G4 Addiction

You will only be as free as you are honest. Privacy kills change and fuels sin. Transparency kills sin and fuels change. Chances are this step may scare you as much as any step you have taken since the first one. But remember it is not nearly as scary to move forward as it is dangerous to go backward. Don’t allow fear to make you forgetful.When you are tempted to think, “This is not worth it. Too much is being asked of me. Why do I need to confess my addiction to others?” remind yourself of these things. Our tendency has been to face difficult situations through addictive escape and avoidance. That can no longer be our life pattern. Now we will face hardship by being honest with others. Confession serves two functions:Acknowledging how we’ve harmed relationships, seeking forgiveness, and making amendsInviting people to become a more informed part of our support networkConfession is what invites other people into our lives and points out to them where they can help. Confession is how we acknowledge our weaknes

You probably feel like your soul has been laid bare in the first three steps. You have looked at yourself, your behaviors, and your life as a whole in ways that you have probably resisted for a long time. In this chapter you are going to bring that honest self-awareness before God. You are not bringing Him something (by way of information) that He needs in order to act. You are placing yourself in a position to receive what He has already done on your behalf.If you presume upon God’s forgiveness (i.e., “God has to forgive me. He’s already sent Jesus to die. It would be a waste if He didn’t follow through. Besides, God would be a liar if He promised to forgive and didn’t honor His Word. I’ll go through the ritual to get what’s coming to me if that is what He wants.”), then you are not repenting. You are making a legal transaction with someone you believe to be too stupid to know better. Additionally, you are leveraging God in a manipulative fashion against anyone you offended in your sin (i.e., “If God has for

It is unfortunate that this step will likely not be as satisfying as we would like. We often fall into the trap of thinking that if we understand the “why” better, then the “what” will be easy, or at least easier. There are at least two realities that disrupt this seemingly sound logic. First, sin is not rational, so it refuses to play by our rules of logic. Sin is not a simple behavior that operates according to single-variable motivations. Rather sin is a condition and a predator. Sin has its roots in our fallen human nature. Sin is aided and abetted by an enemy who desires our destruction (I Peter 5:8). This means that sin both has the home field advantage and is willing to cheat to win. This is why simple, temporary measures will never be sufficient. Second, our goal must be effectiveness-at-change rather than ease-of-change or our best intentions will lead us back into addiction. Sin is always willing to wait for a more opportune time (Luke 4:13) if its interests are not best served in a given moment. Th

Thank you for continuing on this journey. It takes courage to persevere in something that is difficult. You are to be commended for completing step one and beginning step two. In this step we will examine the breadth and impact of our addictions. In step one, we named our struggle; now we will examine it.As we consider the impact of your struggle, I want to ask you to wrestle with a difficult question. Be as honest and objective as you can. One of the primary goals of this chapter is to help you answer this question as concretely as possible.Reflection: What do you think will be the result if you continue with your addictive behavior(s) for the next 5-10 years?At the end of this chapter you will be asked to make a decision, “Is change worth the effort?” The goal is not for you to engage this question in an emotional or reactionary way; making commitments out of exasperation or giving up. You will be asked to make a reasoned conclusion to the question, “How do the benefits of continuing my life as-is compare t

Thank you for the courage and humility represented in your willingness to engage this material. Doubtless, if alcohol or drugs have disrupted your life and hurt those you love, many people have tried to force you to change and make you admit the problem. That is a hard context in which to explore the possibility of change. That is why it is important for you to know that every decision in this study is yours to make or not make. Like it or not, for better or worse, the direction of your life is in your hands. No attempt will be made to compel you to do things you don’t want to do. You will be asked to honestly examine the role and impact of alcohol and/or drugs in your life. If it has become enslaving for you and/or harmful to those you love, you will be encouraged to seek freedom in the form of abstinence through the power of the gospel with the support of the community of faith. But that choice is yours.This study is merely a guide and an option. It does not purport superiority to 12 step groups, residentia