Savage About Sobriety March 10, 2023

"Therefore, go out from their midst, and be separate from them," says the Lord. "and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you."-2 Corinthians 6:17 (ESV)

One of the biggest mistakes a person can make after getting sober is to continue hanging around people still lost in their addictions. Sobriety is a very fragile situation when we first get sober and hanging out with people still actively using is a very dangerous scenario. Everyone knows the term "Play with fire and you'll get burned." This phrase is especially true for addicts.

I heard a preacher compare being sober/being addicted to being healthy/being sick. He said if two people are in a room together and one is healthy and the other person has the flu, does the healthy person make the person with the flu get healthy? Or, does the person with the flu make the healthy person sick? Sick people make healthy people get sick, not the other way around. Here lies the problem with hanging out with people still using. You may get lucky once or twice, but the odds are against you. You will get sick hanging around sick people.

The Bible is very specific about this subject. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 6:17 to stay away from unbelievers, or people still living a life of sin, and be separate from them. This means finding new friends, new hangouts, and new ways! It's no coincidence that one chapter earlier Paul wrote the famous scripture, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." 2 Corinthians 5:17 (KJV) When you decide to get RIGHT, some people get LEFT. This doesn't mean you have to forget the people from your past, but if they continue to choose to live in their addiction then you have to stay away from them. You can help in other ways. Let's look at 3 ways you can reach back and help the people you care about still stuck in their addiction without risking your own sobriety:

1. Pray for them. James 5:16 (NIV) states, "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." Make a list of the people you want to pray for and put the list in your Bible. When you do your daily reading, pull out the list and read each name to God as you pray for these people. Praying for them will do more for them than any amount of hanging out will ever do.

2. Invite them to church with you. Attending church with the "old" crowd is not the same as hanging out with them in a house where drugs are present. In fact, it's our duty as Christians to invite unbelievers to church. Paul tells the Romans, "But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?" Romans 10:14 (NLT).

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3. Be a good example. "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven," Matthew 5:16 (NKJV). This only happens when you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. When you let the old things pass away and let God make you a new creature in Christ, people will notice a change in you. You will have a joy for life that those who are stuck in their addiction will want to know more about.

Just remember, you can't help anyone if you fall back into addiction. So be smart about the choices you make with your sobriety. It's only natural for you to want to help the people you care about, but for your sake and theirs, "go out from their midst, and be separate from them." Ask God to open doors to help them in ways that don't put your own sobriety in danger.