Month: August 2019

“He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me” . . . Judas, who would betray him, answered, “Is it I, Rabbi?” He said to him, “You have said so.” Matthew 26:23-25 I once met a man who was convinced that it was his mission to bring the word of God…
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Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. Matthew 26:14-15 The addict attempting to find recovery generally doesn’t have a problem with wanting a new life. He desires it desperately. He’s sick of the paranoia,…
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As you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me. Matthew 25:40 While working in the ER, I met an interesting population. Sudden illness and injury strike everyone, no matter the socioeconomic status, but the ER also traditionally serves a significantly underprivileged population. It was always tempting to…
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You wicked and slothful servant! Matthew 25:26 It’s not unusual for someone to ask if something I wrote in my blog was about him or her. I write from my own life experiences, which may involve other people, but I write mostly about my own struggles and growth. It’s apparently somewhat alarming to the reader though…
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The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Matthew 24:29 When I was a kid, I decided to start weight lifting just one day prior to my first wrestling meet. I was going to get…
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How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! Matthew 23:37 I rarely have just suddenly adopted some destructive behavior out of nowhere. For me, it’s always been a gradual progression. I didn’t one day simply decide to go from sobriety to…
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You clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Matthew 23:25 As physicians, we can be guilty of treating a symptom while ignoring the underlying problem. When someone has complications of an unhealthy lifestyle, we recommend changing the lifestyle, but that’s hard to do, so often,…
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. . . You are all brothers. Matthew 23:8 When I enter jail or an addiction treatment facility, I can go as a physician, which earns me some respect, or, I can go as one who understands the struggle. I’ve not been incarcerated, but I’ve got personal experience with addiction. Like those in jail or treatment,…
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They do all their deeds to be seen by others. Matthew 23:5 For years, while living with the dark secret of my addiction, I needed to keep it that way – a secret. I wanted others to know only my good deeds. There were good deeds of course. I worked in the emergency room, so I…
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They preach, but do not practice. Matthew 23:3 Someone once asked me if I’d continue writing this blog if I relapsed. The thought horrified me. I couldn’t go on writing. It would be so dishonest. The more I thought about it though, the more I realized that if my mind was in that place, that I…
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