Ask yourself: S - Is it done in Secrecy?į - Is it done to escape or avoid Feelings?Į - Is it Empty of commitment to Christ and Christian relationships? This was first introduced by Patrick Carnes in his book >em>Out of the Shadows I've made some minor revisions to the form you see here. So, how do you know to what extent something might be mastering you? I encourage people to use the SAFE rule. Be willing to identify the thing that seeks to control our lives and,.But there is a catch- To live fully in Christ, unveiled, it is important to do two things: When we live openly without hiding, we have all the potential to be transformed for the better-the very thing we often crave and use other addicting things to achieve. II Corinthians 3:18 encourages us to live this Christian life with unveiled faces (without masks): " And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's gtory, are being transformed into his likeness with every increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." And when the hidden issues in our lives come to the surface, then things get messy. Weeds and dandelions that lie dormant all winter eventually sprout. What is underground in our lives ultimately affects what's going on above it. But the reality is, the issue almost always affects others as well. In doing so, we hide harmful emotions and addictions in the belief that no one will see them behind our masks.Īll too often, we try to convince ourselves that whatever issue or addiction we are struggling with isn't really that bad or isn't really hurting anyone-including ourselves. We become performers acting out a part, sometimes briefly in specific situations, in other cases for our entire lives. By wearing a mask,we try to control how other people see us. So most of us wear a mask, whether for short periods of time or continually. We know instinctively that no one likes to see a Christian struggling with a besetting sin. Appearances are extremely important in the Christian community. Scripture tells us, "Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."( l Samuel 16:7) On this point, Christians behave much like their unchurched counterparts. They wear their game face, all the while struggling inside. Keeping up appearances is the primary way Christian leaders and managers often go underground. So out of fear from the repercussions, Christian leaders and managers take their struggles only one place: underground. There just is very little wiggle-room for error. Too often,the local churches and Christian organizations that insist on near "sinless perfection" from their leaders and managers behave precisely the same way when someone struggles with a "besetting sin," "tendency" or life-controlling problem. If there is anything we have learned about addiction, it is this: The very culture that feeds us the food, recognition, money, porn, experiences and other addictive substances that we crave is the very same culture that will make mincemeat out of you the moment your addiction to those substances is exposed. And that pursuit of soul-soothing gets a lot of us in trouble-whether the trouble is visible or not. "He understood the human nature is prone to seek out things in life that sooth the soul, even if that respite is temporary. But in fact when our lives are increasingly mastered by anything that doesn't please God-to help us deal with the challenges and even pain of our lives-we have entered into the addiction zone.Īnger. when we talk about addiction, most people want to think primarily in terms of porn, drugs or alcohol.
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