When you know a Christian struggling with addictions, your first inclination is to want to help. But we often don’t know which kinds of help are actually helpful. While the Bible provides important guidance and direction on loving and caring for our brothers and sisters, it can be hard to know how to love an addict well and in a way that can lead them toward recovery rather than further into addiction.
Ways You Can Help A Christian Struggling With Addictions
Here are seven ways to care for a Christian who is struggling with a life-controlling addiction:
1. Prayer
Everything starts with prayer—prayer for God to help the addict heal and find recovery and prayer for your own direction. Ask God to give you wisdom and to help you be helpful to the addict. Many addicts have to “hit bottom” before they will be ready to get help. So rather than praying that God will miraculously remove the problem, sometimes we have to pray that God will bring addicts to the end of themselves and help them to see the desperate nature of their condition. In any circumstance, we pray that God’s will, not ours, is done.
2. Relationship
Your friend needs you now more than ever. But realize that the friendship may not be a completely equal partnership. Addicts may not be able to offer much friendship in return, but stick with it if you are able. Let them know that you are willing to be a friend, that you will listen without judgment and you want to help in any way you can.
3. Set Boundaries
Being a friend doesn’t mean taking care of the addict or their problems, and this can get confused in Christian circles where we are called to love sacrificially and in all circumstances. Enabling and codependency are really not loving and may only prolong the addiction. “Covering” for the addict, lying, loaning money and even offering housing can be forms of enablement and in the end may do more harm than good.
4. Scripture
One important thing you can do for the addict is to keep directing them to God and His word. Scripture is full of Bible verses for addiction recovery and the addict, no matter how progressed their condition, needs to be continually reminded of God’s love, grace and salvation.
5. Get Educated
You can be most helpful to the addict when you understand addiction and its physical, emotional and spiritual roots. Many churches host 12-step, Al-Anon or Celebrate Recovery meetings. Attend a few to get a better picture of the addict’s condition and how you can be helpful.
6. Speak With A Church Leader
This may feel like tattling, but if an individual’s life is controlled by addiction, they run a grave risk of not only destroying their life, but also making a shipwreck of their faith.
Speak with a leader you trust, even on the condition of anonymity if that feels safer at first.
7. Intervention
If the addict refuses to acknowledge the addiction problem and the way in which it is impacting the lives of those around them, then a more formal approach may be required. The intervention is a time to confront the addict honestly, to pray and seek God’s help and to suggest an alcohol or drug rehab for Christians (or other rehab depending on the nature of the addiction).
Not Quite Sure If They’re Struggling With Addiction? Find Out Now: 5 Signs A Christian Might Be Struggling With Addiction
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