There once lived a young man by name of Jacob Stanley, who had a promising future in the music industry.
Mr.S they called him.
At the age of 21, he had already won four Grammy awards and consistently climbed his way through Billboard charts early in his career.
As time went on, he continued to surpass the expectations of both his fans and critics.
Unfortunately, behind all the hype came the pressures and stress involved with stardom and success.
He didn’t have a middle name…but if he did it would’ve been spelled
A. L. C. O. H. O. L. I. C
He drank whiles signing autographs.
He drank when writing music.
He drank when nobody was watching.
and He drank whiles performing on stage.
From the outside, fans envied his lifestyle.
The freedom he had, the carelessness in which he handled things.
But in reality,
He was miserable, and he found no way of escape.
In attempts to heal his pain, he dipped his toe into the dating scene.
Here were the results;
Stacy robbed him
Isabelle falsely accused him of rape and
Natasha made him look sober…that’s how much of an alcoholic she was.
Ironically, these attempts of peace eventually led Mr.S to a darker well of hopelessness.
…………..Then he met Elise.
Elise Aiah
Also a well-known artist in the music industry.
Unlike the others, Elise never took advantage of Mr.S and his fame.
The more time he spent with her, the better he felt.
She was loving, genuine, honest and generally cared for the well-being of Mr.S
He had never met someone like Elise before,
However
~ His addiction to alcohol was still very real~
One evening after dinner, Mr.S noticed Elise paying special attention to her phone as she sat in the passenger seat of his car.
She seemed to be scrolling through what felt like thousands of pictures, not giving any attention to Mr.S.
He didn’t make much of the situation, and kept driving ….until he noticed tears violently streaming down her face.
Concerned, Mr.S immediately stopped the vehicle looked in her eyes and asked
“What’s wrong?”
After wiping her tears and eating 3lbs of KFC drumsticks, she gathered up the strength to tell Mr.S the reason for her tears.
Elise told Mr.S of the time her youngest brother had been involved in a serious car accident.
Despite being in critical condition, her brother graciously survived the wounds.
However, once Elise had fully explained the story to Mr.S, He immediately understood the reason for her tears.
The driver involved in the accident had been driving under the influence…..
On her visits back home, not only was Elise reminded of her uncontrollable love for her younger brother.
She was reminded of the one thing that almost took his life.
Alcohol. And she hated it to bits.
She had developed a passionate disgust regarding anything that had to do with it.
Mr.S was now completely silent, as Elise began to arrest her tears.
Still parked, he reached into his right pocket and handed her a few bills.
Confused, Elise asked “What’s all this for?”
“Catch a cab back home” said Mr.S
“You probably find my breath revolting and…”
Before she let him continue,
Ms. Aiah ~ looked into the eyes of Mr.S and softly uttered the words
” I love you”
She repeated it twice for assurance, then continued.
“I’m going to help you out with this drinking thing….but I can’t stay with you if you don’t change”
The following day, Mr.S spent all morning desperately searching up treatment institutions for alcohol abuse.
Watched videos and stories of individuals who overcame the addiction, and desperately reached out for help whenever he got the chance.
Despite his imperfect nature, Mr.S developed a relentless pursuit to be fully rid of this addiction.
His motivation?
Ms. Aiah.
The person who always stood by him.
The love he had for her and the fear he had of losing her drove him closer to sobriety everyday for the rest of his life…
Now, whether or not you thought this allegory was cornier than an episode of Zoey 101, here’s the message behind it:
God hates sin (Romans 1:18)
Furthermore, Our motivation as Christians to live in holiness and flee from sin should be driven from 2 factors.
1 – Our love for God ( 1 John 5:3; John 14:15; Jude 1:21)
2 – Our fear of God (Exodus 20:20; Proverbs 16:6; Proverbs 8:13)
Our fear of upsetting God and spending eternity without Him should drive us to pursue sinlessness.
Our love for God should keep us from sinning and drive us to obey him radically.
And our joy will come, not from our ability to love or fear Him.
But our joy will come from God himself.
Both can only happen when we view God as God….. rather than an option.
Soli Deo Gloria
Soli Deo Gloria 