Quote
Plantinga writes that to a big-league addict, addiction “feels not only parasitical but also wily and perverse. It feels…
Identity
Plantinga
Story
The First Drink
traditional temperance-era illustration (common in older preaching collections)
An older illustration describes a man who insisted he could handle “just one.” He had watched others lose control and was certain he was different. The first drink felt harmless. The tenth felt necessary. By the time he wanted to stop, the choice was no longer simple. The story is not sophisticated, but it still names something true: many destructive patterns begin with a decision that feels small and manageable. The danger is rarely in the first moment; it is in what the first moment quietly makes possible.
How you’d preach it
Handle carefully. Useful only when the context is personal bondage or the deceptive start of destructive patterns—not as a blanket cultural attack.
- Identity