Disease, Disorder, or Disobedience?

Editor’s note: This article is adapted from Dr. Greg Gifford’s book, “Lies My Therapist Told Me.”

The mind is more important than what you most likely believe.

In an age of naturalism, we can look for physical remedies, medical explanations, and search — sometimes endlessly — for an elusive medical diagnosis. We live in a “brain-first” culture: that is, we live in a culture that considers the organ of the brain to be at the root of many anomalies. Perhaps there is no better place to demonstrate this than in the area of so-called addictions.

In this brief article, I will show you how addictions start in the mind, not the brain.

“Blame It on the Brain”

You may not be aware of it, but in 2009 there was a fight for the terminology that surrounds much “addiction” like that of substance, alcohol, or sexual addiction. Joe Biden, then serving as a senator, said, “Addiction is a neurobiological disease — not a lifestyle choice — and it’s about time we start treating it as such. … By changing the way we talk about addiction, we change the way people think about addiction, both of which are critical steps in getting past the social stigma too often associated with the disease.”

After this, institutes were renamed and the culture of addiction as disease was perpetuated. No longer is the term “abuse” used when referencing alcohol and substance abuse. Rather, the medicalized term “addiction” is used.

The church isn’t exempt from this confusion, as well.

For example, there are prominent resources aimed at Christians struggling with sexual sin that blame the use of pornography on the brain. These resources suggest that instead of repentance, transformation, and renewal, these people need treatment. This trend is just one of many examples of the church imbibing the culturally misinformed understanding of the mind and the brain.

Where Does Addiction Start?

Your mind is the source of your thinking, not your brain. Remember the famous passage?

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom. 12:2).

The phrase “by the renewal of your mind” represents the way that transformation and true change occur for the believer. Where is the transformation? In the Christian’s mind. The mind simply means, “the sum total of the whole mental and moral state of being.”

Your mind is more akin to our modern use of “attitude” than it is the brain. The brain is tangible. It is material. The brain is animated by the mind, but the brain doesn’t govern the mind. No, rather, the mind is that which is being transformed, renewed (Eph. 4:23), and will be perfected at the moment of glorification (1 John 3:2).

Where do addictions start? That question is fundamental to the issue of substance abuse (and I am using this term intentionally). When a person reaches for the phone to call their drug dealer, it is an issue of their mind, not their brain. Your brain cannot hijack your fingers and force you to call a drug dealer. Rather, your brain is being influenced by the mind but the mind is not being controlled by the brain.

Biblically, it’s an untenable position to hold that thoughts come from the brain (cf. Gen. 6:5; Heb. 4:12). That means that the source, the fundamental reason for alcohol abuse, starts in the mind.

In my book, “Lies My Therapist Told Me,” I make the argument that even unbelievers see the medicalizing of drug abuse as addiction isn’t helping. One example is the book, “The Biology of Desire: Why Addiction is Not a Disease.” In it, Lewis argues that, “After reading thousands of comments and emails from former and recovering addicts and interviewing dozens of them for hours at a time, I’m convinced that calling addiction a disease is not only inaccurate, it’s often harmful.” Whether one agrees with Lewis or not, he represents pushback to the medicalizing of so-called addictions.

As a Christian, we know that the brain is not in the driver’s seat — the mind is. Where do thoughts come from? The mind. Where does reason come from? The mind. The mind is the source of all thoughts, to include wayward, sinful thoughts to abuse substances and alcohol.

As I stated above, the mind is perhaps more important than you have originally considered.

The Renewed Mind Doesn’t Abuse Substances

What happens when the Lord saves Christians? He gives them a mind that can finally “get it.” They finally have the “mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2:16). That mind is a mind that has a “way of thinking” like that of Christ Himself. No, the Christian doesn’t receive the brain of Christ, but the mind of Christ. Other terms describe this mind, but most commonly it is “transformed” or “renewed” (Rom. 12:2; Eph. 4:23).

Does the renewed mind struggle with wayward thoughts? Undoubtedly so. However, the renewed mind is being transformed to have those thoughts less and less.

That means that the renewed mind is the reason why a person gets clean and repents of substance abuse. A change of mind literally means to repent of something (1 Thess. 1:9). Repentance is at the center of substance abuse, alcohol abuse, and habitual sexual sin. Individuals ensnared in these sins don’t need treatment first and foremost. They need repentance.

Conclusion

Christians, protect yourself from the “blame it on the brain” mentality that permeates our culture. The Word of God cuts it straight: The mind is not the brain and the brain is not the mind.

Individuals struggling with substance abuse need to be compassionately called to repentance, not told they are helpless and have a disease. If you are reading this and struggle with substance abuse, please know that God has answers in His Word. His plan for your life is far superior to what you’re experiencing now. In truth and love, please know substance abuse isn’t a disease or disorder — it’s disobedience. And the disobedient can become the forgiven.

Dr. Gifford’s book, “Lies My Therapist Told Me,” can be purchased on Amazon. You can also find his podcast, “Transformed,” wherever you listen to podcasts.

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