The lie that is underneath...

[sober121706]

I met with the Pastor of my church last night and told him what I am going thru. He encouraged me 100% and offered alot of resources to help me in my recorvery. For that I am truly grateful.

One thing he mentioned is that focusing on the behavior of not drinking is fantastic, but to truly reach peace you have to dig deeper. He told me that most negative behavior (i.e. problem drinking) is built around a lie. He said Satan gets you to believe a lie or cover up a lie and the negative behavior is how we deal with it. Your "lie" could be that you are inadequate; it could be that you believe you deserve something; it could be that you did something terribly wrong; etc... My Pastor encouraged me to find out what that lie is for me. he gave me a book to read that will hopefully help me figure it out. At this point, I have NO IDEA what that lie might be for me. I've always viewed drinking as a way of life, not an escape from something.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this????

[best]

I never looked at my drinking as covering up a lie. I always seen it as a way of life that had gotten out of control.
I guess I can see his point as I think on it.
Why did I drink in the first place?
Low self-esteem and wanting to fit in? The lie would have been... if I do this I will be as good as them.
A desire to be like the big people(adults)? Must be ok to do, the adults all do it.

Where I see the lies come into play is when I tried to stop.
One won't hurt.
I can control my intake.
Everyone else is doing it.
I am not going to let it get out of control.
I can stop anytime I want.
A little pride along with a low self-esteem sure does blind us to the truth.
Once I let go of the pride and came to the understanding that alcohol was ruining my life (controling my life) it was at that point that I was able to find the solutions to stop.
When I came to the understanding that we all are sinners (I am a sinner) and that sins were ruining my life (controling my life) at that point I started finding solutions that changed my whole self. (Mind, body, spirit, soul)
Again...letting go of the pride in me and seeking Jesus as the only way to rid myself of sin (tried it on my own and found that only He can do it for me) is the solution, the only solution I could find that changed my whole life.
Yes the little lies inside of us that build up our pride sure are what causes us to fall. Pride comes before a fall.

[sugarssweetpea]

Everything that I have ever quit or tried to quit, Satan was right there with a lie. I suppose yes, his lies drove me to all of it in the first place since I took my first drink at 12 b/c my friend was doing it. (that was the lie, I had to do it, b/c she was) Another lie - my dad drinks so why not me. Every time I take another step forward in my growth with God, Satan is right there to try to drag me down. He is full of nothing but lies. For me now is food addiction. It is my last one. I remember not being able to control it since I was about 7. I was not fat, but never ate healthy. I am currently 100 lbs overweight. I have anxiety & anger issues. I started reading a book on them, & guess what I became more angry. EVERY TIME I grow, he tries to hold me back. Sorry for rambling, I am just tired of him. Really tired. I also need to know how to give it all to Jesus. Is it praying or reading the Bible every time you are faced with a temptation & not giving in to it?

[TonyB]

For me, I drank because I’m an alcoholic. I will always have that affliction. I will always have an allergic reaction to alcohol, that also triggers an obsession of the mind. Right out of the big book man. I used to think I was terminally different, but I guess I am just a run of the mill alcoholic. Just your garden variety drunk.
I think that what you are hinting around kind of sounds like a 4th step to me. When ever someone refers to digging or looking at what lies under something. That just reminds me of all the skeletons I had to get out of my closet by doing a 4th step. It’s just that in the AA world it has been made very generic because people come from so many different backgrounds and many of them can’t accept anything to do with any religion. I was one of those people. But what a lot of people don’t realize is that the big book is based on the original big book, the bible. So, the reason we do a 4th step is to get all those lies out in the open, get all those bones out of the closet. Take the wind out of the devil’s sails, so to speak. To look at why we did those things in the first place. And then later, to admit all those transgressions to God and to ask him to remove them from us. I’m getting ahead of the 4th step, but you see where I’m going.
Bill and Bob put his program together like it is for a reason. I’ve just got to try not to complicate something so simple.

I just thank God that salvation is not based on works or on anything I was “required” to do. If that was the case I would be doomed. Because I screw up way too much to count on my “works”. Any good that I ever do is only by God’s grace and goodness, or something that He gives me for His glory.
It’s all about the grace of His love for us and nothing else. Check this out….

John 3:16-21
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”

Satan has no power over me man. I am protected by the grace of Jesus Christ. Thank you God. When Satan comes to tell you lies. Command him away from you in the name of Christ Jesus because you are one of the loved and free from the evil one.

Thanks for letting me ramble…
Tony

[sugarssweetpea]

No, Tony, THANK YOU for rambling. Your post helped me a lot. Things that I know, but definately need to be reminded of every now and again.