Addiction: Alcohol and Meth

Gluttony is the over-indulgence and over-consumption of food, drink, or intoxicants to the point of waste.

This past Wednesday, before going to work I had to stop by a Jewish school to get some books they were donating to our school library. I had to park in a parking meter but because I had no change with me to feed the meter I ran to the nearest Walgreen’s. To my dismay sitting in front of the store was a homeless young man begging for money. He was no older than 25 years, wearing black shorts and a gray shirt with stubble on his face. As I passed by him he asked me for money and when I ignored him he said something that perturbed me “God bless you sir.”

Upon my return I had to ask him about his situation. Normally I do not talk to people on the streets but I just needed to know why he was there. “What is wrong with you?” I asked him. “You are young and in this condition?” Thinking that he was going to try to lie he was instead very blunt. He told me he was a "meth" addict. His addiction had caused him to lose his job and his home. He also got thrown out of the rehab clinic and he was begging for money to support his eleven dollar a day habit. He said “I’m f---ed up, man.” I did not know what to say. I was thinking that he was just a lazy bum. But instead he had a very bad addiction that had ruined his life. Thoughts raced through my head. What would Jesus do in this case? How could Jesus help someone who was addicted to chemicals? It sounded like a very tough situation.

But then God made me think. Why am I judging this man? None of us are perfect. Most of us will not be addicted to illegal drugs. But I do not think anyone is exempt from being addicts to the things that cause us to sin and separate us from God. Even non-drug addictions have the potential to destroy our lives. Some people may be addicted to watching television, listening to music, gambling, drinking, eating, porn and even blogging. For sometime I too was caught in the clutches of addiction. It took me awhile before I managed to take control of my situation. I needed to identify my problem and then ask God to help me. At times reading the bible helped me a little. Going to church also helped me. But it was not enough. Then, all of a sudden I just had to turned to Jesus, as trivial as it may sound to some, that is what I did. I said, “Jesus, you are the only one that has the power to set me on the right track. I don’t know what else to do.” Up until this day whenever temptations start to lurk I just think about Jesus Christ and my temptations leave. It is true.

I was not able to share this with the young man because he saw a Chicago Police car and he had to leave the place or risk getting arrested. Although I did learn a valuable lesson. Even chemical addictions may sound too hard to overcome but God has power we cannot comprehend. A key verse that surmises all of this is Eph 5:18-20 which says "And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.” If we allow the Holy Spirit to help us, he will. He will keep all the bad addictions away.