In his recent book SexGod, Rob Bell introduced a concept that I thought was very profound. The concept was pretty simple; Counterattack the addictive sins in our lives, such as lust, overeating, and drugs with a the emotional/physical high of loving others in an extreme, agape-like way. This article details a few addictive, sinful actions in our lives, outlines what makes them so attractive to us and then describes alternative options to counterattack that sin.

Sexual Addicton –

The Facts
Sexual addicts are those who engage in persistent and escalating patterns of sexual behavior acted out despite increasingly negative consequences to self and to others. They become addicted to the neuro-chemical changes that take place in the body during sexual behavior. To be seen as addict is to be seen as being inferior or defective. Usually an addicted person is considered “weak” or lazy (Knauer, 2002, pp183). In the late 1970’s, Patrick Carnes, a psychologist and researcher, was instrumental in the initial identification and treatment of sexual addiction as a condition. After a ten year research, Carnes estimated about 8% of the total population of men and 3%of women are sexually addicted. That adds up to 15 million people who suffer from this problem. Sexual addiction has many different forms: compulsive masturbation, sex with prostitutes, anonymous sex with multiple partners, multiple affairs outside a committed relationship, habitual exhibitionism, and habitual voyeurism, (Book, 1997). Each new sexual adventure gives meaning to the sex addict’s life, for a short time.

Love Solutions

Rescue
Launch a PROMISE (Partnership to Rescue Our Minors from Sexual Exploitation) Initiative in your community or a community oversees. For more information contact Adam_Freer@usw.salvationarmy.org or call 562.491.8480.

Produce your own anti-trafficking video.
A group of students from a Washington DC area college as part of an advocacy project produced an eight minute video on trafficking. Perhaps you can too.

Gluttany

The Facts

Proverbs 23:20-21 warns us, "Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags." Proverbs 28:7 declares, "He who keeps the law is a discerning son, but a companion of gluttons disgraces his father." Proverbs 23:2 proclaims, "put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony."

The main problem about food addiction is obesity. Obesity is a celebration of appetite over will power. It is the hurting psychological wound with feelings of loneliness and shame. Obesity is frequently regarded as a payment for success: now our business and life is so good, that we presume to eat everything we want. The food is a remarkable means of a relaxation and reception of emotional satisfaction as in our reason it associates with love and with mother. However, if it is used for replacement of emotional emptiness or as indemnification of emotional isolation, adiposity develops.

Love Solutions

Pack food for those that are starving
Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) is a non-profit Christian organization committed to feeding God’s starving children hungry in body and spirit. The approach is simple: volunteers of all ages hand-pack meals designed specially for starving children, and FMSC ships the meals to more 50 countries around the world. Click here to learn more about FMSC and how you can become involved. My wife works for this Minnesota based organization and I guarantee you that after you see the before and after pictures of kids that are near death from starvation, your thoughts will change every time you eat.

Go and Feed the People
WorldHope Corps – "Believers without Borders" extends President Bush's call to faith-based organizations of all kinds to recruit, train and mobilize a cadre of volunteers linked to spiritual education and relief mission organizations on local, national and international levels. The appeal to join the WorldHope Corps is in the radical urgency of the hour for our country and world. It is a call for a bold, courageous group of committed men and women to put feet to their faith and volunteer for mission. People determined NOT to "be overcome by evil," but to "overcome evil with good." (Romans 12:21)

Drugs

The Facts:
Nearly all drugs, directly or indirectly, target the brain’s reward system by flooding the circuit with dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter present in regions of the brain that control movement, emotion, motivation, and feelings of pleasure. The overstimulation of this system, which normally responds to natural behaviors that are linked to survival (eating, spending time with loved ones, etc), produces euphoric effects in response to the drugs. This reaction sets in motion a pattern that “teaches” people to repeat the behavior of abusing drugs.

