Day 1: Hidden, covered, and camouflaged

“Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.”  Proverbs 28:13

“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.  Who can understand it?”  Jeremiah 17:9

Addiction is commonly birthed in and wrapped in lies, misinformation, and excuses.  It’s how we keep it hidden and keep it alive.  These coverings can range from underestimating how much or how often we drink, minimizing the impact it is having on my life, or downplaying how many times I have quietly attempted to quit, and failed.  Excuses are illegitimate, or untruthful, reasons why we use or drink.

Have you said things like, I don’t drink that much, or I can stop whenever I want to, or lied about what you have taken or drank?  Facing the truth about yourself is really difficult.

Don’t forget

“Our first challenge is to get real.  To become totally honest and truthful with ourselves about ourselves.  This is the starting point because of the things about addiction is that it’s wrapped in, and protected by all kinds of misinformation, lies, and excuses.”  Dan Johnson, Recover Intensive I

Deeper Dive

Sin began with a lie.  Think about it — the temptation that Eve encountered in Genesis 3 was a lie.  Genesis 3:1 says, “Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

It’s important to notice that Satan’s lie wasn’t bold or bright.  It was subtle.  God made every tree available for food, except for one, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  Genesis 2:16 says, “And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

The word free is so rich with meaning.  She was free to be filled with and enjoy so much.  There was only one tree that was poisonous, and therefore, off limits. 

Satan’s lie attempted to dismiss the value of what she could enjoy as well as the consequence of eating from the poisonous tree.  Then, his second lie was to exaggerate the benefit of eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  He said, “You will not certainly die, For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

These lies were designed to lead Eve to doubt the adequacy of the fruit from all the healthy trees in the garden, as well as the encouragement to go ahead and cross the line and eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Lies are always woven into the fabric of addiction.  It may have been the lies you heard and believed when it all got started—like from friends who convinced you to join in with them.  It could have been the bold and public statements about the glamour of alcohol or benefits of marijuana.  It could also be the lies you tell yourself about stopping or how bad it is (or isn’t).  This is the deception of the heart (Jeremiah 17:9).  And of course, it inevitably also includes the lies we tell others in the effort to keep the addiction hidden, often deceiving ourselves into believing we can “fix” it before it’s revealed.  Regardless of the style of the message, lies push against the objections, grant us permission to do use or drink, and minimize thoughts about consequences or feelings of guilt.