We’ve All Got a Problem

And Judah did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins that they committed, more than all that their fathers had done. . . They did according to all the abominations of the nations that the LORD drove out before the people of Israel. 1 Kings 14:22-24

When speaking recently at a Christian men’s function, I was asked if addiction is a disease. That’s often a loaded question, and the person asking it usually already has a strong opinion on the subject, just wanting to know how I’ll answer. You may or may not know this, but there is an unnecessary schism between faith and science on this question. Modern medicine would define addiction as a disease, which is sometimes offensive to those of the faith as they feel the disease model dismisses personal responsibility. Because those addicted often engage in sinful behavior, some Christians will insist that addiction cannot be defined as a disease.

Addiction, is of course, both a disease and a behavioral problem. It’s a condition of diseased behavior. No one could look at my behavior during my addiction and say it wasn’t pathological. Medicine defines an addiction as a behavior that is continually repeated, despite knowing and experiencing the painful consequences. Well, that’s exactly what I did. I pursued the drug despite knowing what was going to happen. So, if that’s the definition of a disease, then I certainly had it.

Here’s the thing however, that I think both sides of this argument may miss. We all have diseased (what Christians would call sinful) behaviors. This isn’t just about addiction. Today’s passage illustrates this. In the story, God’s people wandered from him, going their own way, despite knowing the painful consequences of doing so. This wasn’t about drugs. This was simply about following themselves instead of God. It is the human condition to have this disease of self which tells us that we should do whatever we want, despite knowing the consequences. By the modern definition of addiction, we all display diseased, addictive behavior in some way. This doesn’t dismiss our personal responsibility. No one is responsible for our behavior except us. It simply defines our behavior as unhealthy and insists that we should seek help for our condition.

As humans, we all have the disease of self-addiction. Despite knowing we should do one thing, we do what we want, injuring ourselves in the process. The treatment, offered by Christ, is to abandon our way to follow him. Drug addiction is just a symptom of a greater disease, which is that, as humans, we simply do whatever we want, despite the consequences.