Love Solutions

Volunteer
Volunteer as a mentor, appointment driver, or tutor for Teen Challenge. Teen Challenge is one of the oldest, largest and most successful programs of its kind in the world. Established in 1958 by David Wilkerson, Teen Challenge has grown to more than 170 centers in the United States.

Missions Trip
Take a missions trip to Brazil with Hope Unlimited to serve street kids who are often homeless and addicted to glue. If you drive around the streets of Brazil, you will find street kids all over with long sleeve shirts, where they hide the glue they use as drugs. Hope Unlimited provides living facilities for these kids along with spiritual and educational guidance. They host teams from churches and other groups for short-term experiences. Roll up your sleeves and get dirty with some facility improvements while getting to know and understand former street kids. A life-changing cross-cultural ministry experience.

Smoking

The Facts
Nicotine is a psychoactive drug with stimulant effects on the electrical activity of the brain. It also has calming effects, especially at times of stress, as well as effects on hormonal and other systems throughout the body. Although its subjective effects are less dramatic and obvious than those of some other addictive drugs, smoking doses of nicotine causes activation of "pleasure centers" in the brain (for example, the mesolimbic dopamine system), which may explain the pleasure, and addictiveness of smoking. Chances are that about one in three smokers who do not stop will eventually die because of their smoking.

Love Solution

Serve someone dying of Lung Cancer
The 400,000 hospice volunteers at work in hospices throughout the U.S. are an essential part of the hospice philosophy of care which recognizes that dying is not just a medical event but a personal one as well. Unfortunatly, many people that develop lung cancer from smoking, end up using hospice in the final months of their life. I would guess chatting with people at this state of their life would have some profound lessons for those struggling with smoking.

Stealing

The Facts

Experts estimate 3 million people in this country are addicted to shoplifting. For them, shoplifting means more than simply stealing items. It also robs them of their lives. Dr. Jon Grant, a psychiatrist who has treated hundreds for this addiction, says, "The craving is so strong, much like an alcohol craving or craving for heroin, that they really feel out of control, they feel almost like robots." He says shoplifters tend to come from families where both parents are not expressive emotionally.

Love Solutions

Collect for OTHERS
Volunteer to collect goods for shelters through Goodwill

Garage (extra stuff I don't need) Sale
Choose a charity you care about and organize a community garage sale to raise money for them. You will get the same rush dropping off a huge check to your favorite charity as stealing some sunglasses at a supermarket.

Gambling

The Facts

Gambling is an addictive behavior, make no mistake about it . . . Gambling has all the properties of a psychoactive substance, and again, the reason is that it changes the neurochemistry of the brain. The percentage of those afflicted by compulsive gambling should not be considered “small.” Even at the minimalist “background” level of under one percent, gambling addiction, not including problem gamblers, would still be twice as prevalent as cancer among Americans. [11] In mature gambling markets, more than 5% of the population will develop some problem with gambling, a prevalence rate about five times that of schizophrenia and more than twice that of cocaine addiction.

Love Solution

Roll on the dice on 3rd world business
Finace a 3rd world entrepreneur with a microfincance loan or volunteer on a long term mission trip through Kiva.

Kiva Fellows travel to and live in the host country of one of our partner microfinance institutions (MFI) for a minimum of 10 weeks. By journaling on the behalf of our MFI partner, Kiva Fellows are able to to convey the impact on the entrepreneur of a Kiva loan. For more information and the application, visit Kiva Fellows Program.

The fact is: Jesus wants to use your passion, energy and mind to do amazing things in your lifetime. Addictions take up your headspace and paralyze your creativity and abilities. God created the power of loving others to be the most fulfilling thing we can do as human beings. Ditch the guilt and pain that comes from worldly addiction and give a new way a try!

(Please Note :: For severe cases of addiction, some of these solutions are not possible until you get some psychological/medical help yourself. These love solutions will transform your life and take the place of these addictions, but sometimes we need to heal from our past actions first. Please seek council immediatly if this pertains to you.)

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