JESUS LOVES ADDICTS, ALCOHOLICS, CODEPENDENTS, AND THEIR FAMILIES
“Come to Me, all of you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Because My yoke (His Word) is wholesome, and my burden is light and easy to carry.”
(Matthew 11:28-30)
“I will never leave you or forsake you.“
(Hebrews 13:5)
“And I will be with you even until the end of the age.” (When Jesus returns. Matthew 28:20)
“Peace I give leave with you; My own peace I now give and bequeath to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither be afraid, stop letting yourselves be agitated and disturbed; and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled.”(John 14:27)
IF YOU THINK YOU ARE AND ALCOHOLIC OR AN ADDICT OR CODEPENDENT, YOU PROBABLY ARE.
Alcoholics, addicts, co-dependents, and their children are full of fear, anxiety, worry and despair. They seek unconditional love, in as the country song goes: “ALL THE WRONG PLACES.”
People and substances only give short-term, tenuous relief from fear, anxiety, sadness, and worry. Jesus is the only one who can give unconditional love, and He does.
(John 3:16-18, Romans 5:8)
Jesus has healed ALL NATURE OF DISEASES, INCLUDING ADDICTIONS, AND CARRIED THEM AWAY. We receive our healing by believing that.
(Isaiah 53:4-5, Matthew 8:16-17)
Guilt is the constant companion of those who suffer from addictions.
It is the most toxic and useless of all emotions. The evil one is the author of guilt. Jesus took away our guilt by paying the price for our sins and forgiving us of our sins, past, present, and future, once and for all.
(Zephaniah 3:17, Psalm 103:1-3 and 12, Isaiah 53:4-5, John 1:29, 1Peter2:24, Hebrews 8:12, Hebrews 10;10-18, Revelation 1:5)
God the Father told the prophet Amos that His people perish for a lack of knowledge. That is why our mission is to educate people suffering from the disease of addiction with the Truth.
Addiction and alcoholism are diseases. Having them should not be a stigma and does not mean the people suffering from them or recovering from them are bad.
Ask yourself if you would judge and condemn a person who had a severe life-threatening disease such as diabetes or cancer. Addiction is a life-long disease that at best is in remission as long as the user does not partake in their drug of choice whether it be substances or people.
Today, in America, there is an out-of-control epidemic of addiction. A deadly addictive drug called fentanyl has been allowed to flow into the country unabated. Heroin use is back as well. Addicts of these drugs die at alarming levels. There is hope! Get them help.
Jesus used two strongly addicted alcoholics to provide the answer for these diseases: Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith. They started a wonderful group called Alcoholics Anonymous.
There is a fantastic book about the beginning of Alcoholics Anonymous titled: “Doctor Bob And The Good Old Timers.”
The “Big Book Of Alcoholics Anonymous” is the prescription that is the hope and solution for these illnesses. It is a road map to sobriety for the user.
Some ignorant “believers” condemn A.A. because of the wording of its second step, which states, “We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.” They are upset over the omission of the name Jesus or God.
They also object to the third step, which states:
“We made a decision to turn our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.”
One of the most urgent purposes of the steps of A.A. is to lead the user gently to the knowledge of their higher power. One of the critical character issues of users is rebellion. The founders knew that if they tried to shove religion down the throats of newcomers, they would have no success. They chose a subtle way of guiding their new members to God. It works where religion never did.
Note the words of the third step carefully. “We made a decision to turn our lives over to the care of God, AS WE UNDERSTOOD HIM.”
In the very first days of sobriety, the founders, Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith lived with each other. Every morning, they awakened to a pot of coffee and hours of meditation on the Gospel of Jesus.
When Bill Wilson was dying from alcoholism and had been treated at several hospitals to no avail, he said that just as he was about to breath his last breath, he saw a bright white light. After that, he never drank again. We, as followers of Jesus, know that Jesus is the Light. So did Bill.
