It has been almost three years to the day that I was exposed for the way I was living and the people I was hurting. It was almost three years ago that I broke my beloved wife's heart, nearly lost my marriage and my children. It was almost three years ago that I sealed my fate and closed the door on a promising, well paying career. It was almost three years ago that my life changed forever. It was almost three years ago that Jesus came into my life and healed my wounds and those of my family's.
I digress at this moment because I have noticed an alarming fact. The farther away I get from the climax of my struggles the easier it becomes to forget the negative effects they had. As I contemplate this notion it occurs to me that this may be an issue for anyone out there dealing with addiction issues. Our minds are an amazing creation, capable of performing functions more complex and faster than any known super computer; yet at the same time they are depraved and clouded by sin. This isn't to say that we cannot concieve of good things or even perform beneficial actions for others, but it does mean that even our best intentions when devised for our own purposes can lead to destructive ends. I have caught myself reflecting on the past and the things I used to do prior to my walk with Christ and found myself almost reflecting wishfully on them. It is at this moment that I must seize hold of what I am doing and force myself to remember the reality of the past and the pain in it caused both to me and my family. that is where the title of this post comes in.
The farther we get from the time we have ceased from engaging in addictive behavior, the easier it is to look fondly on the past, omitting the reality of the pain. This can be attributed to two things. We as humans are inherently sinful. By our very nature we our bent to act toward unrighteousness. I recognize that anyone reading this post that doesn't share my religious beliefs will disagree with both of these points, but I would challenge you to objectivey reflect on the best laid intentions of men, particularly yourself, and follow them through to the results. I think you'll find that more often than not sin wins out. Because of this desire toward the ungodly, our mind quickly forgets those aspects of sinful activities that caused pain and suffering and holds to those aspects that gave even the most temporal pleasure. The second reason this thought process occurs it the influence of evil. In particular I am referring to Satan. I see no evidence biblically that Satan can read our minds or even know our thoughts, but ti is certain that he has existed on this world since its inception and has observed and interacted with mankind from the beginning. This extended amount of contact with us has provided him with a wealth of knowledge about the human psyche which he most definitely uses to his favor. It would be no trouble for a being such as this, who knows everything about how you and I work, to externally motivate our thought processes back to our sinful past and omit the realities of pain involved. If we allow this to happen for any continuous period of time we risk returning to our old ways. Those of you out there that knowthe dangers of recidivism into addiction even for a moment, know that this must be fought against.
James 4:7 says, "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you."
If you are not a child of God; if you have not accepted Jesus as Lord, you cannot resist the temptation of the devil. You are simply not equipped. No twelve step program or self help book in existence will be able to keep him from accessing your sinful nature by some means. If you are struggling with temptation and have not yet considered Christ as an option I urge you to do so. Go to Him in prayer this very minute and ask for forgiveness of your sins, and accept His control over your life. If you do this, a world of victory awaits you.
If your are born again, the struggle must be taken to God. First and foremost, if you find yourslef looking fondly into the past over your old ways, take that moment to sieze hold of these thoughts and turn to prayer, asking the Lord to take them from you. Immediately focus your mind on the day you turned from your sin and concentrate solely on the pain caused by your actions. If need be, go to a spouse or friend that knew you then and ask them to help you remember what your actions did to them. I am not advocating living in the past in a perpetual state of guilt, but you cannot let yourself forget what you were if it will cause you to return to it. These struggles are difficult and it may seem like a losing battle, but if you remain focused on Christ and authentically, honestly desire to overcome, He will carry you through to the day when you can be absolutely free.
"For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world; and this is the victory that overcometh the world, our faith."
1 John 5:4
Friday, July 30, 2010
Friday, March 12, 2010
The Hedonic Paradox
The title of this blog coms from a philisophical position known as the "hedonic paradox". It states that the pursuit of pleasure for pleasure's sake often ends in frustration rather than satisfaction. While I was reading up on this thought I really had to let it sink in. If anyone out there has been reading my posts you'll be able to identify that this "paradox" has a firm foundation in my life. I spent years pursuing hedonistic ends by any means, always with the promise of fulfillment dangling in front of my face like a carrot on a string; yet, when it was over, there was only sadness and emptiness. You would think that after two or three incidences, it would be easy to realize that there is no gold at the end of this rainbow, but surprisingly enough, each time the urge returned it was as if I had forgotten the last time.
There is a Hebrew proverb that says, "Like a dog returning to its vomit, so is a fool returning to his folly." It's a rather graphic word picture, but it is very true. I was so repulsed inside about what I had become, I would physically become ill, yet none of it stopped me from repeating the endless cycle. Consider this in your life. What are you chasing after? Why are you chasing it? Is it sex? drugs? money? success? All of these things are hedonistic pleasures. None of these will give you fulfillment. If you doubt what I say simply turn on the news. Actors and actresses with more money and noteriety than you or I are committing suicide, presumably because they are lacking something inside. More CEOs of multi-million dollar companies take anti-depression medication than mothers suffering from post-partum depression. How many politicians in this country have sex scandals exposed publicly? These men have all they should need or want, yet something drives them to keep seeking pleasure. I know this feeling because I have lived it and still feel it's cold tug on my heart.
