’It is a sad fate for a man to die too well known to everybody else, and still unknown to himself’ – Francis Bacon
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Gollum, one of the most intriguing and well known characters in contemporary literature, is a compelling example of what happens to people when they quench an appetite with all the wrong things. Having an appetite, a craving, is not in itself a sin: God created the human body, mind, soul, and spirit with appetites which are meant to the continually satisfied with those things which are healthy and nourishing. Gollum yearns to be significant and have power: the author of story tells the reader that Smeagol was a Hobbit who was horribly mistreated by his family, often neglected by those who were supposed to love him. The Ring of Power, then, becomes his way to reclaim that which he has lost. It infuses him with such a great sense of significance that he is happy to kill for it, hide away from any potential threats (i.e. everybody), and have no loyalty to others. He will use others to keep the Ring and be used by others to get what he wants.
The funny thing is that the more he clings to it, the more it ruins him. Although he once ate and drank like other Hobbits, he fills his culinary appetites with the most hideous stomach-fillers. His poor diet was a reflection of the impact of the Ring, demonstrating that if one appetite is met with destructive things in a person’s life, then it will affect the way in which they try to fill all other appetites. Eventually, Gollum no longer is connected to himself: once he was ‘Smeagol’, but has since become ‘Gollum’ and refers to himself in the third person and has unusual dialogues between his two ‘selves’. He becomes horribly double-minded and the war within him rages over whether or not to keep the Ring. Eventually, the darker side of him continues to grow in strength and kills him.
Deep down, he knows that his attachment to the Ring is destroying him but giving up the Ring is more painful than keeping it. That is, in fact, is one of the greatest conundrums of the Lord of the Rings story: why doesn’t Gollum (or Frodo, or anyone else for that reason) just give it up? Why does any person not just give up an addiction- like sex, cigarettes, porn, alcohol, relationships, gambling, etc) – when they know 1) it is hurting them; and 2) because they might be able to experience something better? I find that people who ask this question do not really understand the nature of addiction and basic human need.
Fundamentally, people, like Gollum, cling to self-destructive addictions- which are quintessentially coping mechanisms – because the pain they’re trying to run away from is so terrifying. Even when they have tasted the delectable goodness of the Heavenly Love (Psalm 37:4), they still try and feed their spiritual stomachs with something that doesn’t last.
Why do they do it? Does that mean that God is powerless to love and redeem the people He saves, simply because they reportedly believe in His Son and yet continually try to self-medicate? God, through Jesus, does save people from themselves, but salvation is a relationship. That means that although people may be saved as Christians, they need to surrender their old way of life and the coping mechanisms to Him and their wounds behind the pain, in order that He may heal and give them a better way. But sadly, many Christians don’t know how to do that: they’ve never been shown and the pain that their addictions are covering is so tremendous that they fear surrendering it all to God in case He might reject them or be powerless to help.
Why might a person feel that? It’s very likely that they have been shown by the church and other Christians, predators from the past, family members, and so on, lies about God. If a young boy was sexually abused by an older man, he may come to believe that sex is a means to friendship and love; as an adult, he will very likely repeat that cycle whether he is a Christian or not. He may not become a paedophile, but the abuse may very well entrench itself and continue to have a powerful hold over him even if he is a member of God’s family and lead him to addiction. The destructive cycle needs to named, owned, worked through, renounced, and cast out. Destructive habits of bitterness and hatred; secrets (sins); mental and spiritual strongholds; soul, spirit, and body ties; forgivelessness; attempting to be in control and self-medicate; and gaining freedom from false gods and idols are all part of the mess that keeps people trapped and distanced from deeper blessing.
Sounds messy and complicated? It sure is. Will it take a while? Yes, possibly even a lifetime. Does it involve quick fixes? Not likely because, as a wise man once said, “God often does His work in gentle drizzles”. God is more likely to heal you over a course of time, not zap you because if He did that, few of us would survive. Many people in addiction have suffered from something, but one key to healing is to no longer denying the past and its influence, but to acknowledge it, and to no longer be a victim. Suffering is a part of life, but as Scripture reminds us, it “produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope (Romans 5:2-4). God can use anything and everything, even our current weaknesses and so-called ‘failures’, to bring us closer to Him.
A couple of weeks ago, an overseas friend told me of how, although Christian, he had surrendered to temptation and entered into a gay relationship. He fears God’s discipline and is in two minds about whether he can get out- or wants to get out- because he feels uncertain of God’s love. He wonders if he is still a Christian and loved by God. I assured my friend that God does love him, but that is a topic for another blog post! In answer to my friend, Psalm 107 came to mind, and I want to quote it at the end of this post in order to give others hope and courage them to go back to their Heavenly Daddy so He can heal. It’s either that, or to live as Gollum: directed inwards, self-pitying and self-driven, and giving up the Love that God has in store for them.
10 Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,
Bound in affliction and irons—
11 Because they rebelled against the words of God,
And despised the counsel of the Most High,
12 Therefore He brought down their heart with labor;
They fell down, and there was none to help.
13 Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,
And He saved them out of their distresses.
14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
And broke their chains in pieces.
15 Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
16 For He has broken the gates of bronze,
And cut the bars of iron in two.