How to Defeat Harmful Habits (Counseling Through the Bible Series) (19 page)
“in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us”
(R
OMANS
8:37).
10 T
RUTHS ABOUT
T
EMPTATION
1 C
ORINTHIANS
10
1. If you think you’re fairly invulnerable to temptation, be vigilant and careful so that you won’t fall.
“So, if you think you are standing firm
,
be careful that you don’t fall!”
(
VERSE
12).
2. If you think your temptation is unique, clearly it’s not.
“No temptation has seized you except what is common to man”
(
VERSE
13).
3. God won’t let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.
“And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear”
(
VERSE
13).
4. God will provide a way for you to withstand the test.
“But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it”
(
VERSE
13).
5. Don’t prioritize what is permissible—prioritize what is beneficial.
“‘Everything is permissible’—but not everything is beneficial
.
‘Everything is permissible’—but not everything is constructive”
(
VERSE
23).
6. Don’t focus on yourself—focus on the good of others.
“Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others”
(
VERSE
24).
7. Don’t violate the conscience of others—curb your freedom for their sake.
“But if anyone says to you, ‘This has been offered in sacrifice,’ then do not eat it, both for the sake of the man who told you and for conscience’ sake—the other man’s conscience, I mean, not yours”
(
VERSES
28-29).
8. Let your eating and drinking—and everything else you do—bring glory to God.
“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God”
(
VERSE
31).
9. Don’t do things that cause others to stumble.
“Do not cause anyone to stumble
,
whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God”
(
VERSE
32).
10. Seek the good of others so that they might be truly saved.
“For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved”
(
VERSE
33).
63
As happened with Josh, it took a crisis for Mickey Mantle finally to turn away from substance abuse. With his body deteriorating, his memory lapsing, and his family crumbling, Mickey did what everyone thought was unthinkable—he entered rehab.
But immediately after he finished treatment, Mickey felt enormous pressure to relapse back into drinking. His son Billy died of a heart attack and then his mother died. Just as there had been great expectations upon him to “drink with the guys,” Mickey now knew there were great expectations upon him to stay sober.
64
Son Mickey Jr. assessed the situation: “Out of all the things he did, the World Series teams he starred on, the home runs he hit, the records he broke, his induction into the Hall of Fame, what I admired him for the most was getting sober.”
65
To face his fear, Mickey experienced on a very personal and profound level the transforming truth of these words:
“I am the L
ORD
, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you”
(I
SAIAH
41:13).
Just as a chemical dependency doesn’t occur overnight, neither does deliverance from dependency. (See chapter 1, pages 15–20 for more on this.) And just as a sequence of events takes place when people are led into bondage, another sequence of events can help lead people into freedom. (One such sequence is presented in chapter 11, on pages 379-84.)
66
Mickey made the call at 6:00 in the morning. “Betsy, let me talk to Bobby, I want him to pray for me.”
67
The request was inconceivable—it seemed impossible that the raucous, rebellious slugger would ever solicit God’s help. Yet Mickey phoned his Yankee teammate Bobby Richardson because he finally recognized that he needed God in his life.
For too many years, Mickey had succumbed to one temptation after another. But now he wanted to stand in the strength and grace of the God that his friend Bobby knew. Bobby prayed with Mickey, and afterward, the aged baseball buddies had several more conversations about spiritual matters.
“This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words”
(1 C
ORINTHIANS
2:13).
“It’s hard to look back. But you learn from it…I want to make a difference, not because I hit home runs, but because I changed my life. If I can, anyone can. It is never too late.”
68
Reading Mickey Mantle’s words, there is no doubt they were uttered by a man whose life had experienced deliverance ultimately through the power of Christ. And the message Mickey sends to strugglers is a very important “don’t”:
Don’t ever give up!
Bobby Richardson’s life modeled that same very important don’t: Don’t ever give up. Bobby never gave up on his former fellow Yankee. How blessed “the Mick” was to have a faithful friend who consistently shared the hope of Christ with him. Bobby’s availability and willingness to show he cared represents the heart of this passage:
“My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth
and someone should bring him back, remember this:
Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save
him from death and cover over a multitude of sins”
(J
AMES
5:19-20).
As you go through the process of deliverance from dependency, knowing what
not
to do can be just as helpful as knowing what
to
do. So as you practice living in the truth of God’s Word…
1.
Don’t
fight addiction on your own. Participate in a legitimate recovery program.
“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!”
(E
CCLESIASTES
4:9-10).
2.
Don’t
be blind about your ability to lie to yourself and to others.
“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?”
(J
EREMIAH
17:9).
3.
Don’t
socialize with those who encourage your habit.
“Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character’”
(1 C
ORINTHIANS
15:33).
4.
Don’t
worry about the future. Walk with God one day at a time.
“Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own”
(M
ATTHEW
6:34).
5.
Don’t
give up if you relapse. It is never too late for you to get back on track.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness”
(1 J
OHN
1:9).
6.
Don’t
become prideful as you succeed in the recovery process.
“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall”
(P
ROVERBS
16:18).
7.
Don’t
be surprised when temptation strikes unexpectedly—especially after you’ve known success for a while.
“No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it”
(1 C
ORINTHIANS
10:13).
69
Bobby Richardson had agreed to officiate at Mickey Mantle’s funeral when he was summoned to Dallas, Texas. Three days before the death of baseball’s greatest athlete, Bobby visited Mickey in the hospital. Knowing this might be his very last opportunity to make an appeal that would direct the eternal destiny of the Mick, there was no time for small talk or hesitation.
“Mickey, I love you, and I want you to spend eternity in heaven with me.”
70
Nothing more needed to be said, for Bobby had already clearly communicated before to Mickey that Jesus died on the cross for his sins and rose again, opening the door for full forgiveness and the free gift of eternal life. So how would his friend respond in these final moments? Would he accept or reject the amazing grace being extended to him?
Mickey smiled and serenely said, “Bobby, I’ve been wanting to tell you that I have trusted Jesus Christ as my Savior.”
71
Baseball legend Mickey Mantle died
a healed man
. Physically, he no longer suffers the pain and anguish of a disease-ravaged body. And he was healed
spiritually
—every single sin Mickey Mantle had ever committed had been forgiven by Christ—never, ever to be brought up again.
“In him we have…the forgiveness of sins”
(E
PHESIANS
1:7).
Your freedom must first be gained in the spiritual realm before it can be experienced in the physical, emotional, and relational realms. Take to heart the following steps as you walk down the road to recovery:
1. The time to begin your recovery is today.
“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts”
(H
EBREWS
3:15).
2. Realize that recovery is a lifelong process, not a onetime event.
“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me”
(P
HILIPPIANS
3:12).
3. Pray daily for victory! God protects you through prayer.
“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak”
(M
ATTHEW
26:41).
4. Read your Bible every day in order to get strength from God.
“My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word”
(P
SALM
119:28).
5. Meditate on Scripture to fight against falling into sin.
“I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you”
(P
SALM
119:11).
6. Attend church every week to worship God and to grow with others.