“I admit my way does not work.”
Since TRT is a Biblically based strategy for sustained long-term recovery, it examines the powerless nature of addictive behavior from a Biblical point of view. About the matter of powerlessness the Bible, according to the Jesus Christ, says that, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” “But we are descendants of Abraham,” they said. “We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, ‘You will be set free’?” Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin.” (John 8.32-34, NLT)
Initially, people stuck in obsessive thought patterns about dissatisfaction and compulsive and addictive behavior tend not to have the ability to reflect on how the decline in their life circumstances are consequential to patterns of the destructive impact of addictive behavior. These are people in a pre-contemplation stage of change and may not even be aware that they are experiencing difficulties and problems as a result of consistent patterns of destructive behavior.
At some point, the consequences of destructive behavioral patterns can become so severe that a connection begins to develop between the person’s behavior and adverse circumstances in their life, indicating that these behaviors have specific problematic consequences. These people have advanced to a contemplative stage of change.
Jesus told the story of a young man, who we have come to know has the prodigal son, became wealthy upon being blessed with half of the inheritance he received from his living father of enormous prosperity. While living at home with his father, the young man had access to seemingly unlimited resources. Compelled by his preoccupation with experiences he felt deprived of living at home with his father, he insisted his father pay him what he would inherit upon his father’s death. His father loved him so and gave the young man what he asked for; one half of his estate. The young man then left home a rich man. He proceeded to waste his money on drunken parties and women for hire. He may have purchased for himself a party house.
Then something happened. His money ran out. The young man was too drunk too work. He could no afford to maintain his home. His party friends were for hire, so when the money ran out, so did they. Around the time he realized he was broke, a famine hit the land where he lived. There was economic collapse and jobs were scarce. The young man became so poor and hungry that he took a job feeding swine. He didn’t earn enough in his job for a sufficient diet and began to starve. No one was willing to give him hand outs since time were so tough. Even the garbage he was feeding the pigs started to look good to him. Jesus said that, “When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger!’” (Luke 15:17, NLT)
This is a Biblical illustration of pre-contemplation. Clients in pre-contemplative recovery need help at times coming to their senses concerning the relationship between consequences of compulsive and addictive behavior and the behavior itself. TRT provides therapists opportunity to utilize Scripture to identify anecdotal examples to help pre-contemplative clients see for themselves and make sense of the association between adverse circumstances in their daily experiences as direct consequences of detrimental addictive behavior.
