Addictions: A Banquet in the Grave

Among those struggling with addiction, there is a tradition that helping yourself helps others, and helping others helps yourself. An alcoholic who addresses their own soul's needs can bless family, friends, and coworkers. Similarly, serving another person struggling with addiction brings mutual benefit. Readers may approach this book with a specific role in mind, such as helping others. However, as they engage with Scripture's teaching on the human heart's reckless nature and its instruction on self-control, they are prompted to recognize their own need for help. Welch encourages readers to examine their own hearts and lives for addictions. While the book focuses primarily on drugs and alcohol as prototypic addictions, its basic ideas apply to all kinds of persistent sins. The book's central argument is that theology matters fundamentally—it forms the infrastructure of our lives. Poor theology leads to eventual collapse; sound theology prepares us for anything. According to this theology, addiction's root problem runs deeper than genetics. Addictions are ultimately a disorder of worship: the question of whether we worship ourselves and our desires or the true God.