Image via Wikipedia IntroductionRead Ephesians 2:1-10 where the goal of the Twelve Step program is well expressed. This is where Paul describes how reconciliation takes place between God and people. At the root of our addictive behavior is the fact that we have allowed other "gods" to assume primacy in our lives. Dr. Gerald May, the noted psychiatrist, puts it this way:
Addiction is a deep-seated form of idolatry. The objects of our addictions become our false gods. These are what we worship, instead of love Addiction, then, displaces and supplants God's love as the source and object of our deepest true desire.
A "god" is that which guides and determines our behavior. So alcohol, or materialism, or people-pleasing (or any other addictive behavior) can function as our "god." In order to be free from the power of these lesser, destructive gods, we need to be reconciled to the one true God (as Step Three shows us). In the passage we are studying, Paul describes how we are freed from the power of these principalities and make alive again by the free and wonderful gift of God. This is exactly what we want to happen to us in regard to our addictive behavior.
Addiction is a deep-seated form of idolatry. The objects of our addictions become our false gods. These are what we worship, instead of love Addiction, then, displaces and supplants God's love as the source and object of our deepest true desire.
A "god" is that which guides and determines our behavior. So alcohol, or materialism, or people-pleasing (or any other addictive behavior) can function as our "god." In order to be free from the power of these lesser, destructive gods, we need to be reconciled to the one true God (as Step Three shows us). In the passage we are studying, Paul describes how we are freed from the power of these principalities and make alive again by the free and wonderful gift of God. This is exactly what we want to happen to us in regard to our addictive behavior.
No comments:
Post a Comment