Your identity—and the words you use to define yourself—matter. They shape not only how you think psychologically but also how you understand yourself biblically. The answer to this issue is both modern and ancient. We don’t simply need to acknowledge our struggle—we need the freedom that comes from being made new.

“Hi, I am (insert name here), and I am an alcoholic.” You may have heard this phrase on TV, in movies, or perhaps in person at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. While AA and similar organizations have Christian roots, their statements about addiction reflect a particular worldview. AA teaches that

“Alcoholism is a progressive illness that can never be cured but that, like some other diseases, can be arrested.”

Likewise, Narcotics Anonymous describes addiction by saying,

“We are people in the grip of a continuing and progressive illness.”

As someone who grew up around substance abuse, I have attended a few AA meetings. And as a pastor with more than a decade of ministry experience, I have counseled men and women whose lives have been devastated by addiction. I’ve served alongside recovery ministries and walked with church members through the long, painful road of healing.

While I would agree that there can be a genetic predisposition toward abuse and addiction, that reality does not excuse the moral nature of the issue. Scripture does not use the terms alcoholic or alcoholism—instead, it speaks of the drunkard. The Bible consistently frames this not as a disease to be managed but as a sin to be repented of and overcome through the transforming power of Christ. I believe the language we use—and the identity it shapes—can be both dangerous and unbiblical.

Dr. Marisol Valencia-Payne, in her doctoral dissertation in psychology, argued that the use of identifying language (“I am an addict,” “I am an alcoholic”) can both help and hinder those who adopt such terminology.

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