As many of us know, having family and/or friends that are in need of Rehab are in painful circumstances. Addiction is a terrible disease that affects so many of us in our society today. When people are addicted to something, whatever it may be, they want to stop what they are doing, but can’t. At least not without help. For those folks who are fortunate enough to make it into and through rehabilitation, they find themselves “in recovery.” This is the next step in our series on Rehab. Recovery. When someone is in recovery, they are in a process of abstaining from the behavior they want to stop. It is something that they have to be mindful of every minute of every day for the rest of their lives. Their “recovery” never ends. It is an extreme determination to change their lives for the better.

As we reflect on how this may relate to our lives, I want each of us to think about the “sins” we commit. The things we do on a regular basis that we wish we wouldn’t, but we do it anyway. St. Paul talks about this in the New Testament of the Bible. I think it’s interesting that we are always willing to help and hold others accountable for what “they need” to do to become better people; while making excuses for why we do the things we do. If the truth be told, each of us struggles with something in our lives that we don’t want to do, but do it over and over again. Maybe we lie, or steal, or wish we had someone else’s life. Maybe when we feel bad we go shopping, eat too much food, or drink too much alcohol. Maybe we are reading this and think, “this doesn’t apply to me.” In that case, it automatically applies to you. That’s called ego. Thinking that you are better than others. Perhaps in need of what’s called humility. I think we all would do well to be careful of how easy we judge the decisions of others, while giving ourselves permission to error any way we choose.

I wonder, if we took a page out of the lives of those who constantly live “in recovery,” what lessons we might learn. Perhaps we would reflect on our lives and realize how flawed each of us really are. Perhaps we would notice how freely we offend God with the same sins over and over again. Perhaps we would follow the example of the courageous “recovering addicts,” and be diligent and determined to stop the sins we commit on a regular basis. It’s easy to see what others need to do to change the direction of their lives, right? Maybe it’s time we are honest about what we see we need to change the direction of our own. Reflect on this, reconnect with God by saying “I’m sorry” and be restored, redeemed, and reconciled into a right relationship with the Lord.

Each of us would do well to live the rest of our lives in recovery!

Tim Beck is pastor of Kenbridge United Methodist Church. His email address is revtimbeck@ gmail.com.