We live in a community that is heavily influenced and affected by drugs, most of the people we work with use drugs regularly, both prescription and over-the-counter, while working day by day with this system. This environment and others come from a family of merchants, this is the family business!However, we have seen many addicts attracted to Christ in recent years. We have seen some not only profess their faith, but grow and bear continuous fruits according to True Repentance. The honest truth, however, is that these are the exceptions and not the rule. We have had painful experiences in recent years that have taught us valuable lessons in our ministry here in Niddrie.
1. Expect a disappointment. Jesus warned us in the parable of the sower to wait for failure. Okay, it’s not our fault that people choose to turn their backs on the truth of the gospel. Ministry in communities in need can be devastating and we must strengthen ourselves for this reality. The naivety of some Christians when entering this kind of ministry never ceases to amaze me. The key is not to let reality harden your heart and fill it with bitterness, on the other hand, do not allow your romantic concept of ministry among the poor to make you naive and use and manipulate it.
- 2.
- Leave your savior complex at the door.
- We are not the saviors of people.
- We do not have the power to change a heart.
- As well-intentioned as we are.
- We do not have a magic wand.
- If we enter with our complex saving thought.
- We can repair everyone.
- Then we will be crushed when people let us down and will be constantly disappointed.
- The Bible warns us not to trust princes and men.
- And we must certainly never jeopardize the recovery of others.
- Because when this happens.
- It causes spiritual wounds.
- Failures.
- And disasters.
3. Remember that only the gospel has the power to truly transform a life; it is only when people transform from within that we begin to see long-term growth and fruits in their lives; Simply keep planting the seed, sometimes it will germinate quickly and sometimes it will be painfully slow, but we must trust that the Lord will bring his harvest in time. Not only do we have to remember this truth, but we must constantly send people back to it. Do addicts become? Sticky? Very quickly, they want you to solve all their problems, and this is aggravated by the culture where the benefit system has paralyzed them and left them without any motivation, we will be tempted to set rules and goals, but we must remind them that their maximum hope is reconciliation with God through authentic faith in Christ and repentance of sin.
4. Quickly lead new believers to independence. We seek excuses and behaviors for them and may feel guilty about their (often) traumatic origins. Fight against the desire to let them hold on to you, this kind of influence and control over the other can be very seductive, we want to solve all your problems and run to your rescue with every crisis. Fight this temptation! Our discipleship must equip, train, and prepare them for service, we must not keep them dependent on us and our charity for long.
5. Teach and model repentance. We constantly strive to love people who seem to want to press the self-destruct button for no rational reason!They can do very well for months or years until, out of nowhere, they are given to drinking or stopped or end up in another evil. . Continue to pray for your heart during this time, continue to pray for your souls during this time. We know who they are from Christ because they are like boomers, they always end up returning to church because the Holy Spirit does not let them rest. We must teach our new believers that they will stand in the way (we all do) and when that happens, they must immediately run toward the grace found in Jesus Christ. We must teach them not to hide their sin under religious works and language, but to regularly admit sin and further appreciate God’s grace, repentance must be as important a part of Christian life and experience as anything else.
6. Pray for discernment. According to House, “everyone lies,” we have to be vigilant. Drug addicts and, to a large extent, alcoholics (who in my experience are much worse) are hard-boiled liars and manipulators. They smell the blood of fresh blood, believing a mile away. Those who have been addicted to drugs for a long time will have a behavior of lies, trap and manipulation, look you directly in the eye and tell you something that, however, will be a total and complete lie. Discretion helps us identify the truths among the lies they are going to tell us to get what they want, this must be part of discipleship again, we must question the behavior of lying early and constantly, even though they deny that they lie (which they will always do). We must teach them that lies (even the smallest ones) are diabolical because he is the father of lies. Once again, we must point to Christ and pray that God will make them. destroy their lies.
7. Persevere. We must be patient with those we discipline and remember that this is a long-term process. Continue, as long as we proclaim the truth of the gospel, we will do our job. Put your heart away and go.