I love the imagery found in the short Book of Jude. Verse 12 describes false teachers as “shepherds who feed only themselves; they are clouds without rain.”
I like that – clouds without rain.
Recovery groups are filled with people like that. They look the part but are just clouds without rain. Nice image, poor results. Looking good trumps being good.
Psychologist Leon F. Seltzer writes, “All narcissists are self-absorbed, and many other personality disturbances can be seen as involving self-absorption as well, such as histrionic, paranoid, avoidant, dependent, and obsessive-compulsive.”
Whether he meant to or not, Dr. Seltzer was describing an addict.
Recovery Step: Recovery is about overcoming self-absorption. I leave you with the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: “Everybody can be great because everybody can serve.”
Mark and Beth Denison, married for 36 years, launched There’s Still Hope as a national movement to call men and women into lives of sexual integrity. Their ministry offers 90-day recovery plans for addicts and one-on-one and group coaching for addicts and their spouses. TSH also produces resources for pastors and churches to confront the porn epidemic that is destroying so many lives.
Dr. Denison was a senior pastor for over 30 years, NBA chaplain, and board chairman at Houston Baptist University three times. With a Master’s Degree in Addiction Recovery, Mark is a certified PSAP and active member of the American Association of Christian Counselors.
Mark has written four books on recovery: Porn in the Pew, 365 Days to Sexual Integrity, A 90-Day Recovery Guide, and 40 Days to Porn-Free Living. His latest book, Jesus on the 12 Steps, will be released later this year.
