Transcript & Slides: Overcoming Addiction

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Overcoming Addiction
By David Feddes

We're part of a chemical culture. We're part of a culture that makes drinking look witty and sexy and fun through constant advertising. When you watch TV and you watch beer commercials or other advertisements for liquor, everybody is so smart, so beautiful, and they're having such a fabulous time.

Alcohol is often considered essential. If you're flying on an airplane, it's an important part of business events. If you're throwing a private party, you need to have some booze. If you're going on a date, you're probably going to need to drink. And if there are weddings, the alcohol must flow freely. If you're just trying to get along with people—if you're a teenager—alcohol or weed or other drugs are often a ticket to acceptance by your peers. And that's not just true of teens. If you're in your 20s or in your 50s, oftentimes drinking is a part of just being together with people and getting along with them. If you don't serve alcohol, some people might almost be offended or find it hard to get along with you.

We're part of a chemical culture in which drinking and use of other drugs is very common and considered very important for all kinds of different occasions.

Is alcohol evil? Well, the Bible says, "Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise" (Proverbs 20:1). That makes it sound like wine and beer are really, really bad. But the Bible also says some other things. God makes wine that gladdens the heart of man (Psalm 104:15). God's the creator of it. And Jesus himself changed water to wine at a wedding feast (John 2:1–11).

So what do we make of that? It sounds like alcohol can be very bad, and yet God made it. Well, to understand it accurately, we need to understand that wine is a gift of our Creator, but it becomes a curse when it's misused.

There are times when I see all the damage that alcohol does, and I wish I could just say it's always bad all the time. But that's not what the Bible says. It says it's a gift of our Creator, but it can be terribly, terribly misused.

How is it misused? One of the very first sins in the Bible after the flood was Noah—the man whom God saved from the flood—getting drunk. So drunk that he was out of his mind, lying naked in his tent. One of his sons came in, saw him, and told the other brothers about it. It wound up with Noah speaking a curse on one of his grandsons (Genesis 9:20–27). Not a very good start for what happened with Noah after the flood.

When we think about misusing alcohol, there are at least two different ways to misuse it. One is getting drunk yourself. Getting drunk is grouped in Scripture with things like idolatry, witchcraft, swindling, homosexual acts, orgies—not very good company. It's a sin to get drunk (Galatians 5:19–21; 1 Corinthians 6:9–10).

Another way to misuse alcohol is not just to get drunk yourself but to get other people drunk. "Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbors, pouring it from the wineskin till they are drunk, so that he can gaze on their naked bodies!" (Habakkuk 2:15). One way of misusing drugs and alcohol is to serve it to other people so that you can manipulate them. Some people who are sexual predators will try to get people drunk or slip them something so that they can no longer say no, so that they'll go along with what the manipulator wants them to do.

Getting drunk and getting others drunk are two very serious sinful ways of misusing alcohol.

In Proverbs, the Bible depicts some of the problems with misusing alcohol and some of the results: "Listen, my son, and be wise, and set your heart on the right path. Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags" (Proverbs 23:19–21). These words from Proverbs are warning us that drunkenness can ruin you financially and make you very poor.

"Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? Those who linger over wine, who go to sample bowls of mixed wine. Do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly! In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper. Your eyes will see strange sights, and your mind imagine confusing things. You will be like one sleeping on the high seas, lying on top of the rigging. ‘They hit me,’ you will say, ‘but I'm not hurt! They beat me, but I don't feel it! When will I wake up so I can find another drink?’" (Proverbs 23:29–35).

What a picture of drunkenness! It's comical and tragic at the same time.

When you think about the harm done by being a drunkard—by drinking too much—it basically covers all the bases of total fitness. Spiritually, getting drunk is a sin. It's a characteristic of people who don't belong to the kingdom of God. And if it is done by someone who belongs to the kingdom of God, it's not appropriate for them. It's not fitting for who they are.

Physically, it does physical damage. It talks about the bruises and the bloodshot eyes and the problems that come from getting drunk. We know also that too much drinking can do serious harm to the liver and to the kidneys. It can cause obesity. It can cause a variety of physical damages when you drink too much.

The intellectual distortion that comes with drinking is vividly depicted: somebody who's at the top of a mast swaying on the seas, disoriented. They remember things inaccurately. Their mind sees strange things. They may hallucinate from drugs or drinking. The way they remember things afterward is completely out of line with the way things actually are.

