Do you need to attend an AA meeting?

No, I'm not talking about Alcoholics Anonymous, but rather Addicts Anonymous.  You're thinking, "I'm not addicted to drugs or alcohol or anything of the sort."  That may be true, but my bet is that you may be addicted to something far worse...


Food, caffeine, work, exercise, entertainment, nosiness, shopping, self-image, money, sleep,

internet/tv, sports...the list can go on and on. I know what you're thinking now too..."Wait a second, not only are some of these things not necessarily bad, they are certainly not worse than being addicted to drugs and alcohol!"  I beg to differ.

You see, drug addicts and alcoholics know they have a problem.  Sure, they don't always admit it, but deep down, they know what a mess they are.  They know they are hurting others.  They know they are ruining their lives.  They just can't seem to overcome the addiction.

But the addictions I listed above, many people are literally oblivious to them.  They even think of them as "healthy".  Sure, most things in moderation are fine.  But I'm talking about addictions here.  You know, when you have to check your Facebook every hour to see what has changed, when the first thing you notice about someone you meet is something superficial, when you can't miss that game on tv, when you can't put down that last tub of ice cream, or when you can't stop going to the gym because if you don't lose that last 10 pounds you'll always feel ugly.

We all have addictions.  Every last one of us.  We like to think our addictions are small and certainly not as bad as those who need to attend a weekly or monthly meeting.  Somehow, our addictions are "holier" than others (as if one sin can be more "righteous" than the other).  Our own addictions don't seem like addictions.  They seem to be just what we "like", and besides, we can quit at anytime (sound familiar)?

I'll give you an example in my own life that probably rings true in yours as well.  Most of us have an addiction to entertainment.  We have been taught from a young age that work is not fun, but often something we have to do.  Play and self-fulfillment is where it is at.  So our entire lives, we're taught to have negative thoughts about work (despite God creating Work to be a GOOD thing and BEFORE sin entered the Garden) and positive thoughts about entertainment.

We entertain ourselves with the latest technology, games, social media, television, roller coaster rides, etc.  The list could go on and on.  Now, many of these things in and of themselves might be fine, but lets test to see if you have a true addiction to these things:

You know you have an addiction when:

* You're watching a movie and they take God's name in vain (using it as a curse word or taking His holy name lightly, even if not as a curse word) or someone is dressed immodestly.  You shrug it off because it's the most decent movie out there and the movie is primarily about saving lives and maybe even serving God! So you overlook the "small" sin and focus on the MOSTLY GOOD parts of the movie.  If this is you, you are addicted to Entertainment.

* You're overweight.  You have been for awhile.  You always say you're going to start your diet tomorrow, but there is always an excuse for why you can't (holidays, someone brought you over dinner and you couldn't be rude, church potluck, etc).  If this is you, you are addicted to food (gluttony).

* Your hair has to be just right.  You'd rather be late to work than be seen without your makeup.  You wear all the latest trends, and they are modest (or at least you think so, you've never really given much thought to modesty.  As long as your chest isn't hanging out and shorts aren't too short, you're good).  You make sure you always get your hair dyed or highlighted every month or two.  You make sure you have your nails done frequently.  Your closet is full of clothes and yet you have nothing to wear.  If this is you, you are addicted to self-image.

* You check your Facebook almost every hour.  You read the paper to see if anyone you know has died or gotten into trouble.  You are the first to re-post or comment when a friend posts any juicy news.  When you're out and about and there is not much to say, you bring topics up that really don't pertain to you, but they are "good stories" or "good gossip" to share and you think they make you sound interesting.  If this is you, you might be addicted to being a busybody.

* Your thoughts are consumed with "some day...", your dream house, or how things will be one day...You think substantially more about the future than you do the present...You're never satisfied in your current situation....You always want more.  The house needs repainting, you need a new car, you wish your husband would get a job and make more money so life could one day be a little "easier."  If this is you, you're addicted to selfishness.

The list could go on and on.  I'm sure you might fit into one or more of these categories, and I'm quite confident we could all write our own.  One of the major problems of an addiction is that if you have this addictive personality, you're likely to fall prey into more addictions.

No one wakes up one day to being an alcoholic or drug addict.  Things in their lives just begin to spin out of control and these addictions cleverly pretend to be the quick fix.

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When we have a love for something...anything other than Jesus and glorifying Him....we are losing our self-control (Remember that temperance is one of the fruits of the Spirit).

You may think this is just such a small area of your life.  I mean nobody's perfect, right?!  We go to church every Sunday, we teach our children about God, and maybe we even squeeze in a little bit of Bible reading each day into our busy lives.

You see, we tend to view the devil as this evil creature who does outrageously sinful things.  We forget that he is a beautiful creature who knows our weaknesses and is intelligent to fool even the smartest of Christians. He often pretends to be an angel of light:

2 Corinthians 11:14

And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

He convinces us that our "small" sin is insignificant and nothing compared to "others" (remember we should only compare ourselves to God's standards, not others).

I write this post because we should all be able to relate to it.  Yet, just because we can all relate to it, doesn't mean we need to toss it aside and think, "Well everyone's going to be in big trouble on Judgment Day anyways, and there are plenty worse off than me, so I'll be alright.  I'm saved, so I'm not going to Hell.  And if I don't get all of the jewels in my crown, who cares?!  I'll be in Heaven!"  Once again, we are comparing ourselves to others and have no concept of God's Holiness.

I encourage us to forgo our pride, and stop looking down on others with addictions.  For we all have them in some shape or form.  The thing we are addicted to is not the primary problem. The root of the problem is that we love something else more than Jesus.  We can't seem to put Jesus in front of it.  How silly to think I might view a soda in front of Jesus, but when we know that our body is a temple, and we can't let go of a silly little drink in order to be more glorifying to God, there's a BIG problem in our lives (and it has to do more than with just a soda pop).  The worst part is that we are not doing something actively to correct it!

My friend, we all need to be attending an Addicts Anonymous Meeting Today.  In fact, let's rid the Anonymous part and just be honest and upfront about our struggles.  It's in our transparency and honesty that others can hold us accountable, and in turn, we can grow.

I encourage you today to NEVER view any sin as "little" or "insignificant" or "not as bad as someone else's." All sin is blasphemy to God, and it ALL deserves an eternity in hell!

For those of you who know me, you know that I have many imperfections and I have an addictive personality.  Sometimes it's for the good, but many times, it's to feed my own laziness and pride.  Take a look at where you were in your life spiritually last year.  If you cannot see a VAST improvement in your serving, prayer life, reading your Bible, and overall relationship with Jesus Christ...the devil has you right where he wants you.  You are lukewarm.

So my purpose in this post is for us remember that while we certainly don't need to overlook sin in others and we need to encourage them to walk in Truth in love, let's first take the beam out of our own eye:

Matthew 7:3

 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

Does that mean we can never show others their sin through God's Word because we are always in sin ourselves?  No, but it does mean that if you are not ACTIVELY striving toward overcoming your sin, you can't focus on anyone but yourself.  You are not holier than they are simply because your sin may be less damaging.  All sin is abomination (pure disgust) unto the LORD.




May we all finish the rest of our day in prayer, striving to be all that God has called us to be.