Thursday, April 8, 2010

What Is Your Addiction?


Seems like we’ve got a bit of an epidemic on our hands. David Duchovney, Tiger Woods, Jesse James and now Bruce Springsteen. Anything familiar between these 4 men? These men are claiming to have contracted a newfound condition, which is called sex addiction.

Let me break it down even further and tell you what it is and what it’s not. First I will say that all men are addicted to sex, so yes, it is true these men suffer from the same thing all of us men suffer from. Men are inherently sexually natured, they thrive on it and if not kept in check leads to what these men are currently battling…… divorce. Actually every person ever born is addicted to sin. We can’t get enough of it, that is, unless God changes your sinful nature into a spiritual nature.

I will in no way condone or even give credit for the “sex-rehab: these men are or have already embarked on. These men are sinners against God and against their spouses. What God designed to be a reflection of the marriage between Jesus and His Church has been defiled and these men try to justify what they have done by calling it an addiction. Hogwash! Society now looks to what these men have done with a compassionate heart thinking “poor guys, they can’t help accidentally having sex with all of those women. They are the victims here.”

With the mentality of this being an “addiction” it joins the ranks of alcoholism and overeating. All of these things, if done outside the confines of their design, will bring destruction. Er, uh SIN. Call it what it is people. It is sin against a Holy God and trying to offer a man centered explanation is nothing more than justifying a wicked man. Check out Proverbs 17:5 for what God thinks of those that try to justify a man in sin. But this is just another example of societies downward spiral to destruction.

So, what can we do about this? All we can do is pray for these people, pray that God will be merciful and save them from their sinfulness. I will not entertain what these men claim to believe spiritually, because if it is not God centered it is false. If God was these men’s focus they would not be cheating on their wives and they would not have, to in turn, lie about their condition. I am not going all “Britt Hume” here, but these men need the God of the bible, just as we all did and still do. Outside of the grace of God, we would all be mired in sins trap. Only through the great richness of God’s love has He pulled me from my love of sin and focused me firmly in His Word and in His hands.

I can do nothing good without God’s mercy upon me; I was just as vile as all of these men before God saved me. I may not have ever physically cheated on my wife, but Jesus said that if you even look at a woman to lust after her, you have already committed adultery in your heart. (Matt. 5:28) Ouch. That kinda stings doesn’t it? He got to the heart of the situation, literally. Jesus was saying that your sins are not what people see, they are what is in your heart and mind. What people see are just the outward signs of the internal condition. He again addressed this with the rich young ruler (Matthew 19:16-22; Mark 10:17-31; Luke 18:18-30) but with his love of money. Jesus did not question his assertion that he had kept the whole of the law since childhood, He went straight to the young rulers heart, to his love of money.

Jesus said that your love of even your mother and father must seem like hate compared to your love of Him. (Luke 14:26) Can you say that? Or are the gifts of your family an idol to you? Through Jesus all things were created, so the Father, through the Son, gave everything you have to you. Do you love the gift more than the giver? Do you act like a spoiled kid on Christmas? With a “mine, mine, mine” attitude? Or do you praise God for His goodness to you? Being ever thankful for everything? Praising Him for the food you eat, the water you drink (or diet coke in my case) and everything else? (1 Cor. 10:31). If not, then you may be in the same condition as the rich young ruler. You may have a lot of idols in your life that you love more than God. This could be a sign that you do not truly know God, so I ask that you seek His Word and see that you are His. (2 Cor. 13:5, 2Pet 1:10). Repent and turn to God, seek and you will find Him, ask and it will be given.

Do not allow society to conform your mind to its lies. You must guard against these things and stay focused on the Truth of scripture. If it does not align with scripture it is false, no compromise. Call sin what it is and do not make it shiny call it addiction or anything else. It is sin, pure and simple and God hates it.

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