Part 2: Reformation

Part 3: Persecution

Great questions, fam! Keep the questions coming. God bless!

很多人每日都與心癮和身癮對抗，無論是酗酒、毒癮、購物狂、大話狂、偷竊甚至是暴食症，這些行為若不糾正的話，只會不斷摧毀我們的人生，但要一下子戒掉這些已成習慣的惡習絕對不容易，究竟我們能夠怎樣做呢？

癮，可以是從心而發，亦可以是生理上的問題，當一個人無力去停止一些自我摧毀的行為，這便是上癮的象徵；在我當牧師之前，我一直有毒癮、酗酒、偷竊、看色性雜誌的惡習，這些誤習某程度反映了我的人生，那時的我，很渴望被愛，但卻不自覺地去找錯了方向。一個人渴望被愛，很多時都是因為內心感到寂寞，又可能是自小就沒有家庭溫暖，感到沒有人明白自己等等；當我們感到痛楚，我們不期然會尋找方法去自我安慰，就像酗酒的人會用酒精去淡化心中的傷痕，購物狂的人以為用物質去獎勵自己會令生活好過一點。

世上沒有戒不掉的「癮」，但我們要知道有甚麼可代替它的存在，戒毒、戒酒、戒購物狂、甚至戒色，這全都不是容易的事，但只要我們有決心，沒有戒不掉的惡習；對我而言，宗教力量幫到了我，信仰令我戒掉一切不良的習慣，但日後也要自己的決心去維持。我想鼓勵正在看這個專欄的朋友，若你們也有不良習慣想戒掉，現在便是時候下定決心；當你認清人生目標，你會發現毒品、酒精、物質、色慾已不值一文。

要戒掉那些已成癮的惡習，請記着以下數點：

誠實——戒任何惡習之前，記着對自己誠實，睜大眼睛叫自己看清這些行為如何操縱着你的人生，承認自己的錯，要別人幫助的時候，便要放下自我形象。

禱告——無間斷地祈禱，有調查顯示，經福音戒毒、戒酒、戒惡習的人，再次沾染惡習的機率幾乎是零，就算禱告不是最強大的武器，但它也是最大的盾牌，能夠為你抵擋引誘。神會聽每一個人的禱告，只要你真心交託。

坐言起行——很多吸毒酗酒的人都知道自己的行為是不對，他們往往自慚形愧，每日都怨天尤人，而忽略了正確的人生觀。自憐與自卑不能讓你戒掉惡習，站起來做一點事才最實際。

尋求協助——若你感到無助或軟弱時，找個智者、牧師又或是治療師去幫助你吧！要確保自己找到一個能與你分享「抗戰」過程、步驟的人，有心結不要埋藏在心底，放眼看四周，總有人願意聽你傾訴。

找代替品——找個好玩意去取替那些不良嗜好，運動、冥想、看心靈書、看聖經、打波、看電影、唱歌……總有一樣東西能為你帶來樂趣，某程度上，體力勞動能有效釋放負面情緒。

原動力——找個目標給自己，要達到成功，原動力是非常重要；經常提醒自己，戒掉那些惡習後，你的人生自然會變得精采；給自己一點獎勵，讓自己做一些平日很少做的事，作為戒掉惡習的嘉許。

最後我要你們緊記，大部分已成癮的惡習，都不是一兩天內可以戒掉，或許在抗戰途中你會犯錯，但千萬不要氣餒；當你感到軟弱時，請祈禱，對自己坦白一點，在尋找愛之前，先好好愛自己。

作者連結

The Official Jaeson Ma Website http://jaesonma.com/

East Week #16 “How do I overcome an addiction?”

Many people day after day battle with addictions they cannot overcome. Whether it is an addiction to alcohol, sex, drugs, shopping, lying, stealing, eating, spending or any kind of behavior that causes self-destruction, the question is, “How do we overcome addiction?”

The Official Jaeson Ma Website http://jaesonma.com/

East Week #16 “How do I overcome an addiction?”

Many people day after day battle with addictions they cannot overcome. Whether it is an addiction to alcohol, sex, drugs, shopping, lying, stealing, eating, spending or any kind of behavior that causes self-destruction, the question is, “How do we overcome addiction?”