You got drunk, you threw up on somebody's shoes, and the next day you remember being the life of the party. They remember you being very gross. You may have said something very suggestive or vulgar to somebody, and you just remember being very clever. They think you were a crude jerk. You got beat within an inch of your life, and you remember having a great time and you're wondering where you can get the next drink. That's what Proverbs depicts—somebody who just suffered a severe beating and wants the next drink.

Proverbs depicts the financial ruin, as we've already seen, of the poverty that comes from drinking too much. "Who has woes? Who has sorrows?"—the emotional impact of excessive drinking or drug use. Alcohol is even classified as a depressant. It brings with it many emotional woes, much dysfunction, and sorrow in family life.

That brings us to relational conflict. "Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler" (Proverbs 20:1). Wine brawls. It speaks of the fights that drinkers get into.

Not only all of those things—these are the various areas we talk about with total fitness: spiritual, physical, intellectual, financial, emotional, relational, and vocational.

Being an alcoholic can affect your work. Having a drug problem can get you fired. You can lose your job because of it. And even if you don't lose your job, it can twist and mess up how you carry out your calling.

Scripture says, "It is not for kings, O Lemuel, not for kings to drink wine, not for rulers to crave beer, lest they drink and forget what has been decreed, and deprive all the oppressed of their rights" (Proverbs 31:4–5). If you're a political leader, your job isn't to get drunk and party. It's to make sure justice is done. It's to make sure the law is honored and carried out, and you can't do that when you're drinking too much.

Or let's say you're a spiritual leader: "Priests and prophets stagger from beer and are befuddled with wine; they stagger when seeing visions, they stumble when rendering decisions" (Isaiah 28:7). Your calling is to be a minister of God's Word, to speak the truth to people, to help them walk the right path. And instead, you're staggering from beer and wine, and you're causing them to stumble as well.

When you drink too much, you have vocational failure. You're not the person you were meant to be, and you can't do your calling the way you were meant to do it. That's true for kings and political leaders. It's true for spiritual leaders, who unfortunately in too many cases have been given to drinking too much. And it's true for all the other occupations and callings and tasks that come our way. If you drink too much—if you're drunk—you can't do things the way they were meant to be. And sometimes you do more harm than good.

There are two kinds of drunkards. I’ll label them party animals and addicts.

Party animals think it’s fun and funny to get drunk. They aren’t addicted necessarily—they just think it’s a high old time and lots of fun to go out and get drunk or get high. Well, what’s wrong with that? According to the Scriptures, they sin when they do so, and we know that they risk harming themselves and others in all the ways we’ve just talked about.

A couple of the most obvious: a party animal might not be addicted, but still, while you're drunk, you might do things that are very damaging to yourself or others. You could go to bed with somebody and catch a sexually transmitted disease, or get somebody pregnant, or become pregnant yourself. In doing so, of course, you offend God by sexual sin (1 Corinthians 6:18–20). You might go driving while you're drunk and kill somebody. You’re not addicted—but they're dead.

I have a friend who was charged with rape for going to bed with his best friend’s girlfriend. They were both drunk. I have a friend who was charged with armed robbery. He did it while he was drunk. I was awakened in the middle of the night—there had been an accident, bodies needed to be identified. These weren’t cases of addiction; they were just people who had gotten drunk at the wrong time and did terrible things.

Party animals think it’s fun and funny to get drunk, and some of them make it through those years of drinking and get smarter later on. They don’t get drunk anymore, and it seems no harm was done. Others can’t quit. These are the addicts.

They’re controlled by craving and use alcohol and drugs to cope with life. Their misuse of alcohol isn’t just a sin to repent of—it’s a disease to be treated. I know some people who drank a lot in their teen years or early 20s and left that drinking behind. They never got addicted. And others who did the same thing had to fight it for years and years, some of them never getting free of it.

So there’s the party animal, and there’s the addict. Either case—excessive drinking is wrong. But if someone has become addicted, then there's more to it than just realizing they need to quit. They need to realize that there's a disease that’s got a grip on them.

If you are a person who’s in a higher-risk category, you need to be aware of that. What are some of the higher-risk categories for people who might become an addict?

