Posted 11:18 pm Saturday, February 18, 2012
A Love That Covers Drug Addiction
Most have probably heard that singer Whitney Houston died one week ago. The cause of death is yet to be determined, and there's a lot of conflicting information.
There are two things about her life that have gotten a lot of coverage: her drug addiction and her faith.
I haven't followed her very closely over the years, but talk of the addictions and whether they contributed to her death was the first news I read when the story came out.
So I was surprised when I saw an interview with Whitney's dear friend, Kim Burrell, a gospel singer. I was surprised because Kim was talking about the strength of Whitney's faith.
Why was I surprised? Does being addicted to drugs somehow keep you from knowing God?
Pastor Matt Chandler at the Village Church in Dallas did a series recently about doubt. He asked his congregation to write down which doubt they struggled with the most.
About 80 to 90 percent of them said, "If I'm saved, if Christ lives in me, then why do I still struggle so bad with my sin? If Christ lives in me, then why can't I shake this stuff," he said.
It's true in my own life. It's true in the lives of my spiritual friends. We walk with God closely for a while, then we mess up. Sometimes we mess up for a long time and it takes a while before we get frustrated enough with ourselves that we come back to God, who was waiting for us the whole time.
So I don't know why it shocked me that someone who is addicted to drugs would have a deep spiritual life as well.
Whitney's friend Kim was convinced she knew and loved God. Whitney had Gospel music playing in the background when she left Kim a voicemail just hours before her death, Kim said.
God does want us to fight, and believers have been fighting battles within our souls since the beginning of time. It's part of being human. Kim said Whitney would call at all hours saying that she needed help and asking for prayer.
Maybe turning to God in our need is what He's really looking for.
I don't think we can judge the condition of someone's soul by the struggles they face. God loves people, whether you're a drug addict, or a liar, or someone who has a bitter heart.
He doesn't love you because of who you are -- He loves you because of who He is.
"We've got this weird compartmentalization thing that happens, where you don't think God sees all that you are, or if he could, if He somehow knew who you were going to be, He wouldn't have gone to the cross," Chandler said in another sermon. "Listen, God knew that you were going to be messy. God knows that you're going to screw up often. He knows that you're going to be drawn to things that are wicked. That's what the cross is all about. The whole point of the cross is that you're going to fail, and you're going to stumble and you're going to feel dirty, and you're going to feel awkward. The whole point of the cross is that there was going to be this mighty picture of His love and pursuit of you, despite you. So the cross is necessary because of you, but it's also the picture we have of just how far God is willing to go because He loves you."
So it doesn't matter Whitney had been addicted to drugs, or if that had anything to do with her death. God loves her. From all accounts it seems like she loved Him, despite her mistakes, which is the greatest commandment anyway.
