This is an interesting question. In my not so humble and unscientific
opinion, perhaps part of this is to add an accountability level to an
addicted. When one first admits one has a problem, one of the next
steps is to help assign the burden of the issue to an entity that can
handle that burden. Depending on your point of view, surrendering to a
higher power is either a cop-out or a real realization that the
addictive state one is in is not conquerable on one's own strength,
but rather is available to be conquered with the help of one higher
than the addicted.
Addiction can be very lonely, and the mention of a higher power does
allow hope to some who feel that they are all alone, even in the midst
of a support group of peers. It also provides a focused point of
strength upon which one can rely and from which one might draw power.
An atheist might say that this power is internal and not supernatural,
and a theist might agree that this power is internal, but definitely
not of nature.
When a child is learning to walk or to crawl or to speak, the child
learns to do this with help from a higher power. True, eventually a
child may learn to do these things on his own, but the knowledge that
there is strength and support and encouragement around him enables
that path to be reached in a more efficient manner.
The fundamental idea of higher power is that there are sometimes
circumstances beyond one's control, especially in the grip of an
addiction, and that acknowledging this displaces some of the
frustration of those who may otherwise be called weak-minded because
they can't do it themselves.
It also provides a direction external to the addicted. That is to say,
if a person is introspective, all roads point to that person, and the
destination is nowhere but where that person currently is. A higher
power points to a way of escape from, and embodies a perfect goal to
achieve outside of, the grip of an addiction.
This is a free comment. I hope it appears as unbiased as I tried to
make it. I probably will get heat for straddling the fence on the
issue, but it is sincere. |
