Tuesday, February 6, 2018

WEEKLY COMMENTARY: How Are Addictions The Enemy of Our God-Given Free Will?



Many believe that God wanted people to be free to choose their behavior.  But, while being free to choose the "good", they are also free to choose evil behavior.  If God wanted true "children", rather than robots, there was always the risk that they might abuse their gift of free will, and choose evil behavior.

A great deal of the suffering in this world really should not be blamed on God.  It results from mean, cruel, inhuman choices people make.  For example, people-initiated acts of greed, social prejudice, racism or oppression, often lead to the evils for others of poverty and social marginalization, resulting in misery and premature death, that could have been avoided.  Even with natural disasters like landslides and floods, much of the suffering that results would be alleviated if people chose to help out more in the aftermath.

However, this does not explain why God does not block the harm to others caused by our bad choices.  We do not let a child run out in front of a speeding car, just to let him exercise his free will.  We would want to block major harm to that child!   Why doesn't God do that?  Is the need for free will a good enough reason for all the options of evil that seem to come with it?  We retain a wide range of choices on how to act as God's "agent" on earth.

As a Christian, I do not believe that I was born morally neutral.  It seems that from the beginning, I was biased toward sinning ----  that too often I would make an evil choice.  In the exercise of my free will, I was apt to choose what benefited me in some way, not what benefited others.  So, I am grateful that someone named Jesus made a very great sacrifice to redeem these mistakes.  While I do have some power of decision in my daily life, too often I seem to continue using my free-will powers to please just myself.  

There are so many ways we can freely reject God in our daily lives, and then try to serve as  our own God.  For example, we seek pleasure in boosting our ego.  Or, indulging in simple things like eating certain foods to excess.

Besides making occasional "evil" free will choices, sometimes we also choose behavior which actually limits the future exercise of our personal free will.  For some folks, there is the discovery of certain chemicals and drugs which give them relief from the pain and anxieties of everyday life.  In effect they are surrendering to an outside factor, but it is not God.  If they do this frequently, it becomes a habit, and then an addiction.  By definition, the person has now lost some of the "free" from his free will.  The addictive compulsion has nullified the person's ability to freely choose.

On February 2, 2014, New York City police found the dead body of Philip Seymour Hoffman, a highly-regarded film and stage actor.  Apparently, he had struggled with heroin addiction for some time and he seems to have died of a heroin overdose.  A syringe was found still inserted in his arm.  Often, an addiction begins with over-use at home of prescription drugs.  Heroin is well-known to be highly addictive, but we also have other addiction options.

Colorado and Washington State have legalized the public sale of marijuana, and other states may follow.  While marijuana may have legitimate medical uses as a pain killer, it is not hard to see how it's wider availability will draw-in new users, creating new addicts and compromising their free exercise of God-given free will.

The smoking of tobacco products is less lethal than heroin or "pot", but it kills 480,000 Americans a year, reports the New York Times.  Kathleen Sebelius, former Secretary of Health and Human Services, said that each day some 3,200 children under age 18 will try a cigarette and 700 will go on to become daily smokers.  That means, she said, that 5.6 million American children alive today will die premature deaths because of diseases linked to smoking.

But, some good news was also reported by the New York Times ---- about 18% of American adults smoke, but that is down from 42% in 1965.  In New York City, which has used a combination of steep taxes on cigarettes and bans on smoking in public places, to discourage smokers, the decline is even greater, dropping to 14%.

Alcohol consumption is another addiction for some people.  What all addictions have in common is that the victims have surrendered control of their God-given judgment and capacity to choose freely.  Sometimes third-parties can bring an addiction victim back into self-control, but usually it is not easy and it often takes the continued support of other family members ---- and even then, it is not a sure bet.

Perhaps the best course of action is alertness to all potential addictions, and then to avoid them as if our lives depended on it ---- as they surely do.  It may start as a desire or a longing.  Temptation starts when we think about giving in to a desire, or about fulfilling a legitimate desire in a wrong way or at the wrong time.  Temptation always starts in one's mind, not in the circumstances outside of us.  One finally acts on the thought we have been toying with in our mind.  What began as an idea gets born into behavior.  Now we give in, and the next time we are challenged to take this action it is more difficult to say "NO".  This is addiction and it is self-reinforcing.

Addiction over-rides our freedom of choice ---- we are no longer in control of some of the behavior and choices God has granted to our personal domain.
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These thoughts are brought to you by CPC's Adult Spiritual Development Team, hoping to encourage you to pursue some personal spiritual growth this winter at CPC.
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