Day 16 ADDICTION Proverbs 23:29–35GNT

PRAY: God connect with me here, as I seek you in your Word.

READ:  Who is always in trouble? Who argues and fights? Who has cuts and bruises? Whose eyes are red? Everyone who stays up late, having just one more drink. Don't even look at that colorful stuff bubbling up in the glass! It goes down so easily, but later it bites like a poisonous snake. You will see weird things, and your mind will play tricks on you. You will feel tossed about like someone trying to sleep on a ship in a storm. You will be bruised all over, without even remembering how it all happened. And you will lie awake asking, “When will morning come, so I can drink some more?” Another unexpected discovery in the Bible: an ancient account of a hangover. It's a vivid depiction of the effects of drinking — the  fighting, the hallucinations, the loss of memory, and the strange craving to do it all again.Today, painful dependence on alcohol and other addictive substances such as nicotine and heroin are destroying many lives.  While many people can drink moderately in social situations, there are some people for whom  “one drink is too many and a hundred are not enough.” Something in their physical make-up, perhaps a genetic factor, prevents them from stopping, even as they wish they could. People who drink in response to stress or personal unhappiness may be showing early signs of alcoholism. People on the street drink to dull the pain. Drugs take people away from life, if only for a little while. But the descent can be traumatic. Alcoholism and addiction lead to violence, poverty, sickness and isolation. It breaks up families. While smoking cigarettes may seem relatively harmless, nicotine is one  of the most powerfully addictive drugs people willingly consume, making it one of the hardest to give up. And its  long-term effects are truly devastating. What can we do? We can begin with ourselves: “Don’t even look  at it” (verse 31). We can learn more about alcoholism and addiction and about programs to assist people facing addictions, like Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, and  Al-Anon (a program for people who are close to someone struggling with alcoholism). We can also protest  the cynical exploitation of the world’s poor by the cigarette and alcohol companies. Finally, we should do all we can to change those things that cause people  to seek comfort in addictive substances: poverty, oppression, loneliness, feelings of insignificance, stress and abuse.

REFLECT: Imagine if all the hurting people became members of God’s Kingdom and were loved by his family, they’d feel valued and  their lives would have purpose and joy. Isn’t that a reason to  invite them into the family?

RESPOND: Think about behaviors and activities that take up a large amount of your time and energy. Could any of these be considered compulsive or obsessive? Do they cause you to  turn away from God?

Lord, when I am lonely and troubled, have pity on me. When my awful worries keep growing, rescue me from sadness. Remove from my life those things that separate me from you and keep me from experiencing healthy relationships with others.