An alternative to addiction

Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior (Psalm 25:5).

Addiction messes with your life.

Addiction takes away your self-control. When you were little, you depended on others for everything—food, clothing, shelter, and protection. As you grew, you started to take control of your life—you learned to feed yourself, dress yourself, control your bladder. Through rolling, crawling, walking, and finally running, you developed the ability to go where you wanted. You learned how to speak so you could tell people what you wanted.

But addiction takes away your self-control. It demands money that you can’t afford to spend. It steals time away from work, and robs loved ones of your attention. Addiction makes you keep secrets and break promises.

When others see that you can’t control your compulsions, it costs you their respect. They don’t count on you to come through in a pinch. They don’t put much stock in your words.

Addiction takes away your loved ones. Your wife wants to know that you love her more than Internet pornography. Your kids need to know that they are more important than a night at the casino. Your friends want to be more than just an excuse for going out to get plastered.

Addiction is costly—it tears into your money, your time, your relationships, and ultimately your self-respect. Addiction wastes the gifts that God has given you. So what can you do? Obviously, any change has to start with prayer. Ask Jesus to forgive you for letting compulsions take control of your life. You need to be free from the mistakes of the past before you can make tomorrow different. Then, you need God to point you in the right direction. Study the Bible—if possible, do this with a pastor or Christian counselor. Find out what God wants from your life, and learn about the help that He promises to give you. Each day, schedule time for prayer and spiritual growth—read devotional books or listen to them on tape. See if you can give Christ as much time as you used to spend on your addiction.