Dear Sex Addict,
You have been an unwelcome companion far too long. I never really enjoyed your presence, but now I see how much you are stealing from me and what I still have to lose if I tolerate you any longer. Every time I let you take over, you leave me shamed, disappointed and frustrated. You have brought me only regret, wasted time and doubt in both myself and in God. You cause me to hide from real relationships. I won’t let you dominate my life and steal my future from me. I know I’m capable of great things for God. So, I will do whatever it takes to get rid of you, to get my life back and make the most of what God has for me. I want you out of my life because you are a cancer. Here’s how you will die. Here’s how I will heal.
1. I expel you by being accountable and honest
a. X3 Watch
b. Accountability to my best friends and to my X3 group
c. I will maintain transparency with my closest friends so you have no means of operating in secret.
2. I will fill my heart and mind with Life-Giving things
a. I will seek and follow Jesus daily by talking to Him, reading His Word and engaging in my local church.
b. Do only those things that foster my motivation to seek God.
c. Pursue excellence in my professional life
d. Invest in friendships
e. Take care of my physical health
f. Take care of my financial health (not letting you waste my resources)
g. I will use my gift of encouragement to lift up others
3. I will learn to manage my emotions in a way that honors God
a. Slow down and look at WHY I feel the way I do instead of medicating
4. I will not believe your lies any longer
a. I will not be judged by sexual performance; only by the character of my heart
b. I do not need to prepare myself sexually for marriage by acting out. The only preparation is to have a clean heart, a healed mind and continuing to be the man God would have me be.
c. My doubt is not damning; instead, I’m blessed because despite doubts I still believe. And those who believe without seeing are blessed. I’m blessed because I recognize my need for God. For that, the Kingdom is mine.
d. My mistakes have not forever damaged me; God doesn’t treat me like my sins deserve. He renews my youth like the eagles.
5. I will take back my heart, my VISION for my life.
a. See 2a
b. I will talk to God and others and listen to my heart about what sets it on fire and then focus my energy on that.
The fight will be bloody (for you). I’ll make sure my heart and mind and the vision for my life are so huge that you get swallowed up in them. My life is too big, too intense for you. My King is too strong for you. So as far as I’m concerned, you can go back to Hell.
Talk to you never.
Mike