Christianity, depression, and shoplifting addiction…how to answer?!?
My Best Friend sent this to me and wanted answers…what’s the best way I can talk to her about this??? …Btw, she said she’s already emailed a minister, a Bible teacher, and a devout Christian a ways back with no reply…she is very discouraged and I’d like to help her back to her faith. Thanks.
When my oldest son was just a toddler my husband and I had our difficulties(this is our second try at marriage). He was very controlling and obsessed with video games(we found out last year, unofficially, that OCPD can account for most all the difficulties we’ve ever had). Jesus’ words in the Bible kept me in the marriage, specifically "Matthew 31 It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:
32 But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery." I knew that if I divorced I would want to remarry someday so I stayed and tried every way possible for things to be different. Nothing worked, I couldn’t fix it no matter what I did. I fell into a deep depression because the situation was so difficult. …and I still stayed because I didn’t want to sin. Eventually there was no joy in my life. My children are my world and mean everything to me so I hope I can convey how serious things were for me that even my son didn’t give me joy at the time. That’s when I started shoplifting – it was my coping mechanism. The adrenaline rush I got from it was the only ‘joy’ I felt at the time so it quickly turned into an addiction. I sought help, counseling and and antidepressants…it was the absolute hardest thing that I’ve ever had to go through. I really believe if I would have stayed in that situation I would have ended up dead or in prison…my son did not need that. I left when I realized that and I’ve been happy and healthy ever since…and with a different outlook on life and Christianity. I think if I hadn’t have been so devout I wouldn’t have fallen so far away from a religion that I held so dear at one time.
BTW(some people just don’t get this so I have to reiterate)Shoplifting was not me. I am an honest person and I always will be. It was not about the items at all…most of the time they were just thrown away. It was honestly the only way I knew how to feel good when I felt so so bad all the time. So I hope you don’t feel any differently about me for that period in my life. I certainly don’t condone any activity like that. I feel very strongly about doing other people right and having respect for each other. If you don’t have that what do you have?? 
My biggest question is that it’s pretty well accepted in the Christian faith that the Bible is God’s Word…but if that’s true wouldn’t there be a way where I could have got out of my situation without sinning. God is perfect so His Word should be perfect. Why did Jesus’ words leave me in a place of utter despair?!?
PLEASE give me some sort of answer…I just don’t know who to turn to! 
Love Always,
*******
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Tagged with: addiction • adrenaline rush • adultery • antidepressants • best friend • bible teacher • btw • christianity • coping mechanism • depression • different outlook • divorcement • faith • hardest thing • jesus words • joy in my life • marriage • reply • second try • serious things • shoplifting • video games
Filed under: How To Save A Marriage
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I can understand why she didn’t get answers. That is a very complicated situation without any clear answers. This much I do know, God loves each of his children as much as she loves her son. His love is perfect and he knows that we are not. Your friend sounds like a woman in a very bad situation and there is no mention of the husbands faith or lack of, only the OCPD which is an illness. Treatment for OCPD normally involves psychotherapy and self-help. His situation coupled with her own problems require a better understanding than I have to be able to give any advice, and I have no desire to condemn what I don’t understand.
My only suggestion is to ask God for his forgiveness and her former husband for his and move forward. The Bible states, "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. Sometimes all we can do is not try to justify our selves or our behavior but simply live with our decisions and pray for God"s forgiveness.
I wish you and your friend well and wish I had a better answer.
TL;DR
"PLEASE give me some sort of answer…I just don’t know who to turn to!
"
And you picked THIS section?!?!?!?
LOL. This section’s a joke.
Well, all Christian churches allow divorce. So whatever church she belonged to, if she had approached the minister/priest, would have said that she could have gotten a divorce, regardless of what is in the Bible. Other than that, she should have gone to her minister/priest for counseling.
Sorry, but to say that shoplifting was somehow forced upon her, is ridiculous. Yes, God is perfect, humanity is not. We all sin. A lot. whether it’s thinking bad about someone, being sarcastic to someone, etc. So to somehow blame Jesus or God for her despair is due to her limited understanding.
I know many people are like that and God still forgives them and loves them. It is common for people to do that. She needs to pray to God for forgiveness and God will forgive her. Also, she must know that Jesus came on earth to save us. Jesus took all the torture of getting whipped and getting his hands and feet to the cross for our sins. He had never sinned in his whole life and he took all those pain for us. Now millions of people are saved. If she is a Christian then nothing will stop her from going to heaven.
The Bible says, "There is no temptation that is not common to man, …..but with the temptation he will provide a way of escape." I Cor. 10:13
The Lord knows how to deliver us out of temptations …see Hebrews 4:15-16
Psalm 1:1-3 tells us that we can succeed spiritually speaking if we meditate on the word day and night.
James 1 tells us to ask for wisdom and that we should rejoice when we have temptations and trials.
James 5:16 tells us that the fervent prayer of a righteous person avails much.
The excuse that shoplifting was the only thing that gave her a high is just an excuse. If she prayed instead, and repented, then her prayer could avail much. Adding sin to your life only makes you backslide.
Jesus said in John 15:7, "If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you will ask what you will and it will be done for you."
So, the answer for her is to abide in Christ, meditate on the word, pray fervently, and don’t give up.
Peace be to this house (Luke 10:5)
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To your best friend, yes it is truth what you say concerning divorcement, but hear all the words, it says whosoever that shall marry her that is divorced.
First let me explain adutery, adultery has nothing to do with marriage except that in marriage you take an OATH, you make a PROMISE, a promise once made can never be broken, therefore you can not promise to love and honor one person and than lust for another. A promise can only be fulfilled.
Fornication also has nothing to do with marriage, fornication is the fact that you acted upon those desires of the flesh, you did the lustfull thoughts that are in your heart.
Wipe clean the lustfulness of in your heart and deny the lustful desires of the flesh.
These are the things that you pray to the Father for, and not seek advice from men. Go into your closet and after you have closed the door say the prayer that Jesus taught us Our Father and say them not with your mouth but with your heart.
God the Father WILL do things in your life to keep evil from you and do things in your life to stop you from doing evil. (shoplifting)
But it is up to you, to forgive your husband, if you do not forgive him God will not forgive you, read this between the lines because your answer is here within.
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Remember Mary sister of Lazarus, for she anointed Jesus at the hour of His death. (Matthew 26:13, John 11:1-2, and Luke 10:38-42)
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I am not a Christian or Jew; I do not follow the teachings of Peter, Paul, Moses, the Prophets or the physical church (Acts 11:26, Genesis 32:28).
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I am a disciple of Jesus, (John 15:7-8); I follow only the teachings of Jesus. I not only read each and every word Jesus spoke, I do all the things Jesus Himself told me to do, John 14:21-26).
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Because I do these things, I have become a member of the invisible church Jesus made for his Father without hands, John 2:19.
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I had a terrible gambling problem, check out an article I wrote about how I got rid of this problem!
Overcoming A Gambling Addiction
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