Prologue

Recently on our national radio talk show we received a call from Marian, amiddle-class career woman who was on the verge of R losing it all, even her husband and children. In a not-so-smart moment, she had “just once” tried crack cocaine. Drug use was totally out of character for this respected Midwestern mother, but because of the power of chemical addiction, she was not able to do cocaine “just once.” The drug had instantly gripped her, and she suddenly found herself to be something that she never would have imagined—an addict. She had no idea what to do or where to turn.

Helpless, hopeless, and feeling terribly guilty, Marian turned to God. She made a commitment to being good, mustered up her will to stop the drug use, and began attending church. But doing the “God thing” was not working. Nothing was changing. Now believing that not even God would help her, she was more desperate than before.

Marian was not finding God; she was only finding religion. Big difference. Religion is about trying to be better and using “God language” to do it. If she had found God, she would have found help and strength beyond her own efforts. Instead, she seemed like a half-dead person trying to shock herself back to life with electric paddles.