Society had tried everything to bring sobriety to alcoholics before God created A.A. They tried religion. They tried medicine. They tried placing drunks and addicts in mental institutions. The standard treatment was to sew drunks going through withdrawal, also known as D.T.s or delirium tremors, into the sheets of a bed and hose them down with water until the D.T.s subsided and then turn them out on the streets. None of these methods worked.
The reason other methods failed is because addiction is a disease of the body and the spirit. Both must be healed by not using and replacing the addiction with a Spiritual solution. That is why A.A. and it’s steps work.
Intelligence does not preclude addiction and alcoholism. Bill Wilson was a combat veteran of WWI and an attorney. Dr. Bob Smith was a highly regarded Physician in Akron, Ohio. Both were powerless over alcohol.
The root of addiction and alcoholism is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or O.C.D. People with O.C.D. can become addicted to candy bars. The cliche “addictive personality” applies to them. The “Codependent Enablers” of alcoholics and addicts become addicted to the users.
Codependent Enablers are just as if not more sick than the users. Their level of denial is immense. They will cover for and love beyond measure the user at all costs to themselves. Hiding the Truth is a guiding force for them. You have heard of them “hiding the elephant in the room.” They will even brainwash their children into never exposing the Truth about the user to anyone. Children of users and their enablers grow up with a warped worldview that demands that they remain silent about what is evident to others.
There are many self-help books regarding overcoming dependency on mentally ill people, not just users but also abusers. The best of these, in my opinion, is a book titled:
“Codependent No More.”
A.A. has a subgroup known as “Al-Anon,” which supports families, friends, employers, codependents, and lovers of users.
There is also a support group called “C.O.D.A”
Which supports codependents.
Adult Children of Alcoholics have overdeveloped prefrontal cortexes that lead them to the need and ability to sense and know immediate danger in others. They also develop other serious behavioral problems. There are books and meetings that are part of the A.A. program to help them deal with the aftermath of A.A. Post Traumatic Syndrome, which is apparent in many Adult Children of Alcoholics. Adult Children need treatment and counseling.
The only requirement for A.A. membership is an HONEST DESIRE to stop drinking or using. Success is based on a willingness to change and go to any length to obtain sobriety, just as users go to any length to obtain and use their drug or drugs of choice to to enable those people that they are addicted to.
Thirty-eight years ago, I hit my bottom. I asked God to show me the way. In the blink of an eye, I was at my first A.A. meeting. I didn’t understand what was happening at first, but I knew one thing for certain: I was where I belonged.
In those early days, I learned something that was a huge relief. The evil one had convinced me that I was an evil person and, beyond hope, that all the wreckage I created was because I was less than. There, in my first A.A. meetings, I learned that I wasn’t evil; I was sick, and there was a solution. The relief was overwhelming.
By thoroughly working the steps of AA I was led to my higher power, Jesus. On the day I asked God to show me the way, I had no idea where He would lead me. It wasn’t until my head cleared that I discovered JESUS IS THE WAY. In the first days of the church, “believers” were called: “followers of the Way.”
(John 14:6)
Here is the point: If you are a sick codependent, an alcoholic, an addict, or any combination of those, if you have a mental illness of any kind, YOU ARE NOT BAD! Some of the things you have done may be bad, but you are a child of God, and He loves you as much as He loves Mother Teresa. You are sick, but Jesus has forgiven you and provided a Way for you.
TAKE THE FIRST STEP
REACH OUT!
GET HELP!
There are only three outcomes for addicts and alcoholics who continue to use: “JAIL, INSANITY, AND OR DEATH!”
Sadly, after thirty-five years of sponsoring, counseling, and pastoring all of the above, I have seen every one of these heart-crushing, unnecessary outcomes.
I have also seen the opposite. It has been my great joy to see many more folks recovering and leading happy, productive, and successful lives after finding, accepting, and employing the help provided to them.
“If you or someone you know needs help: “ASK, AND IT WILL BE GIVEN YOU; SEEK AND YOU WILL FIND, KNOCK AND THE DOOR WILL BE
OPENED TO YOU.”
(Matthew 7:7)
END OF TEACHING