Well, here’s a question: do you come from a racial or ethnic group with a high rate of addiction? For instance, people who are Native Americans have a very high rate of addiction if they drink at all. So if you're part of an ethnic group that has such a high rate of addiction—70–80% even in some cases—you would be most unwise to drink at all, because you’re almost certain to become addicted.

Another high-risk factor: do you have an addicted close relative—a father, a mother, a grandparent, an uncle or an aunt, a sibling? If you have an addicted close relative, then your probability of becoming addicted is much higher than it would be in the general population.

Have you yourself had previous problems with alcohol or another drug? Maybe you’ve left it alone for a while and now say, “Well, I’d kind of like to have a drink once in a while.” Well, if you ever had problems with it, you are in a higher-risk category. And if you’re in any of these high-risk categories—whether it’s an ethnic group that you come from, or a history among some of your relatives, or your own history—then it is wise to avoid alcohol totally.

I sometimes say to a person who has one of these high-risk factors: if it’s easy for you to quit, you should. If it would be hard for you to quit, you must.

Again, if you're in a high-risk category, abstain completely from alcohol. As I said earlier, alcohol may be a gift from God (Psalm 104:15), and I'm not preaching a message that it’s always and everywhere wrong to ever have a drink. But you need to understand your own situation, your own vulnerabilities. Something that might be okay for somebody else—or might not be as harmful to them—could be deadly for you. And you need to be aware of that.

When serving others, the Bible says in the things that we do, we can't just be thinking of ourselves—we’ve also got to make sure we don’t cause others to stumble or cause big problems for them or lead them into sin or into ruin (Romans 14:13–21; 1 Corinthians 8:9–13).

If you’re at private parties, don’t serve alcohol if you know that a struggler will be there—somebody who has trouble with alcohol, somebody who’s maybe already addicted or has a tendency to overuse alcohol and get drunk. Just don’t serve it if you’re going to have friends there who have a vulnerability.

If you’re at larger public celebrations, such as wedding receptions, just don’t serve alcohol—serve no alcohol or just enough to toast the event.

One church that I served had major problems at its wedding receptions. People were drinking way too much—sometimes even elders of the church were getting drunk there. I saw what was going on and thought, “Well, this is bad.” We’re doing a wedding in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and doing it with all the ceremony and the Scriptures, and then people are going out and acting like pagans at the reception.

So I got pretty firm—maybe more firm than I should have, I don’t know—but I said I’m not going to officiate weddings if you’re going to have an open bar at the reception. Because things had gotten way out of hand. There were a number of people who chose booze over having their own pastor officiate at the wedding. It was more important for them to have an open bar than to have their own pastor doing the ceremony. So there were a number of ceremonies that I turned down, and they got somebody else to do it instead.

I can say this—I don’t know if I drew too hard a line or not—but I will say this: I know that in every situation where they chose somebody else to do the wedding, there was a member of the immediate family—I’m talking a brother or sister or a parent—who was an alcoholic. They had somebody in the immediate family who was an alcoholic, and they had to serve it at their own wedding. That’s when you know a culture has gotten too immersed in alcohol—and I’m talking about a church culture here.

And a final word, which may seem strange after all that I’ve just said: if you choose never to drink alcohol—if you abstain totally—don’t judge those who enjoy a drink once in a while. There may be people who enjoy a beer with their pizza or wine with a fine meal, and they can enjoy it. They don’t overdrink, they don’t overdo it, and they enjoy it as it was intended: as a gift of God (Ecclesiastes 9:7; 1 Timothy 4:4–5).

If you have found that in your own life you say, “I think I’m just going to stay away from it because of the dangers,” well, that’s fine. But don’t be quick to judge those who do enjoy it in proper proportion as a gift from God.

These are some of the ways that, in dealing with alcohol as we relate to others, we should not cause them a stumbling block. At the same time, don’t judge too quickly those who are using alcohol properly just because you might have your own reservations about it. This is all part of what the Bible describes as Christian freedom (Romans 14:1–12; Galatians 5:13). Honor the Christian freedom of others, and at the same time don’t use your freedom as an excuse for causing others to have problems.

What are some warning signs of alcohol addiction?

