You exchange what you
love for what you don’t,
what you gave up, and not for what you gained.
Tonight
I sat with 50 teenagers in a youth group in Slovakia. With my
translating headphones on, I listened, and participated. They were
sideswiped with the reality of their addictions. The speaker, Noro,
spoke about drugs and alcohol (to me his talk, this blog, applies to
any type of addiction). They sat there and listened to his testimony about
how he was an alcohol abuser, drug abuser and dealer, physical abuser of
people, and how he eventually ended up in prison. He stood before us, still
a young man, recounting his difficult past. He is set free, Praise
God, and now helps others gain freedom.
addiction,
for you.
Whatever
else you are doing right now, STOP, and do this with me.
REALLY…STOP…AND DO THIS…
small paper. Go ahead. I’m waiting.
Have those? Okay. Next…
write what is the most important thing to you in your life. On the
2nd piece of paper write the second most important thing
to you, and on the 3rd piece of paper write the third most
important thing to you. Lastly, on the 4th piece of paper,
write what you are addicted to.
From
his experience, Noro said that his addictions destroyed him. By
choosing his addictions, he ended up seeing the things in his life
that he loved slip away. Areas of his life that he loved were
destroyed. In a literal sense, by going to jail, his ‘loves’ were out
of reach. In a figurative way, his heart was destroyed because of his
addition, his heart was out of reach of all that he actually loved.
When you hold on tightly to addiction, you squeeze out what you actually love.
To
illustrate, this might be silly, but it is powerful…put, all
4 pieces of paper in your hand, then take the piece of paper with the
3rd most important thing written on it…READ IT,
CRUMPLE IT UP, and throw it forward on the ground in front of
you. Did you do it? Good. Next, take the piece of paper with the 2nd
most loving and important thing in your life written on it…READ
IT, THEN CRUMPLE IT UP, and throw it on the ground in front of
you. Finally, take the most important thing in your life… READ
IT, THEN CRUMPLE IT UP, and throw it on the ground in front of
you.
Look down at the floor at
the pieces of paper.
Now look at the 4th
piece of paper in your hand.
Look at what you are holding
onto, and look at what you have thrown away.
holding onto your addiction, you have thrown away what you actually
desire,
those things which are actually most important to you. You
have made the most important
thing your addiction, the thing
that is actually killing you, and have thrown away what can actually
bring you life.
Slovakian youth, American youth,
whomever you are…don’t throw away the good in your life for false
and temporary satisfaction. Addiction to sin, to satisfaction outside
of God, is a killer. Not just of the physical body, but of your
heart, of your love, of your smile, of your freedom, of your
creativity, of your uniqueness, of your potential, of you. You
have a LIFE WORTH LIVING. You are a MASTERPIECE!
Don’t let an addiction throw away your
greatness.
Don’t look down at a floor full of lost
family, friendships, jobs, talents, giftings, opportunities. I plead
with you, even though I might not even know you personally, God does,
and I plead with him, don’t let the grip onto your addiction one by
one destroy you and the things you love.
Throw
away
just the
one
piece
of paper,
NOT the many.
away your addiction, and look at what you get to hold onto 🙂
