Proverbs 23:33-35 Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things. Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast. They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.
Addiction is not determined solely by how often a person uses a substance or engages in a behaviour, but by how much control that substance or behaviour has over them. A person can be addicted even if they drink, gamble, view pornography, or use drugs only once or twice a week if they feel compelled to do it, struggle to stop, continually make excuses for it, or repeatedly return to it despite harmful consequences.
An addiction develops when a person becomes dependent on something for pleasure, comfort, escape, stress relief, or emotional coping instead of relying on healthy solutions or, spiritually, on God. It gradually gains control over a person’s thoughts, desires, and choices.
From a biblical perspective, addiction is a form of bondage. Scripture teaches that believers are not to be mastered by anything other than God (1Corinthians 6:12). Anything that begins to control our behaviour, dominate our thinking, or replace our dependence on the Lord can become an idol and a form of slavery.
To be continued…
Living the Word 