One is high tolerance. You can “handle your liquor.” You can drink a lot and not become visibly drunken or disorderly. You may tell yourself, “I don’t have a drinking problem because I can handle it. I can drink quite a bit, and it doesn’t seem to do anything to me.” You may take that as a sign that you’re okay—but what it really is, is a sign that you’re probably already well down the path of addiction.

Another sign is blackouts—there are things that happen that you just have no recall of whatsoever. You may even think somebody’s lying when they tell you what happened during a certain sequence of events because you don’t remember it at all. Blackouts are often a sign of alcohol addiction.

Thinking about alcohol a lot—where you're going to get your next drink, being preoccupied with it—that’s a sign.

Using it to relax—where you’re kind of jittery and just can’t feel at ease unless you’ve had a drink or two or three.

Drinking alone—it’s no longer a social thing that you do with friends or at a meal around a table with others. You’re doing it alone.

Gulping drinks—because you’ve got to take several in a row to get the impact you’re looking for.

Protecting the supply—you want to make sure you’re never without something to drink when you want it. You just couldn’t bear to think there’s nothing in the refrigerator, nothing stashed somewhere you can get immediately if you want it.

Loss of control—you drink more than you intended to. And the tricky thing here is that sometimes you will have drunk way more than you intended to, and you’ll remember that you had two drinks—when in fact you had nine.

When you think about warning signs of alcohol addiction, you may say, “Well, I’ve only got five of those, or only a couple, so I must be okay.” Well, those who describe this—and who are experts on it—say that if you have any one of these, it’s cause for concern. If you have as many as four, then you are probably already well into the disease of alcoholism.

Here’s another way to think about it. Someone has said:

“If it fills the empty spaces…
If it is the essential part of any successful gathering…
If it’s what you look forward to at the end of a grueling week or day…
If it is the thing that relaxes you, lubricates you, frees you, steadies you, prepares you…
Then you have crossed the line from responsible to irresponsible drinking.”

Becoming aware of this is very hard, because the impact of alcoholism is that it distorts how you think. This is sometimes called denial.

Proverbs describes it this way: “They hit me,” you will say, “but I’m not hurt! They beat me, but I don’t feel it! When will I wake up so I can find another drink?” (Proverbs 23:35). You have something that doesn’t face the reality of what’s really going on.

Or as Isaiah 56 describes it: “Come,” each one cries, “let me get wine! Let us drink our fill of beer! And tomorrow will be like today, or even far better” (Isaiah 56:12). If you can just keep on drinking, life’s going to keep getting better and better and better. That’s what you call denial, because the reality is your life is getting worse and worse and worse as you drink more and more and more.

Denial is part of addictive behavior. And you sometimes just lie to yourself. You say:

“Oh, I only use once in a while.”

“I only drink on weekends.”

“I don’t drink during the day.”

“I could quit any time.”

But that time never comes.

You say, “Life’s okay. It’s going fine.” When in fact, things are falling apart around you.

Or you may say, “Well, yeah, I’ve got troubles—my marriage is falling apart, I’m having trouble with my job, my finances are going down, down, down, my kids are alienated from me. That has nothing to do with my drinking. I drink because I have troubles.” And so denial twists the way your mind works so that you can’t see reality the way it is.

Along with denial comes dishonesty. You lie. You steal. You lie to hide your habit from others. Or because you want the approval of others—you don’t want them to know about your drinking, you don’t want them to know that you’ve been using drugs. You lie to your parents. You lie to people around you who might disapprove of that kind of conduct. You may do it with certain druggy friends or drinking buddies, but if there are others who disapprove, you lie to them.

And dishonesty is often reflected in stealing to pay for the habit—because your finances go down, but it still costs you to get alcohol and drugs. It’s got to be paid for somehow. A teenager might start stealing from parents. You might start stealing from friends. Or you might start taking money—if you’re married, money that was meant for other purposes—from your spouse and dipping into your savings. So you’re dishonest. You’re stealing.

Another addictive behavior is manipulation. Not only are you in denial, not only are you dishonest and lying and stealing, but you try to get your way by playing on other people’s fear, or guilt, or pity. And addicts are great manipulators—because others are vulnerable to the behavior and actions of an addict. They’re scared for you. And because they’re scared, you can use their fear to get them to do what you want. You can say, “Oh, if this happens, then I’m going to need to drink again.” And so they’ll make sure it doesn’t happen. Or they’ll give you your way.

