Addiction Introduced

Addiction Defined

The fact or condition of being addicted to a particular substance, thing, or activity. (Dictionary)

Addiction is a treatable, chronic medical disease involving complex interactions among brain circuits, genetics, the environment, and an individual’s life experiences. People with addiction use substances or engage in behaviors that become compulsive and often continue despite harmful consequences. (ASAM)

Addiction is a complex condition, a brain disease that is manifested by compulsive substance use despite harmful consequence. (APA - American Psychiatric Ass.)

Addiction is not about the pleasurable effects of substances, it’s about the user’s inability to connect in healthy ways with other human beings. In other words, addiction is not a substance disorder, it’s a social disorder. (Robert Weiss)

Addiction — face crisis, respond by The opposite of addiction is living for the Lord ()

A Story

“Hello, Pastor John, my name is Cesar, and I’m writing from Peru. In the last three weeks, I have been disturbed by the following situation: I cannot break my addiction to entertainment. I am convinced that the short-lived emotions of entertainment do not compare to the pleasures found in a deep life of communion with God. But I can play a video game for three hours, and feel my emptiness and dissatisfaction, but the next day my desire for more entertainment is renewed, and this has turned into a horrible, vicious circle. I am very stressed with this situation. I want to grow spiritually. I do not want to waste my life in trifles.”

We all face addictions. Porn, gossip, control, anger, desire for peace, malice, and many more. That is the old man, yet it has influence. I want to respond to the story just told.

Three statements in response

1. You Can Stop

“I cannot break my addiction to entertainment” That’s not true. You can stop playing these games three hours a day. You can stop wasting your time. By labeling this habit an addiction, you might be giving yourself a partial pass. Whatever you think addiction means, it’s probably not what you think it is. When you waste three hours of your precious life playing a video game over and over, this is not something you can’t stop doing.

Illustration

Man walking in with blowtorch saying he’ll burn your eyes if you don’t stop. You’ll stop.

Put it positively. Man walked in with a million dollars, who would take it?

Put it positively. Man walked in with a million dollars, who would take it?

Simply put, often times we are so disillusioned by our addiction, that we think there is no way out. Your desires change all the time when you’re living in the flesh. You will find something else.

There are some qualifications we must make when people start talking about their addictions and that they CAN’T stop it.

2. I’m Not Convinced

Second, Cesar, you say, “I am convinced that the short-lived emotions of entertainment do not compare to the pleasure that there is in a deep life of communion with God.” No, Cesar, you’re not convinced of this. You say you are, but these are just words.

Jesus said, “You shall know them by their fruits” (). The essential thing he meant was that people say many things, feel many things, think many things, but a decisive test is fruit. “Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?” (). So three hours on a video game day after day, wasting your precious life, is not a fruit of being convinced that communion with Jesus is better. It’s not.

When you are addicted you’re saying through your life choices that you are a far better choice over Jesus.

3. Jesus Re-Enthroned

Third, you say, “I can play a video game for three hours, then I feel my emptiness and dissatisfaction, but the next day my desire for more entertainment is renewed.” Well actually Cesar, the word renewed is an understatement.

It’s not renewed; it’s re-enthroned. It takes its place as the king of your will. It means that you then take your seat passively at its feet, and you do its bidding like a slave. That’s the way Paul describes it in . He said, “Let not sin therefore reign [that is, be king] in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.” You obey it like a slave.

Are we being too harsh on Cesar? Not at all.

Give voice to the words of Jesus

But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. 29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. 30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. 31 It hath been said .

The Holy Bible: King James Version, Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version. (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009), .

“I say unto you that whoever is seduced by the alluring power of video games has already committed adultery with the game in his heart. Just the lust for something is a sin which leads to addiction. If your right eye causes you for a video game to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to be glued to a video game, cut it off and put a blowtorch to it. For it is better that you lose one of your members than your body be thrown into hell.”

Billion Dollar Gift

“I am very stressed with this situation. I want to grow spiritually. I do not want to waste my life in trifles,” I believe you! There truly is a battle going on in your soul (all our souls). I rejoice that you feel stressed to get rid of this. Good sign.

Story of Eric Tse who received $3.8 billion from his parents (biopharmaceutical company shares). Nice gift?

King James Version Chapter 7

Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men. 24 Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God.

God is the gift of immeasurable freedom.

Freedom that Lasts: “Jesus Christ is the only source of true freedom.”

God is better than anything you could ever possess.

In the weeks ahead we will look at a further study of addiction. How to respond to it, how to personally combat, and how to help others. We’ll look at a few specific addictions prevalent that we justify as “ok” in the name of ease, comfort.