By Deng Akoldit Ajuong

 

Drug addiction, also called substance use disorder, is a disease that affects a person’s brain and behavior and leads to an inability to control the use of a legal or illegal drug. Substances such as alcohol, marijuana, and nicotine are also considered drugs.

Someone who is addicted to alcohol or marijuana has used a legal substance in the wrong way. Substance addiction begins with the abuse of a substance like heroin, marijuana, alcohol, or cocaine. This article will describe Part 1 of the situation of substance addiction. Part 2 will give advice to the family of an addicted person. The third part will set two homework tasks and finally conclude.

Describe the situation of substance addiction

When someone suffers from substance addiction, it is common that the person will also suffer from a decline in physical health, mental health, and poor hygiene. Mental health issues such as depression and anxiety are often exacerbated by addiction itself. Jena Far (bottled spirit alcohol) will decline your health, and your face will begin to swallow. From there, the digging of the grave goes deeper and deeper. By the end of the day, you have completed your own grave to be buried, and the family will remain behind and grieve for some days and months.

The person addicted can start with an experimental use of a recreational drug in social situations, and for that person, the drug use becomes more frequent. In this case, opioids and drug addictions begin with exposure to certain drugs, such as alcohol, marijuana, and medication, received from friends who have been encouraged to take the drugs.

The risk of addiction and how fast you become addicted vary by drug. Some drugs, such as opioid painkillers, have a higher risk and cause addiction more quickly than others. As time goes on, the person may need larger doses of the drug to get high. Soon he may need the drug to feel good. We understand that the number of people who use drugs may increase, and it may also be increasingly difficult to go without the drug. This means that an attempt to stop him may cause intense cravings and make him feel physically ill.

Advice to the family of the addicted person.

The first thing I will advise him or her is to recognize the problem of someone who is addicted to drugs or alcohol. I will advise a family member to ask the addicted person to go to detoxification before the counseling session starts. This is the first step in getting help for the person who has a substance addiction.

The second thing is to talk to the person or someone who is a substance addict and try to understand the reasons why they are taking drugs or alcohol so much. This is supportive and may provide insight for family members and counselors to see and find correct passages in the Bible to help someone who is substance addicted. And be sure to give him or her hope.

The third piece of advice I can give a family is to let someone who is a substance addict know that you are available to talk and offer him or her counseling support. And if the person who is a substance addict is not willing to talk openly, ask him or her for an appointment to meet the addict and his family.

The fourth piece of advice is to invite a substance-addicted person to the church for the prayer and

The Bible study and topic will be arranged in light of drug abuse and addiction. A pastor in the church may also encourage a substance-addicted person to find a new friend in the church. Those friends in the church will be able to motivate him or her to overcome the addiction.

The fifth piece of advice is that the old wisdom is that someone with an addiction should be treated with tough love. I may advise a family to work out for those around him to cut off funds. It can reduce heavy drugs and alcohol; it reduces the grave by going deeper. This means that without support, the person who is addicted can feel even more alone and cut off, which will reduce drug use because there is no drug money. This may bring more fear to him and make him feel socially negative; he needs support but cannot prescribe one.

The sixth piece of advice to a family is to be aware of a person who is a substance addict and not to focus on guilt and shame. Someone struggling with addiction is usually already feeling deep guilt, shame, and anger about his or her use of substances. In addition, someone with addiction feels judged by his family and friends and acts defensively in response to any criticism that is leveled at him or her. A family needs to be aware of combat. He or she is feeling stressed.

Two homework

The first homework is to read 1 Peter 5:8. The Bible has a number of warnings about the dangers of intoxication, which can be read as abuse of any substance. Substance addiction dulls the mind and makes it much easier to fall into destructive drunkenness. Peter is warning us that the devil is like a lion running around looking for a person to attack.

Peter is warning substance addicts that when you are not sober, you are more likely to make bad choices, and the devil is easy to attack. An addict’s person may start stealing to get drug money and lying to cover his addiction. Substance addicts need to memorize this verse over and over again.

The substance-addicted person should also make a schedule in the family’s house, witnessed by the immediate family, and a counselor may help him learn how to do it. For example, a substance-addicted person may develop two columns of the list on schedule. In the first list, he or she may mention what triggers his or her substance addiction, and in the second column, he or she can also list the ways to overcome it.

The second homework is taken from Ephesians 5:18. There are a number of scriptures that speak about drinking in the Bible. In Ephesians (5:18), in this case, you can replace alcohol with drugs, and the meaning of the line remains the same. Paul could certainly have said that addiction leads to debauchery. This scripture also points out that being drunk is counter to being filled with the Holy Spirit. The counselee who has substance addiction can replace drugs or alcohol with gum chewing.

1 Corinthian (6:19–20) writes: “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your bodies.”

These passages speak to taking care of your body. You should not harm what was created by God in His image. Substance abuse of any kind harms the body and the mind. It can also lead to self-harm and even death. Anything that damages the body should be avoided. These scriptures should be displayed on the walls of the sitting room and other visible areas.

We conclude this homework by saying to avoid temptation. 1 Corinthian (10:13) is the key point that addicts and loved ones of addicts should take from this verse to take care and avoid temptation. Therefore, there is always a way back to sobriety. Even when it all seems hopeless, never give up. Everything can be overcome with the help of God.

Conclusion

Ephesians (5:18–20) gives us the explanation. We would like to conclude that a family must make sure that our help is in the name of God, who created heaven and earth. Therefore, he or she must be mindful to lead a substance-addicted person to full repentance because there are idols in the heart that need to be purged out.

Although it does not directly refer to drinking as a sin, one could interpret God’s word to mean we should not be led astray by drinking alcohol or by substance abuse in general. More importantly, the Bible gives us references to drug and alcohol abuse, something to reflect on as you work to overcome addiction and regain self-control every day and in your recovery process.

  The writer can be reached at Email: dengakol865@gmail.com / 0925966085.