Who is Your Daddy?

John 8: 12-14, 19 Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. So the Pharisees said to him,”You testify on your own behalf, so your testimony cannot be verified. Jesus answered and said to them,”Even if I do testify on my own behalf, my testimony can be verified, because I know where I came from and where I am going. But you do not know where I came from or where I am going.” So they said to him,”Where is your father?” Jesus answered,”You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me you would know my Father also.”

Many addicts struggle with knowing who they are, where they are going in life, who God is, and how God can help them. Most cannot look beyond getting their daily fix and accept that the darkness of our addictive behaviors blinds us to the light of knowing a God that loves us and wants to lead us to a better place, if we are willing to follow. A good start for helping the addict learn to follow God’s path is by completing Step 1 & 2. Step 1 shows the addict the consequences of their addiction and that to continue with these behaviors will lead to unhappiness, destroyed relationships, poor health, and for some death. Step 2 asks the addict to examine their view of God, and helps the addict know that God is for them. Coming to believe in a God that loves the addict is very difficult for believers and non-believers. Jesus answer to the Pharisees that they do not know the father helps explain the difficulties for the addict to believe in a God that loves them. A major difficulty faced by the addict in knowing and trusting a God, the Father, is challenged by their knowledge of a Father who was wrathful, vengeful, and punishing, especially for those who were abused in some way by their father or a father figure in their life. Perhaps the Pharisees in this passage were facing the same difficulty. Some potential solutions to helping you answer the question “who is your daddy?” is threefold (very Trinitarian). First, write about the different authorities in your life that hurt you so you may learn how this hurt has influenced your belief in God as a loving Father. Second, attend recovery meetings on a regular basis and befriend people that are following a Godly path. Spend time with these people outside the meeting by calling them on the phone and doing recreational and Church-based activities. Third, become knowledgeable in reading scripture on a regular basis. Scripture is filled with constant examples of God’s love and mercy for his people which addicts often miss when over-focused on our past hurts and wounds.  Find a spiritual authority to help you understand the scripture and focus on the love and mercy of God contained within. As Saint Jerome said “Ignorance of scripture is ignorance of Christ.”