"I'm an addict—that's who I am. Even at 90, I'll always be broken."
How it sounds in your head: I've carried this label my whole life. Started drinking at 30, smoked for decades, battled pills after my surgeries. Now I'm dying and I'm still just an addict. That's what they'll say at my funeral—good man, but an addict.
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."
-- 2 Corinthians 5:17Source: 12-step programs that replace Christ's identity with addiction identity, making recovery the gospel instead of Jesus.
He's attended meetings for years where the first words are always 'I'm an alcoholic' or 'I'm an addict.' The world taught him to lead with his struggle instead of his Savior. Every relapse seemed to prove the label was permanent.
Manasseh practiced witchcraft, sacrificed his own sons to demons, filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and led an entire nation into darkness for 55 years. The moment he humbled himself in captivity, God heard him, brought him back to Jerusalem, and he KNEW the Lord was God—instant identity change from sorcerer-king to restored son.
I REFUSE the lie that addiction defines me. IT IS WRITTEN that I am a NEW CREATION—old things have PASSED AWAY. My identity is not 'recovering addict' but RIGHTEOUS SAINT in Christ Jesus. The blood that saved me also RENAMED me. IT IS WRITTEN in Isaiah 62:2 that I have a NEW NAME which the mouth of the Lord has named. I am not what I did—I am who HE says I am. The BARAK blessing of Abraham rests on me by covenant, not by my track record of sobriety.
The Father doesn't see you through the lens of your addiction—He sees you through the lens of His Son's blood. The prodigal came home smelling like pigs and prostitutes, and the Father didn't make him wear a name tag that said 'Former Pig Farmer'—He gave him the robe of SONSHIP.