Free or Captive

If you are not free, you are captive. There is no middle ground.

There are many things that can take away our freedom and place us in captivity. A powerful one is addiction. When addiction takes away our freedom, we become a servant to it. It doesn’t matter what form the addiction takes; when we are addicted, we are no longer acting for ourselves — we are being acted upon (see 2 Nephi 2:14).

But that is not our purpose. We are meant for much more. We are meant to act for ourselves, not be acted upon. We are meant to have joy. We can choose “liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or … captivity and death” (2 Nephi 2:27). We can choose which one we want. We can choose to be free from any addiction. We can always choose to “shake off the chains with which [we] are bound.” (2 Nephi 1:23).

It May Not Be Easy

It may not be easy to shake the chains of addiction. In reality, it probably won’t be.  But all things are possible through the great Mediator, Jesus Christ. I know that is true. He can break the chains that bind you. He can set you free. He can help you return from being acted upon to acting for yourself. 

He doesn’t promise that the struggle will be painless, but He does promise that He will walk with us through every step. Freedom is not merely absence of bondage; it is the grace to become who we were created to be despite our burdens.

Freedom from Addiction Is Real

Addiction can masquerade as fulfillment; it can be false refuge in pain, distraction, approval, control, or habit. But Jesus doesn’t leave us to our illusions. He offers real freedom to think, to choose, to become, to act. When we anchor ourselves in Him, the chains that once bound us begin to lose their grip.

Freedom from addiction is not an abstract idea. It real and it is possible through Jesus Christ to those who reach for Him.

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Lead image by Seth on Unsplash