Recently I’ve encountered two
women of faith who are under the influence of drugs — one uses prescription
pain meds and the other methamphetamines. I’ve dealt with addicted family
members before so let me confess I’m somewhat jaded. I tend to see the drug
addicted person as a lost cause with no way to cut through the fog of their
dependency. With swiftness the Spirit reminded me of Jesus speaking to two
blind men, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” (Matt 9:28 NIV).
1 comment:
Gail;
-----Money, sex, fast cars, popularity, they’re all drugs. I see all kinds of drug-addiction in the church. Every one of these activities, and many more, too, alter a person’s emotional states to the point of seriously challenging their core beliefs. Addiction happens when the core beliefs bend by that challenge. The only difference between these and mind altering substances is that the substance alters the mind and emotions at the chemical level, whereas the habits, hobbies, and activities alter the mind and emotions from within the mental level itself. For that reason, it is maybe not too fair to equate these other things to drug abuse, but the similarities are indeed noteworthy.
-----Then there is that “…no drug abuser will see life…” thing people like to say the Bible says. And the Bible does stand strongly against drug abuse. We could examine the complete meaning of the Greek “pharmakeia,” translated for us as “drug use”. To the Greek the word meant “medication (‘pharmacy’), that is, (by extension) magic (literal or figurative): -sorcery, witchcraft.” (Strong’s Greek Dictionary.) The common pot-head, meth addict, acid-freak are not into sorcery, witchcraft, and magic. They are into having a good time. Then there are the med-heads, who aren’t necessarily using to have a “good time” good time, but are seeking the “normal” good time. They think there’s something wrong with them that only a drug can fix.
-----And they are half right. There is something wrong with them. There is something wrong with us all: sin. And it keeps us from having a godly good time. Therefore to have “good time” good times and even “normal” good times, we turn to money, sex, fast cars, popularity, drugs, etc. If we are putting up with the rest of it in our fellowship (believe me, there are many sleep-arounds and shack ups in the church,) why do we wish to be such knuckle crackers about drug use and abuse?
-----And it is true that the Lord is able to cut through their dependency. I have seen Him pick people out of addiction instantly. But that’s the exception. Others struggle against it for years, failing and falling back into it, climbing out mostly, then failing again. Believe me, they wonder why God does not lift them out too. As a past addict who was not lifted out of it by the Lord as those more fortunate few are, I learned the ropes of the escape. I studied the escape. The only thing I failed to do was to write about those ropes, what they were, how to climb them, and how to tether them so when the fall backward happens they are instantly accessible. I try to show the ropes to other addicts. I pull the remainder of my hair out. They either won’t get a clue or won’t take hold of a rope. I know the Lord still loves them. And having been one, I hang close by to encourage them to keep close their love for the Lord, even though they are not living it well. A little push here. A little pull there. Always some influence and inspiration and a few words from the Bible, and I don’t know that they will ever reach non-dependence. I hope and pray God’s mercy yet reaches through their addiction to cover them. Then I remember, it might be more in my heart that their addiction appears worse than some of mine than it is in God’s heart. Their struggle against addiction is somewhat evidential.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
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