How many of you have tried to break an addiction on your own? How successful were you? Are you still battling an addiction? Have you considered that something as simple as having one soda a day is an addiction? What about your morning coffee? How can you kick them?
We have more addictions than we think we do. Having a morning cup (or more) of coffee is a widespread addiction. Drinking only bottled water is an addiction, despite claims made otherwise. Even going to bed at a specific time can be an addiction.
Not all addictions are bad. However, we need to acknowledge addictions rather than pawning them off as routines, if we are negatively impacted when we can no longer have our addiction. On the other hand, there are bad addictions that have a negative, or extremely negative, impact on our lives. Drugs. Alcohol. Pornography. Lying. Cheating. Hoarding. Gluttony. All are harmful addictions and we typically cannot overcome them on our own. We need help!
The Apostle Paul writes to all of these when he asks if we should continue to sin. His question includes the grace of God. He has just explained that God’s grace is boundless and asks if we should continue in our sin so grace abounds even more. The answer is: of course not! Yet, we too often continue in our sin. We continue to choose to do what we want rather than what God wants.
We cannot break the hold sin has on us on our own. We need Jesus. We need God’s Spirit working inside us. We need to be on our knees asking God to remove our desire to sin from us. Why? Our nature is to sin. Eliminating sin from our lives can only occur when we fully submit to God and ask him to remove for us.
I pray we all know we cannot break addiction on our own. I pray we recognize addiction for what it is. I pray each one of us recognize the sin in our lives and ask God to remove our desire to sin. Recognize addiction. Ask for help. Recognize sin. Ask God to remove your desire for sin.
Romans 6:1-2 What then are we to say? Should we continue in sin in order that grace may increase? By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it?
Marty Pressey 