I got a text message from an old friend yesterday that simply read “20 year 2day!” He went on to tell me that he was celebrating 20 years of being “clean and sober.” Then he said “The Lord and I may not have beaten alcoholism but we dang sure have it on the ropes and bleedin'” Haha! I love it! I love sobriety and hate alcoholism, and all addiction for that matter. Notice I said I hate alcoholism, not alcohol. I don’t drink, but you don’t have to hide your Corona if we run into each other at a Mexican food restaurant, that’s just weird for both of us. Alcohol is not the problem, abuse of it is. And for some guys, like me, we tend to abuse it. Alcoholism, along with a score of other substances and sinful habits, can cost you your family, your friends, your health, your home, your job, your freedom, it can even kill you. But worse than all of that, addiction affects our relationship with God. Ephesians 5:18 says “do not get drunk with wine…but be filled with the Spirit…” It’s not that God JUST wants sobriety for us, although that is true, it’s that He wants us to experience HIM, His Spirit.  
Addiction is no easy thing to deal with. Don’t be quick to look down on someone who is caught in the lie that addiction tells. We all believe the Devil’s lies, sober people are sinful people too. So people caught in addiction need our love, our prayers, and our friendship. They need the truth,and they need reality. But they don’t need our condemnation or ridicule.
We can learn a lot from people who struggle with addiction. One of the things I find especially refreshing about people who are walking in recovery, they KNOW they can’t live a day without God. That’s true for all of us, but they KNOW IT. 
20 Years sobriety is a big deal! Praise God! And in honor of my friends sobriety, one of my favorite songs that means more to ME than you know. Sing it Kenny:)