Until You've Had An Addiction...

I wonder how many times in my life I've said the words, "They got what they deserved" to people in conversations. I used to think it was a perfectly rational line of thought, as in, if you're going to dig your hole, don't be surprised when it caves in on top of you.

It's taken me a long time to realize what a nasty attitude that is about people and life in general. When I make a mistake, or royally mess something up, the last thing in the world I need is to be given the proverbial "you made your bed, now you have to lie in it" speech. Yet, how many times do we give that speech, either face to face, or worse, behind the scenes, without a clue of how hurtful it comes across to the defeated comrad?

I've prayed for God to give me more compassion over the years, and since watching people or animals suffer nearly sends me to the ground in agony, I'm calling Him Faithful on that one. In my search for a genuinely caring heart, I've discovered that addiction is one of the areas in which I've found a new interest.

For people who have never had an addiction, it's hard to understand why you can't "just quit" on the spot. Just make the decision to do it, right? Well, okay, but really, whether it's drugs, alcohol, television, computers, video games, sports, or any other thing we may latch on to, when it becomes and addiction, it takes over your life and leaves you with little self-discipline or control. That's WHY it's called addiction.

I highly doubt that anyone wakes up one morning and says, "Hmm... I think I'll see what I can get addicted to today." It just happens. We make decisions, yes, and we're accountable, yes, but we're also human. I know that, for me personally, if I could ever go a day without messing SOMETHING up, or making a wrong decision, I would probably wonder if I was having an out-of-body experience. This begs the question....

Why do we feel we have the RIGHT to judge or draw the line on what is an acceptable mistake and what's past the point of no return? Which mess-up deserves grace and mercy, and which deserves condemnation and finger-pointing shame?

I'm not negating the importance of consequences here, because unfortunately, consequences are sometimes the best teachers, but don't you think a "compassionate" God would want us to extend the hand of mercy, even in the worst of circumstances? If God is truly who He says He is, then He loves us NO MATTER WHAT, and when we get into trouble, or make a bad decision, He doesn't point the almighty finger at us and furrow His brow with rejection and anger. Rather, His unconditional love for us has Him extending both arms, pulling us close to his heart and walking us through our circumstances gently.

I suppose it should be no different for us in the way we treat people, especially those with addictions. We should be gentle, patient.....merciful..... even in the face of an addict who has "made their bed" and is now lying in it. Addiction destroys reason, obliterates rationality, sometimes even steals your sanity.

Compassion revives - WE could be the misty horizon of hope for someone struggling with addiction in a particular area, but we can't do it by sticking our self-righteous fingers in their face. Too harsh? Maybe, but isn't there a simple truth to all of this? If WE want to be given the second, third, tenth, hundredth chances when we mess things up, then I think we should probably start giving the same grace to others.

Or, perhaps once again, I am just another babbling blogger........