A Detox: From the World

     I'm sure you have heard of the concept of detoxification. To detox is ridding yourself of an intoxicating or addictive substance. In order to be intoxicated one must be excited or stupefied by some substance, generally drugs or alcohol, that is marked by a lack of physical or mental control. Like intoxication, addiction is characterized by the attachment to some form of substance. An addiction is a compulsive need for and use of a habit forming substance characterized by tolerance and by well-defined withdrawal. If you are persistently using some form of substance it becomes apparent physically, psychologically, or socially.

This is not a prelude to a episode of Intervention, but it lays the foundation of how a detox works.

     As humans we are raised in the world and when we make the decision to give Christ our lives we must detox ourselves from the worlds way of thinking and acting. II Corinthians 6:17 boldly states "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you." God wants us to detoxify ourselves from sin. Separate ourselves from those things of the world that cause sin to rise in our fleshly bodies. When we made a declaration of salvation it didn't spill over into everything else in our lives. We still have fowl mouths friends, those taking part in sexually immoral acts, gossipers, catty talkers, and so many other things. We have to make the decision to separate ourselves from those things not of Christ, and things that do not edify God. If your around gossipers, drinkers, and sexually explicit people we are in a position of being tempted by those things we have made a decision to be free from.
     Before I was saved I drank, and I mean I drank LOL!!! It was my hobby. When I decided to give God my life the tendency to drink was still there. I had to separate myself from my partying friends, stop going places were alcohol was prevalent, and honestly give that area of weakness to God so I could be delivered. Praise God I was, but it took me detoxing myself from those people, places, and things that tempted me and fed my fleshes desires.
     All of us have issues, and ways that we can attribute to being apart of the world. So because I wanted to be whole and filled with God's love I began to read the Word, and welcome God in to my life. As I began to do that more and more the things I once enjoyed doing I didn't enjoy anymore, the places I used to go I did not have a desire to go to anymore, and I saw this change in every part of my life. I became celibate when I hit rock bottom so I made sure not to entertain music, television or any other portal that broadcasts Sex, Sex, Sex. I stopped watching many of my favorite TV shows that depicted drama, gossiping, fighting, and other things that didn't glorify God. The more I got the Word in me the less I desired things not of God.
     Proverbs 4:23 makes clear an important concept of detoxification It says, "Above all else, guard your heart, for from it flows the issues of life." This means that we have to protect our heart from things not of God because from our hearts flows all the issues of fornication, blasphemy, drinking, doing drugs, etc etc etc. To maintain a life pleasing to God we must guard ourselves from those things that do not represent God. Though we are apart of the kingdom of God we are still flesh, and flesh has sinful tendencies. We must be mindful to not feed into these tendencies or give them a opportunity to grow.  The key to a successful detox is to eat and drink only the things prescribed to you. Jesus directions for our Christian detox is found in I Corinthians 11: 23-26. Jesus says to "take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of me" and then says "This cup is the new covenant in MY blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me."
     So what does this detox call for? Because we were once of this world we became conditioned to do things of the world. We were intoxicated with sin and selfish desires. Sin was our substance of choice. Sin caused us to form habits that were apparent physically, psychologically, and socially. We drank, had sex outside of marriage, smoked, cursed, coveted our neighbors belongings, and disregarded everyone but ourselves. We were addicts of the worlds system!!
     And then God shined his light in our lives in the way of a spiritual "Intervention." God said come out and separate yourself from the world. Aspire to be like Christ. God then gave us a detox diet by way of the Holy Bible and Christ's life. The instructions were to eat and drink life by way of Jesus broken body and blood shed. As a result we begin to be sober in the Spirit. Those things we once participated in no longer were appetizing because we had a new diet. We began to shed pounds of pain, sorrow, failure, guilt, sexual desires, and many other things that flowed from our hearts. Food like cursing, fornicating, lying, stealing, and gossiping our hearts spew out because we no longer have a appetite for these things.
     Its up to us to detox ourselves! We must be mindful of the things we are around, listen to, and allow to make their way from our minds to our hearts. We MUST guard our hearts to prevent a relapse into addiction. If you struggle with fornication no late nights at your boo's house, if you drank a lot steer clear of the bar! We must do our part to adhere to the detox diet God has created for each of us. When we do this our taste buds will change, and we will become more aware of those things that don't edify God.

God Bless you is my continuous prayer!

Kiva Thompkins
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