Or you’ll play on their guilt. Some people feel guilty. They think, “Oh, if only I had done something different, my son would not be a drinker or a drug addict.” So you’ll play on their guilt and manipulate them by blaming them—it’s all their fault. Or they just feel sorry for you. You’re a mess, a wreck, and they want to help. So you become a master of playing the instruments of fear or guilt or pity—and getting people to do what you want them to do, and making their life rotate around your habit just the way your own life rotates around your habit.

It’s a family disease, not just one that affects the individual. Family members often enable an addict by lying on his behalf. They call the boss and say, “So-and-so’s just not feeling well today—caught a bug.” When in fact, the only bug is too much booze.

They fix certain problems. The addict may have made a total mess and wrecked some things. You pick up on their behalf. You clean it up. You clean up things in life by keeping them employed. You clean up the various messes and try to make everything work. You try to make their life work without them stopping their drinking.

It’s a family disease in that not only is the addict in denial, but often loved ones are too. They promise to do something, and you believe them—yet again. Come on. They’ve lied to you so many times. But this time they’re going to come through. No—that’s just denial. You know in your heart it’s not true, but you convince yourself it is anyway. You’re just deceiving yourself.

Another aspect of it being a family disease is the worry factor. You’re always thinking about the addict. You’re always worried what’s going to happen with them. You’re worried about your finances—who’s going to pay the bills? You’re worried about the impact. If your spouse is a drinker, what’s going to happen to the kids as they keep on drinking? Are the kids going to become drinkers too? Is the family dysfunction going to ruin your children’s lives? And you worry and worry and worry—and that becomes almost an obsession in many cases.

Then you want to cure the addict. You want to do whatever you can. You hide bottles. You try to prevent them from having access to a drug dealer. You try to cure them—but the only problem is: you didn’t cause it, you don’t control it, and you can’t fix it.

But nonetheless, you’re kind of obsessed with trying to. Sometimes you’ll nag and bug them and bother them. Sometimes you’ll accuse and get really angry. Sometimes you’ll make empty threats: “If you don’t quit drinking, I’m leaving!” or “If you don’t quit drinking, I’m throwing you out!” But they’ve heard that a lot of times before. They’re used to the nagging and accusing and empty threats. It’s all just part of that family disease, that cycle that goes on and on.

Sometimes you’re just furious at the addict for wounding you. And sometimes you’re not so much furious at the addict as you’re blaming yourself, saying, “What did I do? How did I make this happen?” Part of the reason you do that is: if it’s partly your fault, then maybe you can change it and fix it. But if somebody has a drinking problem, you probably didn’t bring it about—and you probably can’t fix it.

 There may be wrongs you've committed, but each person's addiction is their own disease. Just blaming yourself or getting mad at them doesn't change the situation. To understand some of these dynamics, you need more than just listening to a quick talk from me. There's an organization called Al-Anon and its equivalents for those who have loved ones using drugs. Al-Anon is to help family members of addicts understand some of the dynamics of addiction and to free themselves from getting caught up in that web—learning to be able to have a life even when there is an addicted person in it, without just being totally controlled by it.

So I suggest that you visit Al-Anon or get involved with an Al-Anon group if you do have an addict anywhere in your family—or even if you suspect it. Even if you're not sure they're addicted but you realize that drinking is causing problems, go to Al-Anon or find something equivalent.

The Bible says that we're going to be under the influence of something. It also says that you're not going to get very far being under the influence of alcohol. "Drunkards will not inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Corinthians 6:10). Does this mean that if you've ever been a drunkard or drunk too much alcohol that you're going to go to hell? No, not necessarily. But if you stay on that track, that’s the direction you're headed.

The Bible says right after that, “That is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11). So it may be part of your history, but it doesn't have to stay that way. You can come under a different influence.

“We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. Those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But you belong to the day… children of the light” (1 Thessalonians 5:5–7). That’s part of what you leave behind when you come to the Lord Jesus Christ.

It may not happen instantaneously. For some people, becoming a believer doesn't free them completely right away from their addiction or attraction to alcohol. So it may be an ongoing battle for you. But don't give up. You don't belong to the night or to the darkness anymore. Seek freedom.

“Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18). You're going to be under the influence—but it doesn't have to be the influence of alcoholic spirits. Instead, you can be filled with the Holy Spirit of the living God—the Spirit of Jesus.

The key to being free from alcoholic addiction—or any other kind of drug addiction—is to be filled with the Holy Spirit and then to walk in the way of the Spirit and in the steps that lead to freedom in the Spirit.

Alcoholics Anonymous and other twelve-step groups have laid out a path that has helped many people with addiction to be free. These are based in principles found in the Bible. The original founders of Alcoholics Anonymous were very influenced by the Oxford Group—a group of Christians focused on spiritual renewal. It’s no accident that the twelve steps have a lot in common with biblical teaching.

Here are the twelve steps (paralleled by Christian-based groups like Overcomers Anonymous):

Step One: We admitted we were powerless over our addiction—that our lives had become unmanageable.
You're never going to be free of addiction if you don't realize it's a problem—and a problem you can’t overcome on your own.
Romans 7 says: “I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate… What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:15,24). That’s really the first step: “This is wretched. Who’s going to get me out of this?” We admit we’re powerless.

Step Two: We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
You don’t stop with “I’m wretched and powerless.” You come to believe there is a Power who can restore you. “Power belongs to God” (Psalm 62:11). “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,” says the Lord (Zechariah 4:6). It’s the Spirit of God’s power—not our own—that frees us and restores us to sanity.

Step Three: We made a decision to turn our lives and our wills over to the care of God.
We decide, “God, you're in charge. My life is yours.” Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23). And He taught us to pray, “Your will be done” (Matthew 6:10). We say that to God: “I’ve been running things my way long enough. I’ve made a mess of it. I’m powerless to get out of it. Your will be done. You take over.”

Step Four: We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
We examine ourselves to the best of our ability. “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23–24). We want God to shine His light into our hearts and open our eyes to what needs changing.

Step Five: We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
Don’t just make the inventory—admit it. “I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity… and you forgave the guilt of my sin” (Psalm 32:5). David said, “I know my transgressions” (Psalm 51:3). The Bible also says, “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed” (James 5:16). There’s tremendous value in admitting your wrongs—not only to God and yourself but also to someone you trust.

I’ve sometimes been on the receiving end of step five—people struggling with addiction have told me about their past. Some of what I heard was terrible, horrifying. Yet when they said what they’d done—some of their most shameful memories—I would say, “The blood of Jesus cleanses you from all sin” (1 John 1:7). And they found that to be a huge step toward freedom from addiction, as well as freedom from the guilt and power of sin.

Step Six: We were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
We're not just admitting we've done wrong in the past or still have character defects—we want to be rid of those defects. We want to stop doing the things we did wrong.
“Count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God” (Romans 6:11,13).
We want God to make us the people He wants us to be. We are entirely ready to have God do that, instead of cherishing our flaws.

Step Seven: We humbly asked God to remove our shortcomings.
Once we're ready, we go to God in prayer and ask Him to do it.
“Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow” (Psalm 51:7).
“Create in me a pure heart, O God… grant me a willing spirit” (Psalm 51:10,12).
“Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me” (Psalm 19:13).
We ask God to make us into the people He wants us to be.

Step Eight: We made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.
Moses said: “Any man or woman who wrongs another… must confess the sin they have committed. They must make full restitution… add a fifth of the value… and give it all to the person they have wronged” (Numbers 5:6–7).
So if you hurt someone and it cost them, you were to repay the full amount plus 20%.
In step eight, we list the people we’ve harmed and become willing to make things right—wherever we can. Of course, some things can’t be undone. If it’s financial, you can return the money. But sometimes the harm is deeper. Even so, we should still do what we can. And above all, ask God for forgiveness—because even restitution can’t erase the sin. But repentance includes readiness to make amends.

Step Nine: We made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
Sometimes the harm is so deep or personal that contact would cause more damage. Still, where apology, financial compensation, or other restitution is possible and helpful, do it.
Jesus said, “If you remember that your brother has something against you, go and be reconciled to your brother” (Matthew 5:23–24).
Zacchaeus said, “If I have cheated anybody… I will pay back four times the amount” (Luke 19:8). That was a sign of real transformation—of a heart changed by Jesus.

