Breaking Addictions: Defining Addiction

photo courtesy blog.thoughtpick.com

But clothe yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah), and make no provision for [indulging] the flesh [put a stop to thinking about the evil cravings of your physical nature] to [gratify its] desires (lusts).    Romans 13:14 (Amplified Bible)

I am continuing my series on strategies that the enemy uses called Devices of the Enemy.  In this part of the series, I want to specifically discuss the tactic of addiction.  This post will not delve into any solution, it is simply to define what the problem and tactic is.

People talk about addictions as though they are horrible sins.  “That guy is addicted to… alcohol.”  Or, “That lady is a druggie.  What a waste.”  It could even be, “What’s wrong with that guy?  Why can’t he get his life together?  Life isn’t all about _________.”

Addiction.  Addiction.

We label people and look down on them.  We stereotype them into categories.  But really, the real issue that we first need to address is–what is an addiction?

Topic Duo: Natural Desires and Meditating On The Word

In this post, I just wanted to touch on a couple of topics quickly.  I heard this quote today that was really good, I felt I should share it.  It really fits in with what we’ve been discussing on this blog.  It especially goes with this post here.  In that post, I talked about fasting as a means to overcome distractions and lusts.  Fasting really is the best way to deal with, learn to control and overcome the flesh.  So, without further ado, here’s the quote:

The desire to eat encompasses every other natural desire we have.  Fasting overrides the natural desires of the flesh.

Devices Of The Enemy: Distraction

I’ve been doing a series on the tactics and strategies of the enemy.  The is the third installment in this series.  In the first post, I talked about that the number one strategy that the enemy uses is subtlety (or subtilty depending on how you spell it).  Everything that the enemy does is subtle, cunning, crafty, stealthy.  His plans and schemes aren’t like “shock and awe” bombing.  They are like Navy Seals infiltrating territory in the dark of night.  The whole idea is to keep you unaware of what is happening.

In the second post, we talked about the tactic of pressure.  Pressure is used to get you to make a decision quickly–rashly–without consulting God or doing it the way that God wants it done.  Pressure is designed to get you off-focus and out of sync with God.  We talked about how the Pharisees attempted to pressure Jesus into siding with them in stoning the woman caught in adultery.  He easily could have–that’s what the law demanded.  The law was just.  But Jesus took the time to hear from God and refused the  pressure.

In this post, I’m talking about a third strategy of them enemy: distraction.  This is all-too prevalent in the U.S.  I saw a funny commercial a little while ago that, although being twisted in the solution, isn’t that far off from the problem.