Temperance Tuesday - Reflections of a Recovered Chocoholic

I venture to say that we are all addicts. Some of us are addicted to things that are less socially acceptable than others, which is why those who struggle with alcohol, drugs, gambling or pornography suffer from the stigma of that name. However, any behavior that we have habitually indulged in that is contrary to God’s will for our lives constitutes an addiction. Truly, many of us are addicted to impatience, anger, self-pity, lying or any other unhealthy form of acting, thinking, feeling or believing. What we are called to instead is temperance, and it is a high calling indeed. Another word for it is self-control, and it implies complete abstinence from things that are harmful and moderation in things that are good. When I became a Christian at twenty years of age, I embarked on a study of health and God’s plan for my life. I realized that God’s avenue of communication with us is through our minds, and therefore, anything that beclouds the mind must be given up. Although I had thankfully been spared experience with drugs, alcohol and even coffee, I had a serious addiction to dark chocolate. I ate it almost everyday and it was something I counted on to give me a boost, lift my spirits and just make me feel better. Although chocolate is not a hard drug like heroine or cocaine, it contains theobromine, which is in the same family as caffeine from coffee, nicotine from tobacco and theophylline, found in tea. These chemicals, known as methyl xanthines, are inflammatory to the nervous system and toxic to the liver. They are overstimulating to our nerves, and as a result of that inflammation, the brain cannot relax. The limbic system which is the seat of our emotions gets overdriven and one becomes unable to make clear decisions. When you can’t quiet the brain and are emotionally unstable, you impair your ability to recognize the still small voice of God’s Holy Spirit to your mind. When I realized that my choice to indulge chocolate was equivalent to deliberately shutting the Lord out of my mind, I determined that I must overcome this addiction. Here are a few lessons I learned in the process. A few tips that will be helpful in overcoming addiction: 1- Total abstinence “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.” Colossians 3:5 If you are trying to overcome anything, the most important principle to acknowledge is that you must abstain completely from the thing you are trying to overcome. It must be put to death, and not kept alive by any means! You can’t indulge a little bit in something forbidden and hope not to be pulled right back into it. It wasn’t until I determined to put chocolate out of my house and not to consider it at the restaurant or anywhere, that my brain was able to start rewiring itself to the point that I don’t crave it anymore. 2- Beware of gifts My father struggled most of his life with alcohol and heroin addiction. He shared with me several of the times that his resolve to give up those drugs was shaken enough to get him to choose relapse. One of those times was when as a young man, he had been sober and clean for some length of time and a friend abroad sent him a letter in the mail, saying “this is amazing stuff, you have to try it” and enclosed was a quantity of heroin. He recalled being in the bathroom and nervously going about preparing the drug for injection all the while hearing this voice in his mind over and over saying, “throw it in the toilet, throw it in the toilet!” Certainly God’s holy spirit was at work to keep him from going down that road, but alas the temptation was so strong that he chose to give in. I have often been offered kind gifts containing chocolate and at first it was really hard for me to say no, but with experience and the guilt of indulging I have become more skilled at refusing gifts. Count on the Lord to give you discernment in each circumstance. 3- Do not make provision for the flesh “But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.” Romans 13:14 Early on in my journey to give up chocolate, I had a secret stash of my favorite chocolate bars stuffed in the sock drawer in my dresser. The presence of those articles in my home were a constant temptation and a taunt to my resolve. It mocked me, asserting that I wouldn’t be able to gain the victory over chocolate as long as I made provision to satisfy my craving for it. Once I decided to get rid of that secret stash, I felt free and empowered to keep going on the new road I had chosen. 4- The replacement principle “Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:21 When trying to get rid of something in your life that has a strong pull over you, you must follow the replacement principle in order to gain success. In my case, when I decided to quit chocolate, I discovered the wonderful carob plant and its ability to mimic very closely the taste of chocolate. I started making halvah, a traditional Middle Eastern dessert consisting of tahini, carob powder and honey. I learned how to make hot carob drinks and carob bars. Now you can find many companies that utilize carob to make delicious bars and healthy candies and we have started calling chocolate the fake carob! In fact, carob is naturally sweet and you don’t need to add any sugar at all to offset bitterness such as is common with chocolate. My chocolate of choice was 70% cocoa and contained very little sugar, but it still had some to make it really palatable. On the other hand, my favorite carob bar is completely unsweetened! Have a plan in place to fulfill your craving for something unhealthy with something better. Eventually, you will not miss it at all! 5- Hang on to the Lord “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Philippians 4:13 Overcoming anything of ourselves is an impossibility. God is the giver of every good impulse, and He will also give us strength to pursue our good desires to their fruitful end. Cling to the Lord, all the time and especially when tempted. The avenues to our soul must be guarded faithfully and they include all that we see, hear, touch or taste. Our minds must be kept clear and our emotions under the control of our reason. These are high callings but He who has called us is able. Let us cherish the promise “Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.” 1 Thessalonians 5:24 May you be kept in the power of God as you cooperate with Him to break the bonds of addiction in your life. Virus-free. www.avast.com

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