I Can’t Go to Treatment. I Have a Job.

He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens. Genesis 7:23

Enslaved to my addiction, I knew I needed to go to treatment. But how could I just take a month off work? Someone would notice if I simply didn’t show up for four weeks. Maybe it would have been possible to explain the truth, but that was far too painful. I know I need treatment, but I simply can’t go. I have a job.

I hear this often from those who desire sobriety, but who also don’t want to disrupt their lives too much. They want the addiction gone but they also want every else to remain untouched. I can’t go to treatment. I have a job. I simply tell them my experience. I too, was unwilling to go to treatment because of my job and so, I failed to get sober. In my continue drug use, my employment excuse was painfully removed from my life as I lost my job. Suddenly, I had a lot of free time for treatment. I could have chosen the less painful option and perhaps even have saved my job, but I refused. I pushed my rebellion so far that God said – Enough. It’s time for a drastic reset.

This was the condition of the Earth in today’s passage. In it, God observed the entire population to be corrupt except for Noah and his family. Those on Earth had once known they were supposed to follow God, and if they had repented, God would have embraced them. They refused though, pushing their rebellion so far that God said – Enough. It’s time for a drastic reset. It’s time for a flood

A lot of us have experienced something similar, though not as drastic as a worldwide deluge. We’ve followed our self-destructive appetite, knowing it was wrong and knowing we should stop. We didn’t though and so we suffered the painful consequences. We looked at pornography until our spouse found out. We indulged in gluttony until we got diabetes. We cheated on our taxes until we got caught.

It would be a tragedy to fail to learn from these painful experiences. The lesson is that the time for change is now – before the flood. If we’re struggling, but haven’t yet suffered painful consequences, then we’re living in a time of grace. This is the time to embrace change, no matter how disruptive to our lives. As Christians, it’s our daily duty to ask ourselves – What sin must I abandon today so that I may follow Christ? Then, we must be obedient, doing whatever it takes to repent – before the flood.