What Every Christian Should Know About Addictions

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 Before the late 1800s, society viewed addiction as a moral issue best cared for by the church. Pastors served as the primary physicians to address the problem. Drunkards were called inebriates, not alcoholics, and drunkenness signaled that the person engaged in poor behavior, not that some underlying disease caused the behavior. The idea that addiction is a disease was first proposed in the 1800s when Benjamin Rush claimed individuals who consumed too much alcohol were in fact diseased. Over the last 250 years, addiction transformed into what the medical field calls a disease, and by the early 1920s the church lost its jurisdiction for the care of souls due to its perceived impotence in addressing the problems addicts faced. Society changed addiction from a sin to a genetic predisposition, disorder, or disease. This change removed the addict's responsibility and allowed the addict to become a victim.

Addiction as sin, addiction as a choice, and addiction as a disease. The view you take will impact what type of treatment you choose for your loved one. Each view has a corresponding approach. Biblical Discipleship flows from addiction as sin, the Mindfulness movement flows from addiction as a choice, and the 12 Steps or Christian 12 Steps flow from addiction as a disease. A Biblical Discipleship model is rarely found in treatment centers. You have to search for it. It requires a lot of time and effort, and in churches without a dedicated discipleship pastor it can be done with multiple members of the church body working together to help the addict.

 Jay Adams proposed that sin covers a multitude of problems and bad behaviors, whether conscious or unconscious. No new diseases or mental illnesses are popping up in the world. The problems that face humanity today are the same ones the biblical characters faced. Sin is the root cause, and the proper way to address life-dominating sins is through obedience to God and His Word. In The Heart of Addiction, Mark Shaw proposed that if someone is not sure addiction should be classified as a sin, they should present scientific studies that prove it is a disease. The disease model is a man-made theory that has never been proven. It gained credibility because society embraced it as a medical issue backed by real science. In reality it is a lie based on a hopeless view of addiction, one that offers the addict no expectation of ever overcoming the disease. Addiction is a heart issue where the world's approach and Scripture cannot be merged together.

A growing section of the secular world agrees that addiction is not a disease. Herbert Fingarette wrote that all attempts to identify and define alcoholism have failed because the concept itself is flawed. George E. Vaillant, a respected psychiatrist in the addiction field, conceded that in scientific terms, behavior disorder will often be a happier semantic choice than disease. Stanton Peele has written extensively that disease conceptions of misbehavior are bad science, and that once we treat addiction as a disease, we cannot rule out that anything people do but shouldn't is a disease, from crime to procrastination. What was once seen as a topic only Christians would argue against is becoming a current topic amongst those in the addiction field. This presents a strong opportunity for the church to reassert its claim on the care of souls for addicts.

A.A. represented the driving force that brought the disease model into the church. For the last 80 years the church embraced and utilized A.A. as the primary resource for recovery ministries, and church programs that address addiction are more likely to present a 12-Step model fashioned after A.A. than a biblical one. A “god of one's own understanding” acts as a Higher Power to fit the needs of those struggling, a laissez faire god with minimal or no regulations substituted for the God of the Bible. Addicts tend to idolize meetings or calling their sponsor instead of placing their recovery solely in the hands of God. Christ alone is sufficient for all things. What the world calls addiction means placing the mind-altering substance as an idol above God.

Just because a loved one was written a prescription does not mean they cannot become addicted. Roughly 48 million people over the age of 12 have used prescription drugs in ways that were not as prescribed. It really doesn't matter where someone gets their drug of choice, the street pharmacist or the pharmacist at the local drug store. Addicts will use and abuse whatever they can obtain, regardless of what Schedule a drug is given. Alcohol is the most significant gateway drug. It is on TV, in movies and music, is usually found in homes, and carries no stigma. One more warning every family needs to hear. After a loved one has been sober for a month or longer, their tolerance for their drug of choice goes down. If they relapse and use the same quantity they were accustomed to, the odds of them overdosing go up exponentially.

One of the most common comments from families is “It's my fault my loved one is an addict.” That is categorically false. Unless you shoved a needle in their arm, poured the alcohol down their throat, or lit the bong for them to smoke, it is not your fault. No one forced them to do drugs. They made a choice. Shifting blame to others is something where addicts are professionals, and if a loved one tries to blame the family for their addiction, they have not taken responsibility for their actions. You'll know they've turned the corner when they stop blaming you and apologize for the damage they have caused. When that happens, their likelihood of staying sober goes way up.

Don't enable. Learn to say no. It is tough to see a loved one struggling, but sometimes you have to let them fall flat on their face, scuff up their knees, and bleed a little (figuratively, not literally). When a loved one comes home, have a written contract with expectations for living in the home, signed by everyone who lives there, with random drug testing included. Don't trust every word they say. They have been lying and manipulating for quite some time, and a few months of sobriety is not going to change that overnight. If they relapse and call while high or drunk, make sure they are not suicidal, pray for them, then tell them to call back when they are sober and hang up. Nothing said to them while they are high is going to matter. Tough love is hard, but it saves lives.

A foundational aspect of helping the addict and the family is prayer, a lot of prayer. Put the loved one on prayer lists, ask the congregation to pray, and pray without ceasing. The power of prayer is real and cannot be discounted or forgotten. Since Scripture is sufficient for all things, it should be consumed daily, memorized, and made part of daily life, transforming the believer from the inside out. Luther noted over 500 years ago that to deal with Satan there must be a higher medicine, namely, faith and prayer. Obedience to God's Word will equip the addict to overcome and defeat the temptations of drugs and alcohol. “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

For centuries, the church and the church alone possessed the responsibility to care for souls. Over the last 250 years, the church relented and allowed secular theories and techniques to seize control and speak as the primary voice on soul care. A true ministry is ordained by God, funded by His believers, and has one goal in mind, total transformation through Christ alone. The church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints. If someone stumbles in drunk on Sunday morning seeking Truth, love on them and show them acceptance for who they are, where they are, unconditionally. As Gordon MacDonald said, the world can do almost anything as well as or better than the church, but there is one thing the world cannot do. It cannot offer grace. Such a ministry will require time, money, and perseverance, and the ledger will probably be in the red. What is the price you can put on a soul?