loved one who is addicted. You must point out the elephant in the room. I recognize how difficult this is for many people. You have been conditioned for a long time to walk on egg shells around the addiction so that things don’t get to out of control. You have become real good about cleaning up messes and covering things up. You have become real good about putting on a show so that your loved one’s addiction goes unnoticed. But that is not love. If you want to act out of God’s love you will expose the addiction and say, “No more! You will no longer pull me down or our family down into destruction. You will seek help.”
Openness
If you want to be free from addiction, you must come to the place where you are open to receive God’s help. This is the linchpin that holds all 12 step programs together. Step 2 – “Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.”
No one ever finds freedom without surrendering to God’s love and power. No one! If you are addicted, your will power won’t save you. Your good intentions won’t save you. Your creativity won’t save you. Only God can save you. Paul proclaims this at the end of his passage about compulsions: “Wretched man that I am. Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 7:24-25)
Willingness
You must be willing to turn your will and life over to the care of God. You must be willing to come to the place where you are sick and tired of destroying the life God has given you and you want to become the person that God created you to be. If you are willing to do that, you can be on your way to being free from the elephant of addiction. We have so many resources to help you here at Pasadena. We have one of the best AA groups in the area. It meets here on Monday nights. The church could learn a lot from that group. In fact, they do a better job at being the church than the church does. We have other support groups that can surround and support you. You are not alone! You will find in these 12 step groups and support groups people who have been through the same things you are going through. We also have counselors to help you. Call us and we will help. Do it now!
A Success Story
I would like to share with you a portion of a letter from a close friend of mine. I have great love and respect for him:
“After I retired, I invested in the stock market and like many lost a large portion of my retirement savings after 9/11. During this period I became depressed and began drinking excessively. I struggled to get on the wagon until one Saturday before Christmas. I had a spiritual experience during which God told me that I could not do this alone. That afternoon I called on the most spiritual friends I knew. They invited me to attend worship services the next morning. During that service I experienced a desire to fully dedicate my life to Christ. I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior and asked God to rid me of any further desire to drink.
I began reading the word of God on a daily basis and discovered that all of life’s problems could be solved through understanding God’s message found in the Bible. At the same time I also found that my thirst for alcohol was replaced by a thirst for God’s Word. My thirst for the living water of God’s presence and His word has overcome my desire for alcohol. I have experienced peace and a renewed enthusiasm for life. I am truly grateful for the opportunity to be a witness for the Lord.”
Only one power can break the chains of addiction – the power of God. If you are struggling with addiction, know that God has never stopped loving you. God has never given up on you. God has never let you go. If your ears were sensitive enough to hear, you would hear God crying out, “O child, I love you too much to see you waste the life I have given you. Please let me help you come back to life.” Amen.
Let us pray: "God grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, courage to change the things we can, and wisdom to know the difference."
I am grateful to Dr. Chuck Roberts of Peachtree Presbyterian Church for his insights on addiction as I prepared this sermon.