Submission to Addiction

I beseech you, brethren, (ye know the house of Stephanas…that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints,) That ye submit yourselves unto such, and to every one that helpeth with us, and laboureth.1 Corinthians 16:15-16

The truth is that we are all addicted to something. When I was a cop, I was addicted to police work. Simultaneously I was addicted to golf. At other times in my life I have been addicted to drugs, alcohol, and women. Bob Dylan balanced addiction with service, conceding that we’re all going to ‘Serve somebody’ or something:

You may be an ambassador to England or France,
You may like to gamble,
you might like to dance,
You may be the heavyweight champion of the world,
You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody,
yes indeedYou’re gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.

We should not be shocked

When the Lord created us, He incorporated into our framework ‘a need to worship’, but because God is love, he also incorporated the ability to freely choose. Paul reminds us (as does Bob) that we should choose wisely and that we should submit ourselves to those who are presently addicted to Christ Jesus and His ministries.

Let us submit ourselves first to God, and then according to His will, to those who are addicted and devoted to Him and the fulfilling of His creation on earth and beyond. Let us beware the embrace of our adversary.Open rebuke is better than love carefully concealed.

Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. Proverbs 27:5-6

COMPASSION dave and the Jesus + Compassion Group (*where sponsors hang out)