The Journey of the Prodigalنموونە

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Luke 15:14 - “After he had spent everything...”

Addictions, regardless of type, are leeches on human beings. This young man squandered all of his money. Imagine winning a huge amount of money through a lottery, then spending every last penny in a short amount of time. I don’t know if his squandering was due to a spending addiction or simply the result of sex, alcohol, or another addiction. Regardless, every last penny was gone.

Addictions don’t just rob you of money, they rob you of your ability to think rationally or express feelings maturely. They rob you of character, leaving you with a reputation for being quite foolish, so mature people don’t and won’t trust you.

Addictions rob you of spiritual resources, even causing a spiritual disconnect. Addictions rob you of emotional and moral development as well. This is why you can make the moral decision, “If I get caught, it’s wrong,” about lying, cheating, stealing, and hating people, rather than, “It’s wrong because it’s wrong,” or “It’s wrong because God says so.” 

The bad news is, your addiction depletes. The good news is, recovery reconnects you spiritually, emotionally, and morally. You can be restored to your original God-given design. Through our addictions, most of us have experienced depletion of some kind. As we gain our recovery we can experience a replenishing of our life like we never imagined.