ADDICTIONS ARE GIFTS IN DISGUISE

Most of us like to think of ourselves as having it "together." We take
pride in our ability to keep just a little ahead of the bills, the
conflicts in our marriages, or those nagging thoughts or actions that
pull others down.

Recently I read a book by Gerald May called "Addictions and Grace"
that made the audacious claim that if we are human we are addicted to
something.

In his words "to be alive is to be addicted, and to be alive and
addicted is to stand in need of grace." He goes on to say that
addictions may even be considered a "gift" if they serve the purpose
of bringing us to our knees.

Of course, when many of us think of addictive behaviours we
immediately think of the common struggles that people have with
alcohol, drugs, gambling, pornography, etc. If we were honest,
however, there is a much broader range of things that seek to control
our lives. These could be things such as anger, pride, lust,
materialism, fear, etc.

When we broaden the list to include these things, most of us would
probably admit that we are not as "free" as we would like to think.

Gerald May, himself, was brought to his knees in working with other
people's addictions. As someone who had abandoned Christianity as a
young boy, he sought to master his own life (and the lives of his
patients) through the best techniques available in the field of
medicine and psychoanalysis.

Despite becoming one of the world's experts on human addictions, he
found himself becoming severely depressed when he realized he was
hopelessly failing in helping people get better.

It was all important to him that people saw him as a success and when
this was taken away from him he hit "rock bottom."

In an attempt to claw his way out of his depression he began to
identify people who had seemed to overcome serious addictions to
alcohol and other drugs. His question was simple "What helped you turn
your life around so dramatically?"

All of them described some sort of spiritual experience. It wasn't
long after before Gerald May's life turned full circle. One day in the
middle of yoga meditation he found himself returning to the
embarrassingly immature prayer of a nine year old: "Dear Jesus, help
me." It was this event that brought back, for the first time in
decades, his desire for God.

Maybe you face addictions of the "normal" variety. Maybe your
addictions are more of the subtle kind. My hope is that like Gerald
May (and myself), you will come to the view that you are in need of
grace and cannot master everything on your own. It may even take the
"gift" of an addiction to bring you to this point.

- - Vern Tompke is the Team Coach of the Vineyard Community Church.