While I have a blog with the word zombie in the title I have to admit I was shocked recently to hear about the "zombie attack" in Miami. You know, the one where a man was munching on the face of another guy...on a bridge......while naked. Yeah, total disbelief on my part until I read the reports and watched the news footage. It seemed almost unreal but when they mentioned that 'bath salts' were involved it became more believable.
Of course that got me thinking about the inner zombie and the role that addictions can play in that battle. It made me think about how once we give into the curiosity surrounding a possible addiction, whether a substance or behavior, we have really given the inner zombie a blank check to control us whenever it wants. Once we are addicted to a substance or behavior our resolve all but disappears whenever we are faced with the temptation to partake in that sin and the battle is over almost before it begins.
Now you may be thinking, "Sin? Really?! Isn't that a bit of a strong word to use, especially given that the person(s) are addicted and can't help themselves?". Well, as someone who struggles daily with an addiction, I can tell you that an addiction, if untreated and unrepented of, ends up usurping God's place in the life of that person and that is a sin. The first commandment is that we won't have any other gods before the one, true God.
Now I'm not saying we shouldn't treat the addicted with compassion or shun them, quite the contrary! We all deal with sin and many of us have suffered with an addiction of one sort or another. For me, and many other men in the world, it is pornography. I have to be very careful of what I watch and where I go online. I have software (http://www.x3watch.com/) that tracks where I go and reports to my accountability partners if I go to a suspicious site. I can't even walk by a Victoria's Secret without looking away. My wife is aware of my struggle with pornography and so are many other people, including you now. The more people who know the more people there are to help me not to fall into that trap. My inner zombie knows that if it can get me to partake in my addiction it can then use the subsequent guilt to manipulate me into sinning more and not necessarily by looking at porn. Once the guilt comes in I feel awful about myself. My natural instinct is to withdraw from God and those who know of my struggle, to try to hide it. I get angry very easily and you can kiss any kind of prayer life goodbye. In short, if my zombie can get me to indulge he can cut me off from the source of my strength, God Almighty.
Addictions are not things to be taken lightly and if you struggle with one then you know what I mean. If you aren't currently working to be free of your addiction I urge you to get help. You need people in your life who can help you as you struggle to resist the temptation to partake. You need to understand that there is no sin that can separate you from the love of God and you need to accept what Jesus has done for you. That is the only way to free yourself, by surrendering to God and submitting your will to His. In doing so you will find the greatest freedom you can know, freedom in Christ.
Does that mean you will no longer be tempted? No. It does mean that you won't be alone and that there is a strength far beyond your own that you can call upon to win each battle as it comes up and when you fail, you know that you can get back up, ask forgiveness and soldier on. You can be secure in the knowledge that Jesus will never leave you, nor forsake you and will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you can resist when you call upon His strength.
My prayers go out to the families of those involved in that gruesome scene in Miami and to the participants and witnesses of the event. May they turn to the Lord and find comfort.
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