A Deeper Glimpse into the Power of Addictions
As an experienced psychiatrist, Gerald May chose to bring the abundance of his scientific wisdom to the field of spirituality. This led him to his teachings about addictions. He uses science with considerable dexterity in pursing his goal of enlightenment about addiction. However, his main concern is spiritual. One of his major contributions to both science and spirituality is that all addictions, large and small, deprive the individual of freedom. Consequently, this fills space in the heart that is meant only for God.It is a big leap for many to realize that a favorite TV show, impatience in a grocery line or a need to get recognized for your work have anything to do with one’s spiritual life. May is emphatic that all addictions of whatever size, intensity or duration are of significance in the quest for God.
Some deeper considerations about addictions will be helpful in displaying the connection of addictions to our spiritual life. While defining addiction as any compulsive, habitual behavior that limits freedom and human desire, May stresses it is the action that is truly important in addiction. Desire for alcohol does not define an alcoholic. Regular over-indulgence in drinking does.
Addiction Wreaking Havoc
The alcoholic or drug addict experience a set of neurological, psychological and physical processes that create the addiction. The very same processes are taking place in what we consider our lesser addictions such as to our favorite team or our cell phone. The enslavement of our addictions is self-made but, in the end, it moves beyond our control.The compulsive and habitual intensity of addiction is the enemy of human freedom creating havoc in the human heart. It diminishes our dignity. It reduces our ability for true human love. In its distorted affection for creatures, it makes them our ultimate concern. This replaces God as our ultimate concern. This is idolatry as long as the heart remains in that false commitment.
Adding to the destructive power of addiction is this: the more we attempt to use our willful efforts to control addiction, the less we are able to break the bonds of the insidious activity.
The Liberating Power of Grace
This is where grace enters the destructive scene of addictions.. There is no greater power than grace which is the action of God. Grace is the outpouring of God’s loving presence that makes possible love and freedom, enlightenment and reconciliation. It is grace alone that can free us from the dominance of addiction. The pathway to freedom is possible only through acceptance of grace. Grace is the manifestation of the saving power of willingness over willfulness.It is grace, and grace alone, that can annihilate addiction. Grace is the singular promoter of freedom and the root of perfect love.
The decisive purpose of human desire is seeking God. Addiction is geared to misdirect human desire away from God. Addiction uses our obsessions and compulsions to lead astray our desire for God toward the craving of our addictions. As a result, the heart is drained of energy to reach out to others in service and love. Even more so, the heart loses its way in the deception of addiction, and eventually, is sucked into idolatry. This is where the creature supersedes God. The objects of our addiction become our false gods.
Teresa of Avila’s Insight About Addiction
Teresa of Avila’s foundational insight about humility is relevant to the struggle with addiction. Her long effort to seek God led her to a profound self-knowledge and honesty. To her surprise, it was her weakness that led her to accept her essential poverty as opening the way to God. Her struggle of almost two decades pointed her to the simple overwhelming truth: God is God, and I am the creature. God, however, is a loving and merciful God and I am a sinful but forgiven and loved creature. I live in a sea of God’s overwhelming mercy.Teresa’s door into this basic truth was a life of prayer and sacrifice. Her constant search for God’s will and true self-knowledge led her to love and service for others and ever-growing love of God. She slowly moved beyond the words to the reality of the beautiful statement: Let go and let God! It led her to humility that recognizes God as loving and forgiving.
We are the recipients of that same divine love and mercy. In the context of this life-defining message of Teresa, the solution to addictive behavior is clear. We accept our reality that makes the pursuit of God’s will so difficult for us. Facing our weakness, we surrender to God’s loving will. We become open and accepting of God’s boundless love that is grace. In this struggle, we eventually are set free not by our willpower but by our openness to God’s loving mercy and saving grace.
I tried to stop drinking hundreds of times. Then God spoke one day in the form of a magazine that had a test to determine if one is an alcoholic. I failed miserably. The elephant in the room, so visible to others for so long, suddenly had me backed up against the wall. I was in shock. It led to a journey of self-knowledge and prayer that included the special support of my community. My white-knuckled determination to stop drinking never worked. I did, however, stop drinking by the grace of God.
I am now free to struggle in humility with the massive number of other addictions that continue to suck away my freedom. The grace is in the struggle!
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