(February 2, 2024)
Key Verse to Read and Treasure
All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be enslaved by anything.—I Corinthians 6:12, ESV
Have you noticed in reading Proverbs, Solomon journals a lot about balance, setting healthy boundaries, and having moderation in all things. He doesn’t condemn wine. There is no law about the people of God not enjoying wine. What we are cautioned about is going overboard.
In one of his witty proverbs, Solomon writes,
“Do not look at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly. In the end it bites like a serpent and stings like and adder. Your eyes will see strange things, and your heart utter perverse things. You’ll be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, like one who lies on top of a mast. “They struck me,” you will say, “but I was not hurt; they beat me, but I did not feel it. When shall I awake? I must have another drink.”
Even during Solomon’s time, they discovered the delight of having a “mixed” drink by adding special spices that made the wine redder, more appealing, and quite intoxicating. The imbiber would be so out of it after drinking their special concoction they would not even feel the blows of being beaten. They were aware someone had beaten them, but they didn’t feel it. All they knew was when they awoke, they had to have some more of that spicy, red wine.
So many dangers Solomon warns about when we live to the extreme. Whether about our addiction to living a life of luxury, overeating, or giving into the various lusts of the flesh. Any extreme that takes us off the path of having what Paul reminded Timothy when he said,
God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but of power, love, and self-control (2 Tim. 1:7).
As Paul preached to the believers in Galatia and now to us he said, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by the yoke of slavery (Gal. 5:1).
Jesus came and died that we might live the abundant, full live. Not chained to the very things he came to set us free from. We are not to be dominated by anything or anyone.
We may have grown accustomed to hearing about addictions to alcohol or drugs but there are many things we can become addicted to or enslaved by. The Bible teaches us that any enslavement to person, activity or behavior is a bad and destructive thing. Far from the life Jesus came to make sure we could enjoy.
Satan wants us addicted and enslaved that way he can be our boss and control us through that vice. He knows if he can get us to become dominated by or enslaved by anything then we will do anything at all to get or have what our brain has been re-wired to consider as good, satisfying, and life-giving.
The clinical definition of addiction is, “Addiction is a chronic disease, relapsing disorder characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use despite adverse consequences.”
But we also learn it is a “treatable, chronic medical disease that involves complex interactions among brain circuits, genetics, the environment, and an individual’s life experiences.”
Addiction affects the brain circuits involved in reward, stress and self-control. But Jesus said there is an answer and solution for every problem.
As Paul wrote the Church in Rome he said,
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by the testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Rom. 12:1-2)
What is the will of God for each one of us, what is good and acceptable and pleasing to God is that we live free in the freedom Jesus lived and died on the cross to assure and secure for us.
We may struggle with addictions—of all kinds—but Jesus has an answer and release for us. He wants us to remember what it was like to be free; to live without that addiction and long for it again. Want it so badly we are willing to make even our body a living sacrifice, no longer bent on self or instant gratification but on the will of God in Christ Jesus.
He did not say it would be easy to break from that which has enslaved us: whether drugs, alcohol, people, sex, gambling, laziness, or whatever has dominated us, but He promises with His help we can conquer our addictions, renew our mind and disentangle ourselves, discovering true happiness, joy, and peace, in the process.
Taste and see that the Lord Jesus is good (Ps. 34:8) so much better than spicy, red wine!
Jesus thank You for coming to earth and for giving us what ewe need. Help us when we have become addicted to anything or anyone, seeking satisfaction, solace, comfort, or strength through anything except You. Today I recognize my addiction to and ask you to lead me out and set me free…
The Nature and Quality of God
Jesus died to set us free from enslavement. Jesus sets us free and leads us out. Jesus reminds us we are not tempted by anything that is uncommon to humanity and when we are tempted there will always be a way out.