“God is in charge of human life, watching and examining us
from the inside and out.”
Proverbs 20:27 The Message
“It is not your diligence; it is not your examination of
yourself that will enlighten you concerning sin. Instead, it is God who does
all the revealing… If you try to be the one who does the examining, there is a
very good chance that you will deceive yourself.” -Jeanne Guyon
Getting A Clear View
Every form of addiction is unique in that it has its own
challenges and difficulties that must be addressed. On the other hand, every
form of addiction will share some things in common with other addictions, too.
For you see, addiction is really just one disease. It just happens to show
itself in many, many different ways.
Those who suffer from one form of addiction can often relate
very closely to those who suffer from other forms of addiction. Here are some
examples:
· Alcoholics can understand the pain of withdrawal that many
drug addicts experience when they attempt to stop using drugs.
· Someone who is obese because of an addiction to food can
relate to the shame and self-hatred that many anorexics or bulimics feel.
· A man or woman who has been addicted to gambling knows
quite well the obsession, and the pain, that a man or woman who is addicted to
sex or pornography feels.
The common ground we share will amaze us, when we are
willing to see it. Also, when we are willing, God can use our addictions to
teach us compassion for others. Because, you see, our addictions have less to
do with what we do, than why we do it. What is it that we experience that keeps
us doing the destructive things we do? When we are willing to see the full
spectrum of our addictions, we will see why addiction is sometimes called the most
human of all diseases. We all have it, to some degree.
Addictions are about escape. When we act out, we are
attempting to avoid uncomfortable feelings like fear, hopelessness, loneliness
or the feeling of being unloved. We often have worked so hard to avoid our
feelings that we have lost connection with what is really going on inside of
us. Here is a simple fact that we must accept in order to recover from our
addictions—we must face the truth about how we feel and how we have lived our
lives. Our job in Step Four is to cultivate an increasing self-clarity of who
we are, what we are about, why we think the way we do and why we do the things
we do. If we want to recover from all of our addictions, the place to start is
with the truth and the reality about all our lives. It is important that we
understand that God is the God of truth. He is the God of reality. If we
procrastinate or try to avoid the truth, we will, in effect, be trying to avoid
God. And no one can do that for long.
Addictions are often a mosaic. When we act out in one way it
often leads to acting out in other ways, too. To recover, we must accept the
truth regarding all of our addictions. As we work through the following
questions, let’s try to see the big picture. Honesty, openness and willingness
are required.

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