Addiction And Grace Essay Research Paper Alfie

Addiction And Grace Essay, Research Paper

Alfie Johnson

3/20/00

Addiction and Grace

I think Dr. Gerald may hold done a fantastic occupation as to the authorship and format of his book Addiction and Grace. As a head-shrinker and instructor with old ages of experience, I wholly agree with his statement that all human existences have an congenital desire of God, whether one is consciously spiritual or non. Some people repress this desire by deliberately or unwittingly concealing it among the many other involvement of life. I have noticed often in my line of work as working closely with people in the wellness field that many persons whether they are trusters of non-believers of God, frequently choose to shout out in the last and most important minutes of hurting and desperation & # 8220 ; Oh God pleas assist me! & # 8221 ; As he brings out the fact that many of us may see this longing in different ways as a yearning for fulfilment, completion O integrity. It all boils down to a yearning for love, a hungriness to be loved and to be drawn closer to the beginning of love. The Bible states & # 8220 ; whosoever will allow him come. & # 8221 ; This merely tells us that whenever we are willing to give up all, Christ is ever at that place willing to pour out His unmerited favour to back up and beef up us along the manner. This favour is His Grace. A love without status. How frequently we ignore this simple call, we as persons frequently allow other desires to acquire in the manner, which can gave a long or short term bearing upon our organic structures. We as a people have the inclination to repair it ourselves & # 8220 ; non recognizing that the truth of the affair is that we have no power of our ain non demuring the fact that God is All Love and All Powerful. Dr. May brings out really clearly as Paul provinces. & # 8220 ; For that which I do I let non, for what I would that I do non ; but what I hate, that do I & # 8212 ; It is no more that I do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. & # 8221 ; Here he brings out that Paul was speaking about wickedness, though the will is in us off from God & # 8217 ; s love, and love for one another and us. Dr. May brings out that psychologically there are two forces that are responsible, which is repression and dependence, repression being the milder force. We often repress our desire to love

In fright of being hurt, because conveying joy, love can do us endure so our repress desire to love to minimise agony which is a normal human response, so we fall into supplanting when we depress a desire to maintain it out of our consciousness by puting our focal point on other things-safer things. So by the same method we repress our yearning for God. Repression is at that place to cover with whenever we are ready and it is feasible. On the other manus dependence, the other force that turn us off from love, is much more barbarous. It was long believed by psychologist that repression was the cause of all self-defeating force that abuses our freedom and causes us to make things we truly do non desire us to make. It is known that repression knees desire, and dependence attaches desire, bonds and enslaves the energy of desire to certain specific behaviour, things or people. Dr. May brings out the fact that dependence are non limited to substances but one can easy be addicted to work public presentation, duty, assisting others, or being liked, merely to call a few. Dr. May brings out that it was his work with addicted people and the realisation of he ain habit-forming behaviour that brought him to his articulatio genuss and recognize that grace was at that place he, had tried to run his life on the footing of his ain will power, and eventually realized when he supply of success of this narcissistic liberty ran out he became down, and with the depression, by agencies of grace came a opportunity for religious gaps which helped him to go more low, as to the application through growing the know what he could and could non make to assist himself or anyone else. He besides learned that all people are nuts and that dependence to alcohol and other drugs are merely more obvious and tragic. To be alive is addicted, and to be alive and addicted is to stand in demand of grace. I particularly like the fact that we are all give free will, so we may take freely, without cohersion or use to love

God and one another. Our whole creation was brought to being by love, in love the freedom is not complete because working against it is the powerful force of addiction. Addiction uses up desire. It is like a psychic malignancy, sucking out life energy into specific obsessions and compulsion, drawing us away from other people and pursuits. As I had been reading I was thinking that addiction is a form of idolatry, and sure enough as I read on Dr. May states also that spiritually addiction is a form of idolatry because the objects of our addiction become false gods, and as we know idols are anything that prevent us from coming to God, to receive His love and the full measure of Grace. In other words we begin to worship these false gods by allowing them to rob us of our time and energy. Addiction is a state of compulsion; obsession or preoccupation that enslaves a person’s will and desire. Addiction sidetracks and eclipses the energy of our deepest, truest desire for love and goodness. We succumb because the energy of our desire becomes attached to specific behaviors, objects, or people. Attachment then is the process that enslaves desire and creates the state of the process that enslaves desires and creates the state of addiction. As Dr. May deals with detachment, he removes the distorted meaning as assuming that detachment dissolves desire and denies the potential goodness of the things and people to which one can become attached and associated with coldness, and lack of passion, but the authentic spiritual understanding of detachment devalues neither desire nor the objects of desire, but aim at correcting ones anxious grasping in order to free oneself for a committed relationship to God. Detachment enkindles the heart, awakens the spirit, stimulates our longings, and shows us where God is. Detachment also uncovers our basic desire for God and sets it free, and with this freedom of desire comes the capacity to love and to grow in fullness of love. So instead of detachment promoting a dry, uncaring stat, detachment does just the opposite, it seeks a liberation of desire of desire, an enhancement of passion, the freedom to love with all ones being, and the willingness to bear the pain such love can bring. I agree with Dr. May when he states that our failure is necessary, “trials as call it” for it is in failure “trials” and helplessness that we can most honestly and completely turn to grace. Grace is our one hope in dealing with any addict the only power that can truly vanquish its destructiveness. Grace is the invincible advocate of freedom and the absolute expression of perfect love. Addiction cannot be defeated by the human will acting on its own, or by the human will opting out and turning everything over to divine will. Instead, the power of grace flows most fully when human will chooses to act in harmony with the divine will this means staying in a situation being willing to confront it as it is, remaining responsible for the choices one makes in response to it and at the same time turning to God’s grace, protection and guidance as the ground for one’s choices and behavior. It is the difference between testing God by avoiding one’s own responsibilities and trusting God as one acts responsibly. Responsible human freedom then becomes authentic spiritual surrender and authentic spiritual surrender is nothing other that responsible human freedom this is the condition of humble dignity, the power of addiction can be overcome. For the power of addiction to be overcome, human will must act in consent with divine will. The human spirit must flow with the Holy Spirit; this is done at heart level, faith and prayer and full surrender. When we turn to God it is grace that enables us to do so. God enables dignity within us by empowering our efforts to be hones and responsible. Grace enables humility within us by empowering our realization that our efforts are insufficient by themselves. Grace enables receptivity and responsiveness within us by empowering our growing trust and our willingness to take the risk of faith. All this grace comes from God-God in immanence moving gently in us and God in transcendence reaching out to us in radiant Love.