Faith Based Addiction Recovery

faith based addiction recoveryAddiction is difficult for anyone to overcome, but when it affects the lives of Christians it can come with an additional set of challenges. Sometimes Christians can feel ashamed of their flaws and think that they cannot let anyone see the side of themselves that is ungodly. This thinking needs to be turned on its head, as it is the opposite of everything the bible calls us to be. The Pharisees were ones who cared only about their godly images but neglected matters of the heart. We are called to be child-like, honest and vulnerable, bearing our sins and letting God heal them. Our faith is meant to be a tool for conquering addiction, not something that makes us hide our addiction. The love of God and Christ his son can end addiction and restore peace to our hearts.

When we apply faith practically to ending addiction, there are several methods we can employ. There are a number of things a person can do for themself in order to end their addiction. First and foremost, prayer to God and meditation on his word are the most important things a person can do to better their lives. There are a number of Christian addiction self-help books and workbooks available to those who read and apply what they read to their lives. It is important to reach out to your support system for help, so tell friends, family and your church community what you are going through so they can pray for and support you. Filling your life with Godly activities, such as ways of using the talents God gave you and caring for your body (what the bible calls His temple) through nutrition and exercise.

When addiction has become so deeply engrained in a person’s life that they do not know how to separate from it, professional assistance is recommended. This can come in one of several forms. Professional Christian counselors who specialize in addiction are available on an as-needed basis to help lead a person out of their addictive thinking. Often times, their services are available through an outpatient rehab program, which uses several kinds of therapies and exercises to help addicted people recover. There are also support groups and sponsors available to addicts in many communities to offer encouragement and camaraderie to addicts.

And for the most severe cases, Christian inpatient rehabilitation is the best option for beating addiction. When a person’s addiction is so out of control that it has become dangerous, the best thing they can do for themselves is to place themselves in an inpatient rehabilitation facility for a minimum of 30-days to separate themselves from the source of their addiction, detox thoroughly from the harmful effects the addiction has had and receive intensive group and individual counseling to eradicate the underlying causes of their addiction.

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The Holiness of Abstaining

bible and addiction

We live in a culture that is focused on the self. Everything is marketed to us in a way that suggests we deserve everything we want, and we deserve it now. This promotes a self-serving attitude where we are focused solely on getting whatever it is that we want.

In the bible and in other religious doctrines, it is a value to abstain; abstain from food, from wine, from sex or from revelries. This is counter intuitive to everything we are taught today, so what is the benefit of abstaining from pleasurable activities? Because denying the self is good for the soul, and serves as a kind of spiritual reset button.

The bible makes it clear that God specifically designed pleasurable activities for us to enjoy, but when we place them above him in importance, we throw off the balance in our lives and follow our sinful nature. A balanced person can enjoy a glass of wine without needing it. A healthy couple can enjoy an active sex life without becoming sex addicts.

We are all aware that this kind of balance is difficult to achieve. For people with addictive tendencies, it can be nearly impossible. For true addicts, there is a reason that sobriety, abstention and detoxification are recommended. When we turn to the bible, we find that this abstention is not a form of punishment for enjoying something too much, it is a purifying cleanse to restore our health. When someone finds they have been craving something pleasurable too strongly, removing it from their life will bring their life back into balance.

People who struggle with addiction are free to work toward balance, meaning they can set a goal of being able to enjoy the pleasurable activity within moderation, but many find that because they are naturally so wired to overindulge, they are better off permanently abstaining. The bible encourages us to worship God alone, not false idols. If we begin to love something pleasurable to the extent that it becomes a false idol, or a distraction from God, it can only hurt us and we should eliminate it from our lives.