May 11th, 2021: Addictions and Our Nature
More people died from addictions to toxic illicit drugs (1716) in Vancouver than the number of death from Covid-19 in the entire province of BC (1601) in 2020. Please understand that the last thing I want to do is to take the Covid-19 pandemic lightly. However, we need to be aware of some other seriously looming health concerns in Canada, and drug addiction is one of them. Why?
People who came from drug-addicted families are prone to that. It is what Christians call "a generational sin." That brokenness has passed on from one generation to the next. It demands courage to break that chain of slavery, and addicted people will need a lot of help spiritually, medically, emotionally, and mentally to fight that battle. We need to go beyond the labels so we can understand the essence of their struggles.
The absence of family involvement is another stated reason by people who study addictions. Some experts have identified the lack of bonding between children and parents as one of the reasons. The question we need to ask ourselves is what constitutes a healthy family. We need to call out organizations and individuals who advocate the destruction of family structure. Parents need to take responsibility for the well-being of their kids, and the states need to get out of the way by not assuming that they have the right to impose unacceptable moral values on everyone.
Some people got into drug addictions because of their health predicaments. Many have an addiction to painkillers. Many learn unhealthy coping mechanisms in dealing with pain. Physical sickness now is the cause for mental shame. They started with light drugs and then gradually graduate into hardcore ones. I have dealt with quite a few of these cases. I tend to be their advocate so that their employers, families, and friends can understand their shame.
The world we live in is one with many forms of addiction. We are not just addicted to substances. We are addicted to shopping, social media, food, alcohol, reputation, power, and control. How often we see in politics that we seem to replace one bully with another. Maybe we are addicted to being abuse by our leaders.
Proverbs 25: 28
"A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls."
Titus 2: 11-12
"For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age…"
