What’s Your Drug of Choice?

Sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Matthew 19:21

Yesterday, I addressed pornography, which probably motivated some to share the blog with their spouses. You need to read this! It’s always easy to see another’s struggle. The truth is though, we’ve all got some struggle. Since the fall, we’re all flawed, burdened with self-destructive behaviors. We may not all use drugs, but we all indulge in some harmful pursuit, whether it’s overeating, lust, greed, pride, anger, shopping, work, affirmation, or appearance. We’re all broken, we all have our drug of choice, and we’re all trying to recover from the fall.

In today’s passage, Jesus demonstrated this with the rich young man, who came to Jesus, asking what he must do to have eternal life. Eternal life didn’t refer to only the afterlife. This is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God (John 17:3). This man wanted to know God, here and now, but something kept him from it, so he came to Jesus for the answer.

The man had lived an impeccable life, keeping the commandments, but Jesus saw his addiction – the one thing that the man would not give up – which was the one thing that kept the man from God. So, he told him that he must surrender it. Give it all away and follow me. The man sadly walked away, knowing he couldn’t abandon his money. Jesus wasn’t insisting that everyone must choose poverty. He simply saw that this man worshipped money above all and thus, could never truly follow God. Money was his addiction – his god – and as long as he followed it, he couldn’t also follow Christ.

This isn’t just about wealth or the rich young man. This is about all of us. Daily, Jesus asks that we abandon whatever we pursue above him, so that we may follow him. When we indulge in our defects, we turn from him, relapsing. We all struggle with following ourselves. The one who imagines himself to be free from struggle has already surrendered to blinding pride and is probably worse off than the drug addict who is aware of his struggle.

If we want to know God, eternal life, faith, and recovery, then we must be honest about whatever is hindering us today. Then, we must be willing to do what it takes to abandon it and follow Christ.