Step Ten: We continued to take personal inventory, and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.
Even in the Christian life, as we grow, we are not yet perfect.
“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us… and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8–9).
We keep confessing. We keep admitting. We keep receiving forgiveness from the Lord and from those we have wronged.

Step Eleven: We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
This step is about growing closer to God, learning to know Him better and seeking His strength and guidance.
“Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me” (Psalm 25:4–5).
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly” (Colossians 3:16).
We seek to live a life of prayer, saturated in God's Word, guided by His Spirit.

Step Twelve: Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to others and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
If this program has helped you, others need that help too. If you know the Lord Jesus Christ, you want to share the gospel. If you’ve found freedom from addiction, you want to share that path.
Jesus said to a man He had healed, “Tell how much God has done for you” (Luke 8:39).
“Freely you have received; freely give” (Matthew 10:8).
Paul said, “Continue in what you have learned” (2 Timothy 3:14). This is not just a one-time path. It is a continuing walk.

These are the twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous and similar groups like Overcomers Anonymous:

1. Admit your powerlessness.
2. Believe in a power greater than yourself.
3. Surrender to God.
4. Take a fearless and searching moral inventory.
5. Admit your wrongs to God, yourself, and another person.
6. Be ready for God to remove your defects.
7. Ask Him to do it.
8. List those you've harmed and be willing to make amends.
9. Make direct amends wherever it will help and not harm.
10. Keep doing this—daily.
11. Seek God continually in prayer and Scripture.
12. Share the freedom you’ve found with others.

Thousands—millions—have found freedom through these steps.

If you’re struggling with addiction—alcohol, drugs, or anything else—a twelve-step group may be a powerful tool for your freedom.

If someone you know is struggling, Al-Anon or another support group for family members can help you understand how to walk with them without being dragged down by their struggle.

Overcoming addiction is a terrible burden—but finding freedom is a glorious gift. Some of the finest, most godly, most honest, vibrant people I know were once trapped in addiction. But they found freedom in the Lord Jesus Christ—walking the twelve steps, walking in the light of God’s Word, filled not with alcohol but with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18).

Overcoming Addiction
By David Feddes
Slide Contents

Chemical culture

• Constant advertising makes drinking look witty, sexy, and fun.
• Alcohol is often considered essential for airline flights, business events, private parties, dates, and weddings.
• Alcohol, weed, and other drugs are often ticket to acceptance by peers.

Is alcohol evil?

Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; 
whoever is led astray by them is not wise. (Proverbs 20:1)

God makes wine that gladdens the heart of man. (Psalm 104:15)

Jesus changed water to wine.

Wine is a gift of our Creator but becomes a curse when misused.

Misusing alcohol

Getting drunk: grouped in Scripture with sins such as idolatry, witchcraft, swindling, homosexual acts, and orgies. (Gal 5:19-20, 1 Cor 6:9-10)

Getting others drunk: Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbors… till they are drunk, so that he can gaze on their naked bodies. (Habakkuk 2:15)

Proverbs 23:19-21, 29-35

^23:19 Listen, my son, and be wise, and keep your heart on the right path. 
²⁰ Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, ²¹ for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags. 

²⁹ Who has woe? Who has sorrow? 
Who has strife? Who has complaints? 
Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? 
³⁰ Those who linger over wine, 
who go to sample bowls of mixed wine. 
³¹ Do not gaze at wine when it is red, 
when it sparkles in the cup, 
when it goes down smoothly! ³² In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper. ³³ Your eyes will see strange sights and your mind imagine confusing things. ³⁴ You will be like one sleeping on the high seas, lying on top of the rigging. ³⁵ “They hit me,” you will say, “but I'm not hurt! They beat me, but I don't feel it! When will I wake up so I can find another drink?”

Drunkard’s harm

• Spiritual sin
• Physical damage (23:29)
• Intellectual distortion (23:33-35)
• Financial ruin (23:20-21)
• Emotional woes (23:29)
• Relational conflict (20:1; 23:29, 35)
• Vocational failure (31:4-5)

Vocational failure

It is not for kings… to drink wine, not for rulers to crave beer, lest they drink and forget what the law decrees, and deprive all the oppressed of their rights. (31:4-5)

Priests and prophets stagger from beer and are befuddled with wine… they stagger when seeing visions, they stumble when rendering decisions. (Isaiah 28:7)

Two kinds of drunkards

• Party animals think it’s fun and funny to get drunk. They sin and risk harming themselves and others.
• Addicts are controlled by craving and use alcohol/drugs to cope. Their misuse of alcohol is not just a sin to repent of, but a disease to be treated.

