Alcoholism

VICES

It’s strange to think about the fact that we, as people, all have some sort of vice, some of us, if not all of us, have many. Speaking for myself, I would definitely agree that I have a lot of vices; one in particular has been the source of many poor decision in my life. I remember the first time I drank alcohol; I was roughly five years old. I picked-up a silver can with a red bulldog on it, at a barbeque, from what I can recall.

The next time I drank alcohol, I was somewhere between eight or ten-years-old. My mother, twin sister, and I, were all at the “Taste of Colorado” festival, which was being held at The Civic Center Park. My mom had a large, “Colorado Rockies”, plastic cup (with a lid and straw). It contained a mixture of Schnapps and grape Kool-Aid, believe it or not. I begged my mom to buy me a drink; she stated that she couldn’t afford one, so as soon as she set her cup down – I went in for a sip.

I took a huge gulp; it was disgusting, but I was so thirsty I kept drinking. As a result, I was plastered. I vaguely remember following my sister into a crowd surrounding a group of Native Americans (dancing and chanting). I dropped down on the floor and exclaimed, “I can see their feet!”, laughing all the while…

DEFEATING THE CYCLE

My experience with alcohol, unfortunately, didn’t end there. In looking back over my lifetime; I have come to notice a pattern. When things began going well for me, and I felt in control of my life, I would celebrate with alcohol. These celebrations would result in the complete, and utter, destruction of all of my success, over-time. It wouldn’t all happen overnight, but it would, inevitably, happen.

I’ve discovered that it starts with me telling myself that; not only do I deserve to celebrate, but that I can handle it, and that my experience will be different this time (which is insanity). One beer would, eventually, lead to a case of twenty-four, then four long-island-ice-teas, and subsequently, I would wake up in an alley the next day (with no wallet). This has been my cycle of relapse since the age of sixteen, of which I never thought would change.

It did change, however. Who’s to blame for my new found freedom? Who has removed these chains of bondage, from which I was once ensnared? Why, its Jesus Christ, of course. Who else has the power to do such a thing? Surely not by my own will-power and strength. The longest I made it on my own, was a year.  

I know this is probably corny and cliché to some, if not most. And in the past, I would have thought so too. But seriously, God changed me. My entire worldview has shifted, and I realize one could attribute this simply to maturing, but that wouldn’t be true.

HOW IT WORKS

 Psychologically, there are many studies as to what can cause a person to have a complete paradigm shift (as far as I know). Often it takes place when a person is presented with a life shattering event, but even then; they would still need to adopt a new perceptive and set of moral principle to guide them through their transformation. If they were unable to latch on to some form of uplifting and guiding belief, they would inadvertently transition back into who they were. This process is what is talked about in the Bible when referring to new life (as opposed to apostacy).

Science, defined by Webster is, “knowledge of the physical world”. And to put it simply, psychology is a science and therefore a paradigm shift is the explanation of what occurs physically when someone “flips the script”, sort of speak. However, spiritually, this transformation has to do with repentance, which in Hebrew is defined as, “to return”. This refers to returning to God, after rebelling against Him.

The funny thing is the majority of people believe they are good. But If I were to ask them if they’ve ever cheated, stolen something, lied, or felt hate towards another person, their reply would be yes – which would have made them liars. The truth is we have all done these things, and none of us are good people. In fact, the Bible states that we are all in rebellion against God, until the moment we repent. And I quote,

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…”

Romans 3:23

THE SOURCE

Nevertheless, through Jesus Christ and the belief in Him (as the living and resurrected God), we have been made right before the Father. Jesus Christ atoned for our sins, as a propitiation, so that our transgressions would become null and void; and The Holy Spirit would be given to us for guidance in our time of need. As a result, not only do I have hope, but I have help when I am tempted to live the life I previously did.  

Romans 5:1-11     

THE FINAL RESULT

I believe God allowed me to live in my sin, for a short while, in order to cause me to realize my need for change and, ultimately, Him. He then, allowed me to be brought to nothing, so that I may be humbled, because He knew I would call on Him. And during my life shattering event, this is, exactly, what I did. Subsequently, my worldview shifted and He was there to pick up the pieces.

I hope and pray you too will experience this for yourselves, without the life shattering event, of course. Until then, may God Bless you and keep you, thanks for reading.