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What does the bible have to do with addiction?

Posted 14 Jun 2023

What does the bible have to do with addiction? This was the question asked of one of our service users whilst enjoying a meal with a friend. His answer was as succinct as it was humorous when he responded saying “apart from the issue jumping off every page…..nothing!”

It’s a question we are sometimes asked and even encounter in churches. The hidden assumption is that addiction is dealt with through twelve step groups, social work, mental health experts and counsellors. We deal with sin, and the gospel is the answer and if someone is ready for that we’re good to go.

However, life is a bit more nuanced than that as is the application of the gospel. Whilst the gospel is an historical event that addresses the great human problem of sin and our alienation from God, it also communicates themes that reach deep into our hearts and speak to the specifics of our life and this can be particularly relevant for the addict.

This hit home recently when Hope For Glasgow staff attended the Gospel Addiction Ministry Forum (GAMF), an initiative we have been involved with alongside a group of Christians who are working in addictions ministry across the United Kingdom. The meeting opened with a reflection on shame and how the gospel addresses this.

It was helpful because shame is an issue that affects us all. Whilst guilt usually involves a feeling that ‘I’ve done something wrong’, shame gives us a sense that ‘we are wrong’ and that we ultimately fall short in life. If we are spiritually aware we know that at some level we actually fall short of God’s standards and we fail to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and love our neighbour as ourself (Mark 12:30-31).

This issue is then aggravated in the life of the addict who lives in a cycle of sin, bouncing from one disaster to another often destroying their lives and others through drug and alcohol abuse and other forms of addiction.  It’s a life where the burden of shame is compounded with a sense of failure that the addict cannot resolve the situation.  Every effort, every experiment, every intention has fallen short time and again and the addict often feels doubly shamed at their sin and their failure to reboot their lives.

The good news is that the gospel addresses this directly as we heard at our GAMF meeting.

We heard firstly that the gospel cleanses us of defilement. Where the addict feels dirty and soiled and where shame runs deep Christ cleanses us of both guilt and shame through forgiveness of sin. The addict is in some sense like the leper who is put outside the camp but is accepted by Christ and cleansed (Mark 1:40-45).

This speaks directly to the heart of addiction and can bring deep relief and joy for the addict.

We heard that the gospel also covers our sin. The addict’s sin is hard to hide and often on public display in one form or another. The public nature of addiction is often perceived as grotesque and unattractive and so the addict has a sense that they are repulsive to look at, be around and listen to. The addict gradually distances themselves from others and the world around them creating an image as a mask or shutting the curtains and locking the doors as an escape from their shame much like Adam and Even in Genesis 3.

Yet as we confess sin and bring it into the light, God covers our sin (Psalm 32:1) and we are clothed in the righteousness of Christ (Galatians 3:27). As this happens our sin is hidden from sight and blotted out (Psalm 51:9).

This also speaks directly to the heart of addiction and brings deep relief and joy for the addict.

We then heard that in the gospel God also crowns people with honour. The Psalmist writes that the Lord lifts his head and that He crowns him with glory and honour (Psalm 3:3, 8:5). This image is picked up in the New Testament as the Christian receives a crown as the prize for their faith (James 1:12).

The addict is all too familiar with living life with their head bowed low, with a sense of shame and a feeling that they will be condemned if they look society in the eye and face reality. Often there is a fear that the dishonour of their lives will overwhelm them which is unsurprising in light of the chaos they have caused.

Yet there is a route through and out of that for in the gospel God crowns us with glory and honour. In fact we discover there is a double crowning in the bible as God values sinful human beings as precious in his sight and so he loves them to the point of giving his son for their salvation. Christ bore a crown of thorns, a crown of dishonour (Matthew 27:29) that we may share in his honour.

This speaks directly to the heart of addiction and brings deep relief and joy for the addict.

Finally we heard that in the gospel God claims people for His purposes. When Jesus encounters Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10) he is a man who is despised by others and viewed with scorn. Yet Jesus claims his life for his purposes and declares he is a son of Abraham to do the King’s work in his world.

This is tremendously dignifying for Zaccheaus as it is for the addict who is often despised and scorned by others and sometimes considered to be useless in our world and unfit for any kind of meaningful work and so this also speaks directly to the heart of addiction and brings deep relief and joy for the addict.

There are many other themes that demonstrate how the bible tackles addiction. On this occasion we were given just four to think about. In the gospel of Jesus Christ, God cleanses the sinner, covers sin, crowns the sinner with glory and honour and claims the sinner to do purposeful work in his kingdom. All of these factors speak directly to the addict and strike at the heart of their shame.

So what does the bible have to do with addiction? As we heard at GAMF that evening, apart from the issue jumping off every page….nothing!