Higher risks

• Do you come from racial/ethnic group with high rate of addiction?
• Do you have an addicted close relative?
• Have you had previous problems with alcohol or any other drug?

If so, it’s wise to avoid alcohol totally.

Serving others

• At private parties, don’t serve alcohol if you know a struggler will be there.
• At larger public celebrations, such as wedding receptions, serve no alcohol or just enough to toast the event.
• If you choose never to drink alcohol, don’t judge those who enjoy a drink.

Warning signs of alcohol addiction

• High tolerance
• Blackouts
• Preoccupation
• Use to relax
• Drinking alone
• Gulping drinks
• Protecting supply
• Loss of control

Crossing the line

If it fills the empty spaces, if it is the essential part of any successful gathering, if it is what you look forward to at the end of a grueling week or day, if it is the thing that relaxes you, lubricates you, frees you, steadies you, prepares you, then you have crossed the line from responsible to irresponsible drinking.

Denial

“They hit me,” you will say, “but I'm not hurt! They beat me, but I don't feel it! When will I wake up so I can find another drink?” (Proverbs 23:35)

“Come,” each one cries, “let me get wine! Let us drink our fill of beer! And tomorrow will be like today, or even far better.” (Isaiah 56:10-12)

Addictive behaviors

• Denial: “I only use once in a while.” 
“I could quit any time.” “Life’s okay.” “My troubles aren’t from drinking.”
• Dishonesty: Lying to hide habit, get approval. Stealing to pay for habit.
• Manipulation: Getting your way by playing on others’ fear, guilt, and pity.

A family disease

• Enable addict by lying and fixing
• Denial of reality, self-deception
• Worry over addict, bills, family
• Obsessed with curing addict
• Nagging, accusing, empty threats
• Anger at addict for wounding you
• Blaming self for addict’s problem

Under the influence

Drunkards will not inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 6:10)

We do not belong to the night or to the darkness… those who get drunk, get drunk at night. (1 Thess 5:5, 7)

Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. (Ephesians 5:18)

Step 1

We admitted we were powerless over our addiction—that our lives had become unmanageable.

I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate… Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? (Romans 7:15, 24)

Step 2

We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

Power belongs to God. (Psalm 62:11)

Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord. (Zechariah 4:6)

Step 3

We made a decision to turn our lives and our wills over to the care of God.

If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. (Luke 9:23)

Your will be done. (Matthew 6:10)

Step 4

We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalm 139:23-24)

Step 5

We admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

I acknowledged my sin to you… And you forgave the guilt of my sin. (Psalm 32:5)

I know my transgressions. (Psalm 51:3)

Confess your sins to each other… that you may be healed. (James 5:16)

Step 6

We were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

Count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus… Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God. (Romans 6:11, 13)

Step 7

We humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.

Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow… Create in me a pure heart, O God… grant me a willing spirit. (Psalm 51:7-12)

Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. (Psalm 19:13)

Step 8

We made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.

Any man or woman who wrongs another … is guilty and must confess the sin... They must make full restitution for the wrong they have done, add a fifth of the value to it and give it all to the person they have wronged. (Numbers 5:6-7)

Step 9

We made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

If you… remember that your brother has something against you… go and be reconciled to your brother. (Matt 5:23-24)

If I have cheated anybody… I will pay back four times the amount. (Luke 19:8)

Step 10

We continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:8-9)

Step 11

We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.

Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me. (Psalm 25:4-5)

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. (Colossians 3:16)

Step 12

Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we try to carry this message to others and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

Tell how much God has done for you. (Luke 8:39) Freely you have received, freely give. (Matthew 10:8) Continue in what you have learned. (2 Timothy 3:14)

Twelve steps

1. Admit inability
2. Believe in Power
3. Surrender to God
4. Moral inventory
5. Confess wrongs
6. Ready for change
7. Ask God for change
8. List those you hurt
9. Make amends
10. Keep doing all this
11. Pray and meditate
12. Help other addicts