On A Trial Basis

1 Peter 4:12 – Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. (NIV)

I can remember when all stores were closed on Sundays. Even gas stations had hours late Saturday evening and early Monday morning but were closed on Sundays. There was a store in Toronto that even closed all its show windows with heavy curtains, so that no one would through sight be tempted even to be thinking of purchasing on Sunday — "The Lord's Day".

All that passed, and everything became wide open, except for the liquor and beer stores. Then about ten years back, during the summer time, the liquor and beer stores were opened on Sunday, on a trial basis.

All of us living in Ontario know the results: few things are ever only on a trial basis!

Sometimes people involve themselves in trying out new things in their lives — things that become addictive. Either they spend the rest of their lives trying to break the habit, or they succumb to it. It doesn't have to be liquor; it could be anything addictive that one might try on a trial basis.

In these cases it is often easy to see the struggles of addiction, and it isn't pleasant. In some cases it can mean the end of a relationship that was loving and caring.

To break the habit, the addict must first come to a place in life where he or she is willing to give up whatever it is that is the object of addiction. Then, thankfully, there is hope for those who have been led astray by the temptations of Satan. There is One greater than Satan and it is He who waits to give hope — of a new life in Christ. God can help anyone who is tempted — even those who on a trial basis became addicted.

Romans 6:12 – Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. (NIV)

Prayer: Dear Lord, we ask You to bring help and hope to those who suffer from addictions of any kind, and to enable those who live in these situations to endure. With Your almighty and constant love for human beings, bring those who are addicted, and those close to them, out of bondage, through Your Son Jesus Christ, in Whom we live and move and have our being. Amen.

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