Monday, March 28, 2005

layers of addiction

what role does addiction play in the Christian experience of forgiveness?

i don't have the answer to this question and i do not propose that i am even close. i do want to share some observations regarding addiction and the process of a Christian seeking forgiveness of sin.

one aspect of an addiction is the behavior or substance use relieves stress. without a doubt, a person's sin causes a level of stress. devout Christians sense this stress due to a rupturing of their connection with God and a feeling that they have grieved the Holy Spirit. the movement toward seeking forgiveness through the confession of sin is the right way to address the problem. as Christians, we are to seek the forgiveness of others when we do wrong to them and we are to seek the forgiveness of God when we sin.

for many, including me, the process of humbly coming before God to confess my sins and to experience the renewal of my connection with God is a real experience. the weight of sin is lifted and the distress is removed.

is it possible for me to become addicted to the process of sinning, experiencing sorrow, confessing, experiencing assurance of pardon?
the general application of addiction may not be the best way to approach this possible flow of experiences. a more specific question is an addiction to receiving forgiveness possible for a specific habitual sin where the person finds relief in the confessing/forgiveness cycle?

i have described this as the inhaling and exhaling of the Christian faith. it can become seemingly the way of life, or better put the means of experiencing God, for individuals who consistently sin in the same way. the actual experience of receiving forgiveness is the very source of their knowledge that God exists and is real.

what happens when the person moves away from that sin? will that person know how to experience God apart from that experience?

if not, then i posit that the person is experiencing two layers of addiction. one layer is the obvious addiction to the sinful behavior. the other layer is the addiction to the process of sinning/confessing/receiving forgiveness itself.

am i the only one who sees this?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I believe some people are addicted to sining, asking forgiveness, and sinning again.

They don't realize, because they feel so good each time they do this.

I believe you are on target on this one.