For the first time it makes sense. What a shame that sin is not meantioned by our culture.

I appreciate Dr Wilker's comments on addiction, that a person cannot claim to have no ability to stop the addictive behavior. Also, he rightly notes that a person's past actions determine the status of addiction to some extent. However, I noticed one surprising oversight in the discussion: no reference to dependence on God.

Significantly, the Orthodox Church and the 12 Steps of AA speak of sin and addiction, respectively, as an illness. For both, God is the only surgeon with the ability to save us from our sin. Both claim that sin and addiction require a spiritual solution, as the spirit is tied to the body.

Addiction often comes because of the inability to be honest. One has gotten used to a life of lies. These are the actions that determine, to some extent, the addictive path. The speaker rightly says that the addict is the last to see the destruction caused by the addiction. But even after the addict realizes he or she has an addiction, and can readily admit it, success is not guaranteed. I've known people in 12-step programs, working a program to become more honest, fully comprehend the destruction caused, and move closer to God. Yet they still have trouble stopping their addictive behavior.

Guilt can exacerbate addictive behavior because it assumes I have the ability to fix my addiction on my own. Contrary to what the speaker says, I've found in my own life (I struggle with addiction) that when the focus is on my moral responsibility to stop, the addiction gets worse, not better. My moral will is just as broken and full of sin as any other part of me. When I depend on myself, my own ego--this is no solution. The only solution is God. The more I focus on His will for my life, the more likelihood I have of remaining sober. God loves me unconditionally in spite of my moral shortcomings and my sin. This love is the knife with which God works his surgery on me.

So I agree that I can help myself in my addiction, but I cannot through force of moral will. I can only cling to God and remain honest about my desire to cling to sin. In my addiction, I keep one foot in hell but "despair not." My addiction has taught me what the line means "commit all our lives unto Christ our God."