What Can We Do About Addiction?

It's such a beautiful day today outside in contrast to all the sad news on Yahoo. It's got me thinking aobut Amy Winehoouse's death...just 27 years old. Do I think she died of a drug overdose? Yes, even though the articles say it's not.I don't believe them. If not an overdose, I'll be surprised if drugs weren't in the mix. Anyway, we lose thousands of both young and old people to drugs, not only by death, but in robbing  people of full lives. America and the World is losing it's war on drugs, if there ever really ever was one. Why?

Of course there are many factors...kids, teens, young adults with too much time, too much at their disposable, too much focus on the external and achieving, too much freedom and not enough of God in people's lives. Unfortunately religion is at fault too. Jesus was not religious. He was about relationships. Our small little community church has tapped into that. Kids, teens, adults...it doens't matter who you are need relationships, but many have gone sour in the good ole USA. So why is religion partly responsible?

We, they, I'm not pointing fingers because we make up the collective of what is termed The United States. We've gone out of focus like a blurry photograph. We're ot seeing thngs clary if we're not in relationship with God. For some of you that struck a nerve for others an Amen. We need God in our lives. He's the one who desinged life and without Him it's pretty obvioius we're messing up--badly! We need God as our heavenly father, mentor and guide to the universe.

We live in such a big world these days it's sometimes difficult for us to mange living in it, but if we can climb up on our Father's lap, we'll find love and comfort there.So that's going to eliminate drug use? No entirely of course, but it would ceratinly help for kids and teens to know that they're not just plopped here to burn out and do whatever they want...that leads to excess and eventually depression and emptiness.

We need God, not religion, but a meaningful relationship with God...and not just the old man upstairs or the benign ruler. We need to know the fullness of God, the majesty and awesomeness of God that will knock the complasency out of religion and get us into our communties connecting with youth and those in need...not just to help them on a social level, but let's get down to their real needs...not just their physical needs for food, clothing and shelter, but the cry of humanity for meaning.

Sartre, camus and the other existentialists I read in college left me empty handed and they continue to do so. We need to give our youth and the Amy Winehouse's of today something meatier to chew on...not just the nebulous force of "Star Wars" or the life giving prana of Eastern religion, though there is a form of peace and godliness, we need to get back to pure religion...right relationship with God. Tell me what you think.