At Hope for Addiction UK, the Bible is central to our understanding of addiction. Yet you may well ask: “What on earth could an ancient book have to say to a person whose life is caught up in lies, unruly desires, hiding, covering up, blame-shifting, destructive consequences, and misery”?

Well, the answer is that”the Bible speaks volumes.” In fact, we don’t have to look further than the first few pages of Scripture to receive a world of help. Genesis chapter 3 reminds us of the addict that is in all of us. Drink or drugs may not be ruling our lives, but each of us has become a slave to sinful habits, allowing things other than God to control and have mastery over us. This uncomfortable chapter helps us retell our story of addiction. It shows us the lure of temptation, bad choices and their consequences, but also gives us a glimpse of the hope that can only come from God.

Genesis 1-2 recount how Adam and Eve lived, knowing God’s good presence, provision and authority in their lives. The divine blessing on them came with one simple instruction (‘you must not eat’ – 2:17) that carried a warning for disobedience (‘you will certainly die’ – 2:16). In Genesis 3:1 we see Eve being enticed by a lie as we are introduced to a voice other than God’s: that of a deceitful snake. ‘Did God really say?’ enticed Eve to question what she knew to be true of her Creator. Would disobeying God really result in destruction, or would it in fact offer something that God didn’t want them to have?

We can all be deceived like this and buy into things that promise one thing but deliver another. The guarantee of pleasure, comfort, escape, courage or even the chance to forget, can easily lure us. Humans live daily in Genesis 3, tempted to question God’s good provision and authority over their lives. When we fail to remember and trust God’s word, we cease being wise and become fools – being led not by God but by the world, flesh and the devil. As Ed Welch puts it,

From a distance, foolishness sounds ridiculous. It makes promises it can’t keep, and it has nothing to give except death anyway. But close up, when it conjures up a mirage that matches our desires, foolishness sounds like life itself.

How many of us read the opening lines of Genesis 3 and scoff at the unwise choice of Eve to eat the forbidden fruit? Yet doesn’t Eve’s demise describe all of us? Aren’t we drawn too to make choices we shouldn’t, rather than listening to God’s good voice?

Of course, Eve wasn’t merely enticed by the serpent’s lies; she quickly falls for them. In the first instance, she did push back. Eve remembered what the Lord had said and recounted to the serpent God’s command and the consequences of disobedience (3:2-3). Yet her desire for something other than the worship of God came into play. As Satan tempts her again, Eve sees the food as pleasing to the eye and desirable. She sees in the fruit and in what it may offer something more appealing to her than honouring God.

Is this ringing any bells? How often do we find ourselves in Eve’s shoes? An initial enticement can lead to recalling God’s word in our minds, yet our hearts can crave something other than what pleases the Lord. 

The upshot of Adam and Eve’s sinful act was God calling them to account. Yet in a further unravelling, they failed to take responsibility for their actions. A wrong choice leads to shame about what they have done, which leads to hiding from God and a feeble attempt to cover up their sin. When confronted, they fail to take ownership of their wrongdoing and the blame-shifting begins. Eve blames the serpent. Adam blames God for giving him Eve. And then Adam blames Eve for giving him the fruit.

A perfect relationship is shattered, not only between God and humanity, but between Adam and Eve. The ugly consequences result: curse, banishment misery, destruction.

Yet all is not doom and gloom. Genesis 3 might retell our story, but it is also begins to rewrite our story. There is a ‘way out’ from a life that has become undone because of sinful choices. You see, we can choose to remain in a destructive pattern of addiction. We can even scurry around trying to cover up our behaviour, or when that fails, start blaming others, our upbringing, and circumstances. OR, we can choose another way.

We can take responsibility, unlike Adam and Eve, and respond to the hope held out in Genesis 3. The God of this grave chapter doesn’t wipe Adam and Eve from the face of the earth. Instead we find a God who is gracious and compassionate. The Lord clothes them, providing them with a much greater clothing for them when their feeble could muster (Gen 3:21). God did not leave them as they were, but covered their sin and shame and provided what they needed. This foreshadows what God has done for us in Christ – the Saviour who came to be that ultimate covering for us. The Jesus who dealt with the consequences of our wrong choices and covered up our sinful exposed lives with the royal robes of his righteousness. Hebrews 4:13-16 sum up the matter perfectly:

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.