The War for Your Worth: My Life-Long Battle with Substance, Sex, and Success Addiction
The War for Your Worth: My Life-Long Battle with Substance, Sex, and Success Addiction
R. Michael Thornton | 2022
Abstract
Addiction is still a massive threat to families in America. Nearly every government initiative to rid our nation of this problem has failed. Trillions have been spent. Policies have been made, and laws have been passed. This invisible enemy has taken more lives than terrorist attacks over the last 50 years. Still, we continually see addiction destroy so many lives in this country. Addiction is not a political problem. It’s a heart problem that is both complex and complicated. It goes beyond illegal substances and moves into behavioral addictions, which are equally damaging.
Defeating addiction begins by seeing it from different perspectives. The reality is that addiction has many faces. Substance abuse is only one side of the coin. Seeing it from different perceptions helps people discover that addiction is never about the substances or the attachments they gravitate to but about the alignment of their identity. The war on addiction is the war for what people allow to define their self-perception, worth, and value. The substances, the attachments, or even the relationships only serve as bait. When we recognize addiction on this level, we realize it goes far beyond substance abuse and strikes at the core of who people are.
This book unpacks this conversation in greater detail through my healing journey concerning addiction. For years I battled the multiple faces addiction has to offer, including an addiction to illegal substances, pornography, and my line of work which happened to be ministry. Millions of Americans and leaders struggle with some of these same issues. Unfortunately, stories of long-term healing and redemption over these types of addiction are few and far between. This book is unique because it offers inspiration and practical tools to help people walk in the freedom I have discovered. It includes research, personal experience, explosive personal testimonies, and pathways to help escort people out of bondage and into a state of freedom.
My purpose in writing this book is to show addiction from different viewpoints than what is usually conveyed. Seeing addiction from different lenses helps us define it with more clarity. I have a deep passion for preparing leaders, especially Christian leaders, to recognize addiction for what it is and help them walk out a pathway of healing from it. This book covers the top three habits that every leader will face at some point in their life—an addiction to substances, sex, or success. Whatever addiction you struggle with the most, this book provides hope, redemption, and practical applications.