Temptation exists all around us. It has for some time. Before you were ever born, temptation affected the lives of every human being out there. Because temptation has been within the realm of mankind since the beginning, you should not feel as if you have fallen. Addiction is merely one of the many temptations Satan created to tantalize mankind.
In fact, one of Jesus’s apostles, Paul, discussed temptation in his First Letter to the Corinthians. He used the letter to answer questions and address situations relating to the Christian community he founded in the port of Corinth. Paul had been informed of conflicts within the church by several sources. He would have understood the need for Christian addiction treatment to defeat the modern epidemic of addiction.
“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind,” Paul wrote to the Corinthians. “And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.” Paul was explaining how the Corinthians themselves were tempted by sin. They strayed from God’s path for them and ended up believing and doing things that were not in alignment with God’s message through his son, Jesus Christ.
Just as the Corinthians moved away from God’s message, so has a huge percentage of the international population. The Foundation for a Drug-Free World reported that around 208 million people around the world abuse drugs. Many of those people are religious people seeking to understand what tempted them away from God, people who may need Christian addiction treatment.
According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, around 20.8 million Americans twelve and older struggled with problems relating to the use of drugs or alcohol in 2015. Given these numbers, it is apparent that temptation continues to be present in today’s world. While we as a world have made progress moving closer to God’s image, we still continue to fall because of Satan’s continued presence in our world. The need for Christian addiction treatment will continue to be out there.
And his early life, Paul himself was a sinner. He persecuted Jesus’s followers. He stoned Saint Stephen. God intervened and blinded him. Paul could not see until God intervened. At the house of Judas, God told Ananias of Damascus to meet Paul, who at the time was a Pharisee named Saul. Ananias laid his hands on Paul and Paul could see again.
Like Paul, we are blind when we fall temptation to things such as drug addiction or alcoholism. God is always there to help heal you. You have only fallen. And He will be there once more to raise you up again.
BIO: Tommy Zimmer is a writer whose work has appeared online and in print. His work covers a variety of topics, including politics, economics, health and wellness, addiction and recovery, and the entertainment industry.
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