I’m reading a book by Dr. Henry Cloud entitled “Changes that Heal.”
http://store.cloudtownsend.com/books...heal-book.html
He points out that what Adam and Eve did to fall from paradise was break their relationship with God, resulting in people living in broken relationships with God and each other from then till now.
Our task then is to learn how to restore our relationships with God and each other. That’s the Book isn’t it? Get your relationship right with God and each other?
This task can be seriously complicated if we are raised in a home where our parents don’t know how to bond, don’t have good relationship skills themselves.
I think this task is further complicated by the church, if the church puts a heavy emphasis out the outward appearance, a person may clean up how they appear to others without doing the heart work of learning how to live in honest loving relationship with others. Coming to church and hiding who you really are behind how you appear.
One of the reason why AA has great success is because an alcoholic can come into a meeting and be who is really is, admitting that he needs help, knowing that he will receive loving support and help to overcome his or her addictions.
Dr Cloud believes the reason many of us suffer from addictions, is because we are struggling with relationships and are using drugs, sex, porn, food, shopping, religiosity, etc to make up for our lack of relationship.
My desire is to live honestly and openly in fellowship with other believers, not condemning each others’ brokenness, but encouraging positive spiritual growth. Let us speak the truth with love.
If I can speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy
But I don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate
If I speak God's word with power, revealing all His mysteries
And making everything as plain as day
And if I say to a mountain jump and it jumps
But I don't love, I'm nothing
If I give all I own to the poor
Or if I even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr
But I don't have love, I've gotten nowhere
So, no matter what we say, no matter what we believe, no matter what we do
We're bankrupt without love. (
1 Corinthians 13: 1-3)