The root of addiction and other self-destructive behaviors can usually be found in incorrect beliefs about ourselves. One of the most common faulty beliefs is:
“No one could ever love me if they truly knew who I was.”
(Dr. Patrick Carnes – Out of the Shadows 2001) http://www.ucg.org/christian-living/addicts-story-whats-root-addictions/
For example, when I was a child I developed a belief that I was stupid. I didn’t think anyone could ever love me if they really knew how dumb I was. Although God is using me today, part of the reason I got into the entertainment industry was to manipulate how others viewed me. It’s called ‘hiding in the spotlight’ and people do it all the time.
I used drugs and alcohol to sooth the pain of isolation that comes from putting up a ‘false front’ and by the time I finally hit my bottom I didn’t really know who I was.
God began to heal my self-esteem and show me who I was in him; only after I got honest with myself.
Too often what we believe about ourselves is quite the opposite of what God believes about us.
2nd Corinthians 5:17 tells us:
….those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun.
Now I am married and working in Christian radio – proof that God has better ideas about me than I ever did!
What is so compelling about this particular scripture is that it tells us a new life awaits us in Christ and our past does not have to define us.
Jodie Stevens
