Addiction is a horrible master. It doesn’t matter what your particular addiction- food, sex, alcohol, shopping etc. There are nearly as many “methods” for freeing someone from addiction as there are addictions. As Christians, we recognize that addiction is a form of idolatry. We are not just seeking freedom from a behavior, but freedom from a false god. Most of the methods for freedom just don’t work. Often they just transfer your devotion from one false god to another. Many AA meetings are filled with chain smokers, and all of them are filled with bad tasting coffee to satisfy a caffeine addiction.
This is a really cool cover
Christians have often adapted other treatment plans and sprinkled in some Bible verses. On the other hand, some have looked to Exodus for a pattern. Gerald May, in Addiction and Grace, adds the wilderness motiff to psychotherapy. An old friend of mine should have his book, The New Exodus, published soon.
A few years ago, Mars Hill Church in Seattle noticed they had a buffet of small group options for addictions. They decided to use one curriculum to address all the various addictions people struggled with. Mike Wilkerson put one together that walks people through Exodus. The result is Redemption: Freed by Jesus from the Idols we Worship and the Wounds we Carry. Not only is Mike trying to apply biblical counseling, he’s using some exegetical, narrative theology.
This is one of the strengths of the book. He is utilizing the pattern of redemption found in Exodus (which is used elsewhere in Scripture like Ezekiel and Revelation, and Jesus refers to the “new Exodus”). He is applying it to both our idols and our wounds. This is significant. The Israelites not only worshiped false gods, but they were the victims of unspeakable evil. God does not see us a merely victims or merely victimizers. He knows the degree to which we are both wicked and wounded. Because of our sinfulness, our woundedness results in one form of wickedness or another. Bad counseling focuses on only one. Good, biblical, counseling focuses on both.
Cavman Considers 