5:125 – Self-medicating looks different for different people

#faithbites #faithjourney self-medicating

Intro

Have you ever looked at someone and said they are self-medicating? I know I have. When most of us think of self-medicating, we think of alcohol or drugs (street or prescription). We see the person using them and going on a downward spiral. For today’s #faithbites, we will look at two things. How people self-medicate and why they self-medicate.

While we think of alcohol or drugs, there are many ways to self-medicate. I do it often and it’s food. I overeat or eat junk to get that release of serotonin and feel better…at least for a bit. Some over-work, over-exercise, gamble, sleep, and the list goes on. In a nutshell, anything done to any extreme to help you stop thinking about whatever is going on, is self-medicating.

What we need to look at is not what they are using, but why and how can we help?

Questions

• Do you self-medicate? If so why and how?
• Have you seen others self-medicate?
• What can you do for yourself or others who are self-medicating?

Scripture

• 1 Peter 5:8 – “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
• Ephesians 5:18 -“Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.”
• 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 – “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”
• 1 Corinthians 10:13 – “But when you are tempted, He [God] will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

Reflection

No matter what you use, the root is we use self-medication to make us feel better because something is not going right in our lives. In many of those cases, we either can’t see our value as children of God or we can’t see his footprints as we walk together. We see in both 1 Peter and Ephesians the dangers of self-medication. We lose ourselves and hurt our bodies for temporary relief. In 1 Corinthians and Ephesians, we see that God will help us find a way out and we need to fill our Godhole with God and not anything else. Nothing else will fit in that hole and give us the respite, love, forgiveness, and salvation that God will.

As we close, remember that not only do we need to realize why we are behaving this way, but it looks different for different people. Some forms of self-medication are more obvious. We need to be open, kind, and attentive as we help others, and ourselves, move from self-medication to medication from God and treatment as he deems fit.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, many of your people are in pain. We live in crazy times with crazy expectations. While we know we fall short of your glory, we also try to hide away and feel better by medication in its many forms. Help us to not self-medicate, but look to you for healing and direction. You promise us that whatever we bring to you, you will answer in your way, by your will, at your time. Help us to heal, grow, and only put you in our Godhole. We pray this in your name, Amen.