While you may not be a believer in Christ, while reading this, I have found that the Biblical picture of Satan and sin matches the reality of this world better than any other belief system in existence. Satan is portrayed as the accuser of men. In his actions he draws mankind into sin by promising prosperity and satisfaction and when you have succumbed, he uses the very same sinful actions to place blame and guilt upon you. It has been said that sin, if allowed to flow unchecked, will kill you. I don't mean you'll die from old age, but that your actions will bring about an untimely demise. Many skeptics will doubt this, and even argue that there is no such thing as "sin". My simple question to that is, "Have you never done anything you know internally to be wrong? Even if it didn't wrong anyone else?" I doubt any honest person on the face of this planet could answer no to that. If the answer is yes, then ask yourself why. the why is because there is a compass in each and every one of us pointing us to God, the author and perfector of what is good and right in this world. Unfortunately, we are surrounded by evil, temptation and failure; both from outside ourselves and from within. This has the effect of a magnet on a compass and begins to pull our course to the left or to the right of what God's will is.
The hedonist paradox was put together by secular philosophy but sums up a plethora of Biblical truth. If you are an addict, you know this to be true and are living it right now. Know that nothing you desire in this world will bring absolute fulfillment! Desire is very convincing and will undoubtedly begin telling you that nothing your striving for is really "that bad". Anything ,and I mean anything, outside of God will fail you. It will fail you because it is devised either by humans, for humans, or from a fallen world. Science teaches us that the entire universe is on a slow track of expansion toward eventual collapse. If everything we know in this physical universe is destined for destruction, what gives any of us the idea that anything promised in this life will take us anywhere else. There is more to life than the old adage, "eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die." After all, eating, drinking and being merry only satisfy for a short time, and once you die, you face your judgment. You, me and everyone else on the face of this earth will stand before God one day; make today the day you start to live for Him!
1Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. 2As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. 3For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. 4They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you. 5But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to men in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit. 1Peter 4:1-6
There is a Hebrew proverb that says, "Like a dog returning to its vomit, so is a fool returning to his folly." It's a rather graphic word picture, but it is very true. I was so repulsed inside about what I had become, I would physically become ill, yet none of it stopped me from repeating the endless cycle. Consider this in your life. What are you chasing after? Why are you chasing it? Is it sex? drugs? money? success? All of these things are hedonistic pleasures. None of these will give you fulfillment. If you doubt what I say simply turn on the news. Actors and actresses with more money and noteriety than you or I are committing suicide, presumably because they are lacking something inside. More CEOs of multi-million dollar companies take anti-depression medication than mothers suffering from post-partum depression. How many politicians in this country have sex scandals exposed publicly? These men have all they should need or want, yet something drives them to keep seeking pleasure. I know this feeling because I have lived it and still feel it's cold tug on my heart.
While you may not be a believer in Christ, while reading this, I have found that the Biblical picture of Satan and sin matches the reality of this world better than any other belief system in existence. Satan is portrayed as the accuser of men. In his actions he draws mankind into sin by promising prosperity and satisfaction and when you have succumbed, he uses the very same sinful actions to place blame and guilt upon you. It has been said that sin, if allowed to flow unchecked, will kill you. I don't mean you'll die from old age, but that your actions will bring about an untimely demise. Many skeptics will doubt this, and even argue that there is no such thing as "sin". My simple question to that is, "Have you never done anything you know internally to be wrong? Even if it didn't wrong anyone else?" I doubt any honest person on the face of this planet could answer no to that. If the answer is yes, then ask yourself why. the why is because there is a compass in each and every one of us pointing us to God, the author and perfector of what is good and right in this world. Unfortunately, we are surrounded by evil, temptation and failure; both from outside ourselves and from within. This has the effect of a magnet on a compass and begins to pull our course to the left or to the right of what God's will is.
The hedonist paradox was put together by secular philosophy but sums up a plethora of Biblical truth. If you are an addict, you know this to be true and are living it right now. Know that nothing you desire in this world will bring absolute fulfillment! Desire is very convincing and will undoubtedly begin telling you that nothing your striving for is really "that bad". Anything ,and I mean anything, outside of God will fail you. It will fail you because it is devised either by humans, for humans, or from a fallen world. Science teaches us that the entire universe is on a slow track of expansion toward eventual collapse. If everything we know in this physical universe is destined for destruction, what gives any of us the idea that anything promised in this life will take us anywhere else. There is more to life than the old adage, "eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die." After all, eating, drinking and being merry only satisfy for a short time, and once you die, you face your judgment. You, me and everyone else on the face of this earth will stand before God one day; make today the day you start to live for Him!
1Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. 2As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. 3For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. 4They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you. 5But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to men in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit. 1Peter 4:1-6
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Do You Really Want To Quit?
I recently met with a pastor acquaintance of mine, who pointed me in the direction of a Puritan writer by the name of John Owen. While I haven't had the opportunity to read his work as of yet, the pastor made a comment that really resounded with me. John Owen makes a statement in his book titled "The Mortification of Sin", to the effect of, "Do you really want to die to your sin in your heart or are you just dying to it with your mouth?" I made no mention of it then, but WOW! I went home with that mulling around in my mind, and I have been meditating on it ever since.
Admittedly when I share these thoughts it is to a Christian audience, but the audience is irrelevant to the truth of what I say. Whether you believe in sin or not does not change that sin exists. It is a common misconception in today's cynical and amateurly philosophical world that "truth" is determined by whether or not one actually believes it. This is a ridiculous notion at best. 2+2 does not cease to equal 4 just because I choose not to believe it! Such is the same with sin. My point in this little diatribe is that if you are reading this and are part of the human race, you are a sinner. You were born in sin, and without Christ, you will die in sin. This sin state does not change when you become a Christian either. There is no such thing as being "sin-free" or even "sinless" this side of Heaven. A Christian, just like an Atheist must do battle everyday with the urges of the flesh and the temptations of the world. The difference, between the two is that a Christian does not have to face this battle alone. When one accepts salvation by Jesus Christ, they have someone to lean on that is stronger and mightier, not only than themselves, but than the world and everything in it.
This does not negate the battle. I am a Christian and I face the temptation of sin every day. Some days even seem more powerful than others. I run the same risk of relapse as does anyone else. True success can only be experienced through obedience to the Lord. This is where the title of my post today comes in. I can be a born again, church going, Bible believing Christian, but if I am not truly willing to turn my back on sin, then I will fail, and probably faster than anyone else. I can say it over and over again in my head that I will not give in to temptation, but if there is even the slightest hint of desire to remain attached to my addiction then I am doing nothing but beating my fists into the air! So I ask you, have you thought about this? Don't be too quick to answer this question. Really think about it for awhile. If you are a Christian, it's gut-check time. Have you, without a doubt, given your struggle over to God? Is there any hint, anywhere in your being that causes you to grasp ever so tightly to your old self? If you are not a Christian, I do pray that you consider Christ as an option, but the question is the same for you. Have you fully turned your back to your old ways? You cannot overcome an addiction by merely reducing your intake. This is difficult, but no one ever said it would be easy. If any of us ever hopes to be an overcomer, we must first die to ourselves.
Ask yourself, "Do I really want to quit?" If the answer is an absolute, honest, "yes" then be ready to do whatever it takes and prepare for a long, hard battle.
Admittedly when I share these thoughts it is to a Christian audience, but the audience is irrelevant to the truth of what I say. Whether you believe in sin or not does not change that sin exists. It is a common misconception in today's cynical and amateurly philosophical world that "truth" is determined by whether or not one actually believes it. This is a ridiculous notion at best. 2+2 does not cease to equal 4 just because I choose not to believe it! Such is the same with sin. My point in this little diatribe is that if you are reading this and are part of the human race, you are a sinner. You were born in sin, and without Christ, you will die in sin. This sin state does not change when you become a Christian either. There is no such thing as being "sin-free" or even "sinless" this side of Heaven. A Christian, just like an Atheist must do battle everyday with the urges of the flesh and the temptations of the world. The difference, between the two is that a Christian does not have to face this battle alone. When one accepts salvation by Jesus Christ, they have someone to lean on that is stronger and mightier, not only than themselves, but than the world and everything in it.
This does not negate the battle. I am a Christian and I face the temptation of sin every day. Some days even seem more powerful than others. I run the same risk of relapse as does anyone else. True success can only be experienced through obedience to the Lord. This is where the title of my post today comes in. I can be a born again, church going, Bible believing Christian, but if I am not truly willing to turn my back on sin, then I will fail, and probably faster than anyone else. I can say it over and over again in my head that I will not give in to temptation, but if there is even the slightest hint of desire to remain attached to my addiction then I am doing nothing but beating my fists into the air! So I ask you, have you thought about this? Don't be too quick to answer this question. Really think about it for awhile. If you are a Christian, it's gut-check time. Have you, without a doubt, given your struggle over to God? Is there any hint, anywhere in your being that causes you to grasp ever so tightly to your old self? If you are not a Christian, I do pray that you consider Christ as an option, but the question is the same for you. Have you fully turned your back to your old ways? You cannot overcome an addiction by merely reducing your intake. This is difficult, but no one ever said it would be easy. If any of us ever hopes to be an overcomer, we must first die to ourselves.
Ask yourself, "Do I really want to quit?" If the answer is an absolute, honest, "yes" then be ready to do whatever it takes and prepare for a long, hard battle.
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