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I struggle a lot with talking to my mom about certain biblical truths, and I'm afraid that I'm just not spiritually equipped enough to make my point clear. For instance, the bible clearly talks about the dangers of money. But when I bring that up, she gets really defensive and argues things like "God can use a person's money" or "Oh! So Christians just aren't ever supposed to have any fun? We're supposed to be poor and dress in rags?". She's so adamant that only 10% belongs to God. Even though Deuteronomy 8:18 and 10:14 indicates that everything belongs to God. Every penny we make is Gods money. And it's only because of God that we were able to earn that money to begin with.

She takes things to such an extreme and won't listen to a word I try to say, no matter how soft or kind my voice is. And honestly, I just don't know how to talk to her. It's very frustrating. I pray to God for the right words, but that never brings about a different result.

What should I do? How should I word things?

You know, I try to be a good Christian. I try to stand up for God and His truths. But when I do, nobody listens to me. It's like I'm just wasting my breath on them. It's so frustrating! It's not like I'm trying to preach or that I'm judging them. I'm simply repeating what the bible says! Nobody listens!

My mom doesn't have a job, though. And she uses all her money to buy alcohol because she's a severe alcoholic. I pray for her and talk to her, but she won't go to church.

She's constantly worried about her finances because my dad doesn't have a job and she doesn't really have one, either. If she would just trust God to satisfy her needs, she could be free from all the worry. I mean, worry is a sin anyway.

Also, I never said money was evil. I never said anything about my perspective on money. All I know is what Jesus says about money. And I know that my attitude in life is not to seek profit or forms of treasure that rot away with time. I strive to be the kind of person who could own absolutely nothing and still know that I'm okay because Christ has me covered.





Well, if a person is living in sin, it's not okay to let them just keep sinning without saying anything to them. But you should pray first.



I don't tell my mom how to spend her money. I was giving an example of how she doesn't listen to the things that I say. Despite being 20 years old and moved out of the house already, I do still view her as an authority figure. And I greatly respect her. But I know that she's making a lot of bad choices that are affecting her walk with God. And it just breaks my heart to watch her deteriorate.

after learning that neither of your parents are working right now i think it makes perfect sense that your mom is always worrying about money.

and just because someone stops worrying about money, does not mean that God is going to begin providing for them.
We must "seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness" for things to be added unto us..
your mom clearly does not seek first the kingdom of God.
Gods word also talks about not having needs met if one doesn't work. i dont know the circumstances as to why your Dad doesn't have a job so... i dont know, i know that the economy is really super bad right now.

she's reaping what she's sewn. this is a law of God, God will not be mocked. she has sewn unto herself corruption and is reaping the destructive harvest.

so as far as helping her get out of this cycle of destruction i suggest that you stop bringing up her sin to her.
if you want to have a conversation with her, make it something that isn't going to irritate her. give her a chance to talk about whatever she wants to talk about, listen to her, give her your attention w/out turning it into a sermon. let her know you love her. she probably is already fully aware of her sinful ways.

your mom needs faith in Christ Jesus. in order for one to get faith, they need Gods word. you can leave pamphlets at your parents house for them to read. give her a tape to listen to. start memorizing bible verses and and set goal dates for when the verse is to be memorized and then be like "Mom, i'm supposed to have this verse memorized by Friday" give her your bible to read along while you recite the verse. This way, she'll be getting Gods word, she'll be feeling like a mother because she's helping you and you will benefit greatly from it as well.

I know this is alittle late but DB is right, you are fighting along side a powerful ally and if you think it's a two one two battle as far as that goes you are wrong, I know I have been praying(and reading) since this thread started and I am about 150% sure DB is too. See that just doubled your side and who knows how many more are praying for your mom.
also if I might ask. Alchahol is a crutch, an excape from the pain as it were. what is she excaping,do you know?

You are right that if we trust in God, we shouldn't have any worries. But no one trusts in God as much as they should, and it doesn't help a person to stop worrying or stop stressing by telling them that they shouldn't or don't need to be. In the vast majority of cases, it actually increases their level of stress.
Also, I understand your concern for your mother and your need to help her, but you can't make her change, and now that you've told her what you have to say, continuing to reprimand her will not be helpful. She isn't going to forget that you disapprove.

Also, God gave us more than just feelings and the Bible. The Bible guides our lives and is the Word of God, but He also gave us things like reasoning and medicine. What SARLO said about alcoholism is true. It is the most dangerous addiction for adults - the only one that detoxing from can directly kill you. (As oposed to drugs, like meth - detoxing from meth won't kill you - what you do while detoxing from meth kills you.) There are also stages to change that people go through, and trying to force a person into the next stage, or behaving toward them as though they are in a stage they aren't can be very detrimental to them successfully making that change.

Your mother sounds like she is in the first stage (precontemplation, which is flat out denial- does not acknowledge that she has a problem) - in which case you need to find a way to raise her awareness of her problems. This is not the same thing as telling her what she’s doing wrong, which will only cause her to become defensive. You need to educate her. Find some materials, pamphlets, first person accounts, whatever, of what alcoholism does to people, the risks, and implications, and what it does to their families. But you have to be patient and give her these things slowly – one thing at a time, so she has time to process them.

She might also be in the second stage (contemplation – meaning she knows she has a problem, but isn’t sure if or what to do about it). If this is the case, it’s important to provide her with information, like before, but also very important to just let her talk, and one of the very best ways to help someone talk through things is by just sitting with them. Silence is one of the best things you can do for someone who needs to talk but is scared or doesn’t know what to say. People in our society don’t like silence, so it takes practice, but it’s one of the best thing you can do for someone.

Resources can include information on AA meetings, or a doctor’s information (encouraging making an appointment to do something), hospital or clinic information, any kind of support group. And then let her talk to you about it when she’s ready, don’t ask her if she’s read the materials or looked into something every time you talk to her… maybe just ask once or twice a week.

Hah. People can dismiss facts. Humans do it all the time. It's called "cognitive dissonance".

And ... I'm not trying to say anything about Takahashi's mom, but ... usually the "historic facts" are of more interest to amateur scholars than to anybody else. Oh, I'm not totally discounting them, please understand; I mean, I'm one of those "amateur scholars". I'm just saying, I'm weird; most people won't care about 'em.

On the other hand, who's the author of that book? It sounds like it might make for an interesting read.