I.  Definition: An addiction is when someone is caught in a destructive habit which is difficult to break.

"Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness"  (Ephesians 4:19).

"Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves"  (Romans 1:24).

"Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,  Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,  Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God"  (Galatians 5:19-21).

"And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares"  (Luke 21:34).

A. They may start initially through the peer pressure of friends.  "Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men.  Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away"  (Proverbs 4:14-15).  "He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed"  (Proverbs 13:20).

B. They may also come from modeling the behavior of parents.  "But have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Baalim, which their fathers taught them" (Jeremiah 9:14).

C. Often addictions start with looking for a way to escape pain or a responsibility.  "Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts.  Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more"  (Proverbs 31:6-7).  The real problem is that when the issue is not resolved, then the escape mechanism becomes an addiction. 

D. Addictions also may come through generational curses.  "Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me"  (Exodus 20:5).  "Our fathers have sinned, and are not; and we have borne their iniquities"  (Lamentations 5:7).  This can be a negative behavioral trait which is passed down from one generation to the next.

E. Addictions may come through word curses.  "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh"  (Luke 6:45).

F. Addictions may come through the lies that we believe about ourselves.   "If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants are wicked"  (Proverbs 29:12).  If we come to believe that we were a mistake, then that is the way we respond mentally and emotionally. 

G. Addictions often come through the lusts of the flesh.  "Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others"  (Ephesians 2:3).  When the desire of the flesh begin to control us, then we may seek to fulfill them in an ungodly manner.

III. The above illustration.

A. First you will see that the individual is caught in the dilemma.  The addictions are the lid to the pressure cooker. (Although, I have only used drugs or pills in the graphic, it can be any addition) The pressure cooker is the bondage, in one sense, even more than the lid of addictions.  As long as he holds to the rope of the pressure cooker, he believes that the lid to the problem is secure.  However, there still will be the swish of steam from time to time releasing the some of the pressure of the steam.  Furthermore, he still remains in the cloud of lies (represented as steam within the pressure cooker).  Of course, there also will be explosions along the way as the steam continues to build.  If the individual just lets go of the rope of addictions, then he falls into the boiling hot water of the situation. The boiling water represents the mental, emotional, and spiritual problems. This is generally the vary thing which he is trying to avoid.

B.  The reality is that as long as there is the fire under the pressure cooker, the problem remains, and the individual feels that he needs holds to the addictions.  The addictions are can also be called the coping mechanisms, but the real issue is the fire or the root to the individual's problems.

C. The simple solution is to put out the fire.  How does one do that?  

1. First, one must come to see what the root issues are.  

2. Second one must deal with the root issue rather than  just dealing with the symptoms. 

3. There are many other articles on this website which deal with various root issues to addictions.. "Addictions Menu"