Addiction is a process our brains and bodies (primarily our central nervous system) undergo that literally rewires and readapts them to become dependent upon a substance or behavior. This physiological and psychological process is initially directed toward pleasure and relief, but ultimately becomes a mechanism for survival. We call addiction a disease because in many ways it functions like one, hijacking our biological systems and creating devastating consequences that can ultimately lead to death. It’s a disease in many ways like diabetes: it exists as a reality, and personal choices to either treat or not treat it will lead to reduced / zero symptoms, or worsening symptoms that can eventually cause death.
Addiction is complex because it involves so many facets of what it means to be human – what has happened and is happening to us, but also what choices we are making. Trauma is one of the most common precursors to addiction. Past abuses can create neurological pathways in our brains that tell our bodies we must have relief or we will die. The age old question is: Is addiction a disease or a choice? In Recovery we would say, spiritually speaking, it’s not one or the other, but that it involves both sin and suffering. Attempting to categorize it usually leaves a person isolated from the very thing that can heal and restore: intimacy. Addiction is a problem that affects more people than we realize because it is not limited to drugs and alcohol.
In Recovery, we see that underneath all of the addiction jargon is a spiritual problem more severe than any physical ailment. That’s because addiction doesn’t start with the brain and it’s not primarily about substances or behaviors. Therefore the answer doesn’t ultimately lie in effective medication or therapy (though they can be helpful). Rather, it starts with our broken relationship with God. It’s primarily about the nature we carry with us in our flesh, and the solution ultimately lies in a place outside of ourselves – in a Savior who can do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. Since addiction is a spiritual issue, we find that almost anyone can benefit from the process of Christ-centered Recovery.
“For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.”
Romans 6:5-14
Recovery is about life and death: dying to our sin and being made alive to Christ. Freedom comes when our desires are ruled by Christ, when our wounds are healed by the resurrection power of His life in us, and when we are made new to live as instruments for righteousness. When Christ reigns over our lives we can experience a freedom that the world cannot offer.
If you are longing for freedom and want to discover what it means to be made new in Christ, come to Recovery on Thursday nights at our Gateway or University Campuses. We meet from 7:00pm-9:00pm. Here you will find a place where victory in Christ is possible! Childcare is provided.