What is Addiction?

An addiction is when a person becomes powerless to stop a destructive behavior, causing their life to become unmanageable.

As a young adult I have had to battle through many addictions in my life. Before I became a Christ follower I was addicted to drugs, alcohol, pornography, stealing and so many other unhealthy behaviors. Many of these behaviors were present in my life, because I was searching for love in all the wrong places. We search for love, because deep down we feel rejected, hurt, or not understood. When we feel pain, we try to medicate it with some form of pleasure. Our hearts are empty so we try to fill it with love in the form of drinking away the pain, shopping to reward ourselves, over eating because we are depressed, pornography because deep down we are afraid of intimacy but searching for comfort and the list goes on.

We can get free from our addictions that are out to destroy us, but we must understand what it takes to do it. Overcoming an addiction is not an easy task, but with determination it can be done. I’m thankful to God that I have been able to overcome many of my past addictions, where still today I have to do my best to resist daily temptations.

I want to encourage anyone reading this article that unhealthy addictions can be overcome, but we must be willing to do what it takes to overcome them. I don’t have all the answers, but I have been able to get free from addictions that used to haunt me. One day, I realized that the drugs, alcohol, stealing, lying and lust were not worth it anymore and it was up to me to make the decision to lose them and gain something better.

Some things I have learned in overcoming addictions…

1. Get Honest ~ the first step is to recognize you have a problem with controlling your addictive behavior. Whether it is alcohol, sex, drugs, lying, eating too much/too little, spending, etc you have to humble yourself and admit that you need help and that the addiction is wrong. Daily confess your wrongdoings, sins, and shortcomings knowing that there is grace to help you in your weakness.
2. Pray ~ the second step is to continually pray to God for help. It is proven in 12 step programs that prayer is one of the most, if not most powerful weapons in our arsenal to overcome an addiction. Take a moment to pray and ask God to help you overcome whatever insurmountable mountain of addiction is standing before you. We can all use a little help from heaven! There is no prayer too big or too small that God can’t answer!
3. Do something about it ~ the third step is to make a decision to get help and take action. We can wallow in self-pity all day complaining to ourselves on how impossible the situation seems, or we can get up and do something about it.
4. Find accountability ~ the fourth step is to find some kind of help in the form of others. Whether that is a mental health specialist, a wise friend, a church pastor/counselor, or a group where you can address these problems (12 step recovery, etc) make sure you can find a group of people where you can share your struggles, victories and progress on at least a weekly basis.
5. Get educated about your addiction ~ the fifth step is to get understanding on not what you are doing, but “why you are doing it?” Keep asking the question why till you know why and do all you can to find an educated answer. There is a wealth of medical, scientific and spiritual knowledge available on the web, libraries, seminars, etc from experts who have the answers on how to overcome the very addiction you are facing.
6. Replace an unhealthy addiction with a healthy addiction ~ the sixth step is to discover another way to invest your time, energy and emotions. For me, I know that whenever I feel tempted to give into an unhealthy addiction I look to other alternatives to help me focus my energies such as: exercising, meditation, doing something creative, playing sports, or some form of recreation with others to release pent up stress or to refocus on what is positive.
7. Motivation ~ the last step for me is to find a higher motivation to not do what I know is not good for me. I remind myself that the addiction is not worth it, will hurt me, others and in the end cause more pain than good. Another key thing is to “reward” yourself when you make progress in overcoming your addictions. Rewards could be in the form of a treat, watching movie, a gift, a award or getting to do something you would normally not do for yourself.

Lastly, remember that you will make mistakes. Getting over an addiction does not happen over night usually. It takes time, commitment, humility, honesty, support from others, continual prayers and determination to overcome. When you make a mistake, receive God’s forgiveness, remind yourself that you are loved, get back up and believe that you will be whole one day!

God bless,

Jaeson Ma
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

So many amazing questions this week and I was pumped to answer them! Here’s the first 10 minutes of my response to the question: “how can we bring about REVIVAL in our cities?”. Once the ball got rolling, I couldn’t stop!

Keep on the lookout for part 2 and part 3! God bless, fam. PAYCE! ^^