No one wants to hear someone else tell them, “they are demonically oppressed!” Whether they’re addicted to drugs, alcohol, pornography, clothes (Idolatry), cutting, or any other addiction.
An addict may not hear those words in a clinical or in/outpatient setting, but they may have heard it out on the street, from a Bible thumping preacher, overly charismatic auntie, or maybe even that sincere caretaking grandma.
Having someone tell you that you have been taken over by Satan in a certain area of your life is a very hard pill to swallow. I mean really! What the addict actually hears is the word “Satan” and immediately goes into defense mode.
Half of the people who may have heard these words don’t even know what they actually mean, and the other half – You’re just “Preaching to the choir”!
Now, please be aware, addicts come from many different backgrounds.
Some were raised in church, but never had a relationship with God.
Some have never stepped foot in a church or even been taught who God is.
Some grow up poor.
Some grow up rich.
Some were taught they would never amount to anything
Some grow up believing they were better than other people.
Whatever the case may be, an addict is someone whose life has become completely unmanageable. They’re always looking for ways and means to get that high that never seems to take them to the ultimate – That is to say, the ultimate that will get them to that place where they never have to use again.
With this being said, an addict is consumed by an addictive nature that they can’t overcome.
They never will without help.
Hearing certain things will in fact push an addict over the edge.
To them, hearing words like: “demonically oppressed, consumed by Satan, possessed by the devil; will more times than not cause them to internalize those words negatively.
Generally, whether they know God or not, the addict will not take those words and see them as a warning, and, get help. They’ll generally see them as one more thing that they have to deal with, thus seeing themselves as completely without hope, at the point of no return.
Now, I’m not saying that some don’t adhere to others throwing “caution to the wind”, but rarely will an addict immediately grab hold of dogmatic phases and verbal precautions to arrest further self-inflicting danger, whether said in love or in distress.
In this case, I personally agree…
A soft answer turns away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. Proverbs 15:1
Please look out for Part 3, The Mind of an Addict.
Read Part 1, The Mind of an Addict
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