Can Christians Also Become Addicted?

May 16, 2010


Not necessarily, but it does mean they have issues that need to be addressed. Are there some Christians who are “addicted” to certain sins? The problem with answering that question comes from the different ways we define addiction. It seems certainly true that every believer struggles with certain sins, but those sins aren’t the same for every person, and the struggle may shift from one sin to another. That is, at one point we may wrestle greatly with anger, at another time with lust, at another time with greed, and so on. The issue is not our struggles  or our addition. The issue is how we respond to it.

Direction makes all the difference. Salvation changes the direction of life. Once we were heading toward hell, now we are heading toward heaven. As someone has said, I would rather be six inches from hell heading toward heaven then six inches from heaven heading toward hell.

Some Christians who seem “addicted” to sin may actually be struggling forward slowly. The first step is always to admit you have a problem. If a Christian denies their own sin, then the truth is not in them. 1 John 1:6-10 speaks directly to this issue. “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). Self-deception lies at the root of many other sins. The hardest truth we will ever tell is the truth about ourselves. But when we are willing to admit the truth about our sin, then and only then will be set free.

The real application here is not how we view others but how we view ourselves. Are we “addicted” to some sin? If so, what are we doing to do about it?

See There is No Growth Without Struggle.

Do you have any thoughts or questions about this post?