A Cure for Addiction?

Fascinating article in last week's Newsweek. Scientists are pursuing & coming tantalizingly close to chemical solutions for chemical addictions (e.g. alcohol, cocaine, etc.). Whether it is aiding the brain with its dopamine dependence or preventing relapse, this article explains how scientists are seeking to fundamentally transform the prevailing paradigm about addiction.

BTW, for you men who struggle with internet pornography or lust in general, this may have implications for you as well. Sexual activity also triggers the release of dopamine in the brain. It is a big part of what keeps you going back.

However, a doctor in the trenches says that there is no magic bullet.

I don't want to write too much of what I think here. I'd like to encourage you to read both articles, ESPECIALLY if you are in ministry. And I'd love to diablogue about this one in the comments section.

Morality & The Shield

This is the first in what I hope will be at least a three-part series on the subject of morality & ethics that includes meditations from one of my favorite television dramas, "The Shield." I promised this was coming about 10 months ago, and now I'm finally getting around to it. This is a subject that I often think about, as evidenced by having written about this subject before. And I'd love to encourage dialogue in the form of comments here or on your own blogs.

It occurs to me that one of Satan's greatest psychological weapons, among his considerable arsenal, is twisting humanity's sense of what is good and evil. No one is immune. From among those whom we would consider the greatest sinners to those among whom we would consider the greatest saints & do-gooders, Satan works to twist our sense of righteousness. Given my own & my readership's ideology, I'm most interested in how Satan seeks to twist a Christian's understanding of morality.

Some time ago, I came across this illustration from a sermon.

Writer & speaker Joni Erickson Tada was paralyzed from the neck down in a diving accident. In her book "Secret Strength", Joni wrote about facing temptation.

"I was in my late 20’s, single, and with every prospect of remaining so. Sometimes lust or a bit of fantasizing would seem so inviting and so easy to justify. After all, hadn’t I already given up more than most Christians just by being disabled? Didn’t my wheelchair entitle me to a little slack now and then?"

Joni went on the ask her readers:

"When God allows you to suffer, do you have tendency to use your trials as an excuse for sinning? Or do you feel that since you’ve given God a little extra lately by taking abuse, that He owes you a "day off?"

Hard times can often lead to temptation... In our suffering the evil one is quick to come to our aid and offer one of his solutions; pursuing pleasure to numb the pain, copping an attitude, becoming bitter, getting even, feeding anger...

Vic Mackey IS the law

She's spot on.

One of my favorite television dramas is FX's The Shield. The main character is Detective Vic Mackey, the checkered leader of an experimental anti-gang & drug unit called "The Strike Team." Mackey is good at what he does. He gets results. But he's also in on the take, and Vic rationalizes this practice in a number of ways (e.g. busting down rival drug dealers in certain territories while taking a "tenant's fee" from the drug dealer that he feels he can regulate, so as to keep drugs from completely flooding the streets). Another one of the ways he rationalizes this is how good he is at what he does. In an episode from a recent season, Vic finally pours out his heart concerning why he skimmed off the top, AND why he came clean. He says this:

"It was easy, alright. NO fuss, no victims. I was clearing twice as many cases as anyone here [...] The city was getting their money's worth, trust me.

"But I quit ... because I still wanted to be a cop! Because I can do better."

Fighting for right means not participating in wrong on the side from time to time.

I've experienced this temptation myself. With a group of ministers yesterday in our weekly accountability & encouragement meeting, a couple other ministers gave voice to that temptation. One stated, "I spend all day going & doing for everyone else. When I come home, I want to veg on the couch while my wife serves ME."

It's a form of pride. Effectively, what we're saying to God in those moments is this:

Hey, God, enough already! Alright? I've filled my quota for the day. Get someone else to do your bidding for a while; I've given you plenty. And don't give me that tired, old "Jesus gave it all" line. Six hours one Friday... BULLL-logna. I'd like to see Jesus do what I do.

In those moments, we don't have in mind that Jesus became poor so that we could become rich, that He did for us what we could not do for ourselves, and that everything we have is because of Him. We just want what we want.

There is no viable rationalization for plain, old selfishness. That "old man" (Rom. 6:6) wants to creep back in, get back a foot-hold, and rebel against a soul surrendered to God's will. No amount of do-gooding earns anyone a free ticket to sin. When we begin to think that we can reward ourself by making a wrong decision, we're treading into enemy territory.

The Good Life

• I love Pedro Martinez. He won 2 Cy Young's & helped bring a World Series to Boston. And in his prime, it was amazing to see a pitcher so small with such amazing velocity & life on his fastball. And that is part of the luster: he's so small, but he's like one of those tiny dogs who will stand up to any other big dog on the block. On the former Curse of the Bambino, Pedro said, "Wake up the, Bambino. I'll drill him in the ass!." And that was his attitude toward every opponent. Tonight he returned to Fenway, and Boston's past & future were on display. "Petey" got lit up, lasting only 3 innings. But young fireballer Josh Beckett controlled this game. The thing I love about him is that the bigger the moment is, the more he rises to the occassion. To him, this wasn't gonna be Pedro's night. This was gonna be the night the baton was passed. Just like Yankees have to "earn their stripes," I'd say that Beckett "earned his Socks" tonight.


• Church was freaking awesome tonight. Some of the guys in class are really starting to take the sexual purity thing seriously. I can tell by their reactions that some of the others haven't caught the purity fever yet, and hopefully they are seeing the excitement & hope as expressed by the guys who have caught on. And the more excited they get, the more excited C.I. & I get. After class, some of the fellowship was just really uplifting. I'm gonna start walking down the wing with the Kid's Classes more often, because all those kids still love me from VBS. I love getting their hugs & giving them back. Then I talked to F.M., my "Christian pot-smoking" buddy. We both love to read theology & reflect on some of the deeper elements of faith. And a lot of those kinds of conversations we imagine sound like the conversations people have when smoking doobies, even though neither of us have ever tried an illegal substance. Next Wednesday, we're gonna meet together and talk about some of the things we've been reading. I'm stoked about that.


• Had a little natural high this afternoon. I got together with another brother in Christ today & we spent just over 4 hours putting together a Bible Class & hob-nobbing about life. There's nothing like Christian friends, I'm telling you. I'm excited because I ran into another brother before Bible Class, and between this brother & the one I spent time with this afternoon we're gonna start a little brotherhood fellowship group. Call it accountability. Call it prayer partners. I call it my band of brothers.

Red Sox have won 11 in a row. My spirituality is on a little high. I've got my band of brothers. Life is good.

Good & Bad Dogs

Bible Class was awesome tonight. The fella's just got back from camp, and they are really serious about spirituality & their purity. We talked about masterbation, and three specific ways Satan will get us to lust and masterbate. One is idle time: "idle hands are the Devil's workshop." A second is lack of intimacy. Hey, that girl on the computer screen is always ready to go, even when other relationships are lacking. A third is power -- looking at that skimpy-dressed or naked girl can give you a huge power rush.

To end, I told the story of the Indian Brave and his Chief. Such a truism. I think it stuck with the guys, too.