Fixing the Root Not the Fruit

One of my close friends was feeling really sick, so he went to a doctor. The doctor ran a couple tests on him, looked at them and said, “Well, here’s your problem. Your cholesterol and blood pressure is extremely high. I’m going to prescribe you some medication.”

My friend asked him, “Give me three months before we resort to medicine. I’m going to start eating right and exercising, then I’ll come back. If my cholesterol and blood pressure aren’t down, you can write me those prescriptions.”

Now I believe there's a time and place for medicine. We need to be very careful about this, but it worked out for my friend. He went back three months later, and his doctor told him his cholesterol was actually below normal. His blood pressure was down to a healthier level. His health issues were linked to his lifestyle, and once he addressed those, some of his medical issues were fixed. Now he maintains that healthy life.

A similar principle holds true for spiritual health. For example, take opioid addiction that’s tearing apart so many people’s lives right now. Leaders all around the world are saying that the opioid crisis is far beyond anything they’ve ever seen before. We can’t just tackle the addiction, though. It’s the fruit not the root. My father founded Teen Challenge because so many addicts on the street weren’t finding help in typical programs that just wanted to deal with their addiction. My dad knew that addiction or any kind of sin can only be truly fixed by addressing the deeper realm of the heart and soul.

If a broken part of our hearts or souls is left unaddressed, we will turn to other things to comfort us. Maybe it’s alcohol or drugs or the arms of someone you’re not married to or even things that are normally okay like food or hobbies. I believe addictions are caused when this soul brokenness hasn’t been mended. When we allow God to come in and do his work, when we fully surrender ourselves to him, he can completely heal and restore us. This is the blessing that we have access to as the children of God. “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:23, ESV).