2 Timothy 2:24-26 (KJV)
And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,
In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;
And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.
My topic is “Loving the Addict.”
Let’s begin by considering the term “addict for a minute.
The word means, “to devote oneself.”
It is not a completely negative concept,
1 Corinthians 16:15 (KJV)
I beseech you, brethren, (ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints,)
But the word has come to have a very negative application.
One modern definition I found was simply, “Someone dependent upon drug.”
I suppose the term addict serves a useful purpose.
But there is a problem with the term –
We use it to insulate ourselves from persons we think are undesirable.
Sometimes, even if we have a ministry to the addicted, we see them as different, separate from ourselves.
It reminds me a little bit of leprosy.
There is a specific disease classified and leprosy – Hansen’s disease.
But did you know that at one time there were a number of diseases that might have been labeled leprosy and those with those diseases, would be “lumped together” in leper colonies?
Any sort of disease that cause the sufferer to break out in sores, could have been classified as leprosy.
I know that at one time syphilis was considered leprosy.
Potentially someone with diabetes could have been labeled as leprous.
So leprosy could have been anything from:
- • A disease that the worst of sinners would get to
- • A disease that anybody could get to
- • A disease that even the best of the people could get
But everyone with it was labeled and lumped together in the same colony – away from “us.”
As long as we label the addicted I think we will have trouble loving them as we ought:
- • We might have ministries to “them” but
- • We won’t see ourselves being ministered to among “them”
The fact of the matter is I can love addicts – because I am one.
Years ago I was visiting an Aunt whom I love and admire a great deal
My Aunt and I were talking about a relative who was about to be tried for possession and manufacturing of Meth. She said to me that it was so stupid to have played with drugs – “Doesn’t she see that addiction “runs in our family?”
We ought to love the addict because every addict has someone who loves them.
I love addicts because they are my family.
WHY WE OUGHT TO LOVE THE ADDICT
A. Because every sin is really an addiction (bondage)
Romans 7:18-19 (KJV)
For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
That sure sounds like an addiction to me!
Whether you want to assign this to Paul before he was saved, or after, you are still looking at a person far removed from what we tend to label as addiction today.
But he was in bondage to sin.
We really are no better than any other addict.
We struggle with sin –
- • The sin of envy
- • The sin of anger
- • The sin of covetousness
- • The sin of hatred
- • The sin of compulsive spending
- • The sin of compulsive eating
You name it.
Whatever it is you know you shouldn’t do but still do – that’s bondage, an addiction.
We ought to love the addicted because, the fact is, we are one of them.
We ought to love the addict
B. Because God loved us while we were yet sinners
Romans 5:8 (KJV)
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
The Apostle Paul said,
Romans 1:14 (KJV)
I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.
We owe a debt because we got what we did not deserve.
It is absolutely unconscionable for you and me, who are no better than the worst of sinners, to have the grace of God freely given us, without our telling others how they may have this free grace too.
We ought to love the addict
C. Because our commission is to all the world and not just to the select of the world
Mark 16:15 (KJV)
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
The word creature is a good word here because we often use it to refer to living beings that are not human beings.
And we sometimes are guilty of thinking of addicts as being just that – less than human.
I one time had a missionary tell me that God had given him a call to reach the wealthy in the country he was going to.
A pastor one time told me that he discouraged people of lower income from coming to his church because he wanted to reach a higher class than that.
You know God does not view people as being from
- • One nation or another
- • One class or another
- • One problem or another
He sees all people the same and commissions us to reach all of them we can.
Allow me to end by addressing
HOW WE LOVE THE ADDICT
Several years ago now I was summoned to jury duty. It was the first and only time I have ever been called to jury duty and I was excited to serve.
I showed up and signed in with the large number in the jury pool and, within just a short time; I was selected to go through the vetting process for a trial.
The very first question asked of me had to do with my occupation.
The prosecuting attorney objected to me because he thought that, since I was a pastor, I would think we ought to forgive and let everyone go scot-free.
I expected that they would kick me off the jury, but I thought it would be because they thought I would be
- • too black and white,
- • too given to view things as right and wrong
- • too hard on criminal activity
I could have handled that.
But frankly, I was offended that they didn’t want me because they thought I would be too soft hearted and “loving.”
I felt like I need to defend myself for the sake of all preachers everywhere!
We are not limp wristed sissies who ignore wrongdoing!
I think one of the reasons why people have trouble loving the addict is because they don’t understand what loving them means.
Loving the addict isn’t enabling them.
Loving the addict isn’t ignoring their sin and treating it as if, if we just “love them enough” they will find their way out.
Loving the addict does not mean we call them good little boys and girls and blame all their problems on their parents or their circumstances.
We love the addict first,
A. By truthfulness with them
2 Samuel 12:7 (KJV)
And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. …
Nathan loved King David enough to point his finger in his face and tell him the truth.
And David may never have come to conviction and repentance of his sin with Bathsheba if he hadn’t.
- • The addict does not need someone to excuse their sin
- • They don’t need someone to explain their sin away or
- • To blame it on someone or something besides themselves
The addict needs someone who cares enough to look them in the eyeballs and let them know that their sin is all on them.
This isn’t:
- • Their parent’s fault or
- • The school’s fault or
- • The government’s fault or
- • Some friend’s fault or even
- • The devil’s fault
They are where they are because of choices they have made.
Influences may have contributed to where they are, but others were equally influenced but made better choices despite it.
The only way out of their addict is through choices they make.
- • God will help them and
- • Ministries like FIT and HOPE can help them
But the only way they will get out of their pit is when they make choices that lead to freedom.
We love the addict second,
B. By firmness among them
There have to be some set boundaries placed by those who love the addict enough to minister to them.
Loving them must lead us to establish fences over which we will not allow them to cross.
We love the addict finally,
C. By consistency around them
I just mean that we never take down the fence nor do we ever move it.
In Matthew 15 a number of scribes and Pharisees asked Jesus why His disciples transgressed the traditions of the elders.
Interestingly, Jesus never answered their question. Instead, He attacked their traditions.
He then called the multitudes and gave them an application,
Matthew 15:11 (KJV)
Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.
And immediately the Bible says, Matthew 15:12 (KJV)
Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?
Their concern was whether they offended people.
Jesus’ concern was correcting people.
You cannot minister to the addict effectively unless you are:
- Truthful
- Firm and
- Consistent
with them.
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