Is Addiction Your Idol? | Putting God Back Where He Belongs

Today we talk about idols. Has your addiction, your drug of choice, become your idol? There was a time that my 'thing', my addiction had become an idol in my life - an entity that commanded my thoughts, actions, and desires, and superseded my relationship with God.

We'll explore some scriptures that discuss idols, some that guided me through recovery, and how their insightful interpretation applies to addiction.

We need to put God where he belongs: first in our hearts and lives. He should be the only idol we have.

Colossians 3:2
Exodus 20:3
Matthew 6:24
1 Corinthians 10:14
Jonah 2:8

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:17):
Hi and welcome to the Recovered Christian.
This is Suzanne, and todaywe're going to talk about idols
In recovery.
We often talk about our quotedrug of choice.
I call it the thing.
My thing started out as onething and then changed to
something else.
Apparently, I didn't learn fromthe first decade of chaos and

(00:39):
headed right into another onewith a new thing.
I'm not the only one.
I believe that's a prettyfamiliar pattern for a lot of us
.
But have you ever consideredhow the thing becomes an idol in
our lives?
Idols aren't just ancientstatues.
They're anything we prioritizeabove our relationship with God.
In addiction, the thing canbecome that idol, consuming our

(01:02):
thoughts, actions and desires.
We will do anything for ouridol.
We worship it, give it our timeand energy, change our lives to
accommodate it.
An idol becomes the thing welove most in life.
Isn't it sad that we end upidolizing something that's
trying to kill us?
When you're in active addiction,it can feel like every thought,

(01:25):
every moment is focused on thething.
Do I have enough?
Do I need more?
What time is it?
Is it time I feel sick?
I need it.
I'm doing it again.
Is it time to do it again?
I'm never doing it again.
If you've ever been on thisnever-ending cycle of misery,
you know exactly what that'slike.
Our thing dominates ourthoughts and actions and pushes

(01:48):
everything else aside, open ourlove of the Lord.
And sometimes, especially, thatI read somewhere that our first
thought in the morning when wewake up is what we idolize.
Yikes, what was your firstthought about this morning?
Work, kids, family problems,the weather, sports, the thing.

(02:08):
Or was it Jesus?
Colossians 3-2 says Think aboutthe things of heaven and not
the things of earth.
Thankfully, breaking free fromaddiction means dismantling
these idols, sometimes little bylittle and sometimes all at
once.
So let's look at a few verses.
Exodus 20, verse 3, says youmust not have any other God but

(02:32):
me or, in the King James Version, doushah have no other gods
before me.
This commandment tells us thatGod must be the focus and head
of our lives.
When addiction takes precedence, when the thing takes over, it
becomes an idol competing withour devotion to God.
Matthew 6, verse 24, reminds usno one can serve two masters,

(02:55):
for you will hate one and lovethe other.
You will be devoted to one anddespise the other.
You cannot serve God and beenslaved to money.
You can put anything there inplace of money.
Whatever the thing is thatdominates your thoughts and time
, put it there.
This verse illustrates theimpossibility of serving both

(03:15):
God and addiction simultaneously.
We have to choose.
Seven years later, I'm sograteful I chose God and I
continue to choose him.
First, corinthians, chapter 10,verse 14, tells us therefore, my
dear friends, flee from theworship of idols.
We're called not only torecognize idols, but also to

(03:38):
actively flee from them, getaway from them, set them aside.
This includes fleeing from thegrip of addiction and seeking
freedom in God.
Jonah, chapter two, verse eight, says those who cling to
worthless idols, turn away fromGod's love for them.
Looking back, I see howworthless my things were.
I pretty much knew it then too,but I just didn't know how to

(04:02):
break free or replace them withsomething good and true.
So how can we apply this to ourlives in recovery?
First, acknowledge thatrecovery isn't just about
stopping substance use.
It's about shifting ourdevotion from our thing to God.
It requires a transformation ofour priorities and behaviors, a
total overhaul of our hearts.

(04:23):
I'm sure we've all met peoplein recovery who aren't using
anymore, but a transformation, areal change has not happened.
I have a very close familymember that has lived like that
for years.
For me this was a process, amuch longer process than I
wanted, but it is what it is.
If we keep at it, we'llredirect our focus and attention

(04:46):
to what is true and honorableand right and pure and lovely
and admirable, as Philippians,chapter four, verse eight, tells
us.
We also must recognize theconflicting loyalties in our
lives.
Where have we placed our trustand dependence?
Are you seeking solace andfulfillment in your past,
grieving over what you no longerhave, or in God's unwavering

(05:09):
love?
Lastly, we must actively pursuea life centered on God.
When we start this, everythingchanges.
We read our Bible, spend timein prayer, seek support from
other believers and immerseourselves in spiritual growth.
We need to fill the void leftby addiction with the richness
of a relationship with God andfill that void with the Holy

(05:33):
Spirit.
I want my heavenly father to bemy one and only idol.
I wasted years idolizing allthe wrong things.
I always loved God, but Icertainly was not putting him
first in my life.
And when I started to put himthere, when I let the Holy
Spirit come into my life, everysingle thing changed.

(05:55):
I honestly can't believe howmuch everything has changed, and
it's all because I surrenderedmy life to God.
He is my only idol and I workhard every day to make sure he
stays there.
Let's pray, heavenly Father.
We come humbly before you todayand ask for goodness.
We confess that at times,things other than you have taken

(06:17):
place in our hearts.
Grant us the strength tocontinue to live free from the
hold of idols, those in the pastand those remaining still, to
trust in your grace and to findfulfillment in our relationship
with you.
Help us discern and flee fromanything that competes with your
rightful place in our lives.

(06:37):
We love you and want to honoryou in all we do and say in
Jesus' precious name, amen.
In recovery, acknowledging ouridols is the first step to
overcoming them.
Breaking free requires morethan just abstinence.
We must embrace a new way oflife centered on God's love and
grace.
May God grant all of us thecourage and strength to live

(07:01):
free and the wisdom to forge alife devoted to him.
Thank you so much for beinghere today and I'll see you next
time.
Thank you so much for listening.
I hope your bite-sized devotiontoday was very satisfying.
If you enjoyed this episode,I'd be honored if you'd leave a

(07:22):
review or a rating.
We are new, so every little bithelps me bring the word to the
world.
I'd love to get to know youbetter at our Facebook group,
the Recovered Christian.
I'll put a link to it in theshow notes.
So thanks again for being hereand I will see you next time.