Issue: A family member has an addiction problem. They have been in recovery but have never had complete success. This family member lies in order to not be detected and is on the path to destruction, what should I do?

Insight: Addiction is always a difficult thing for a family to face. The problem with addiction is that recovery is a lifetime process. It is not instantaneous. A person in recovery cannot expect to be free from all temptation. It is how you handle these moments of temptation that reveals how well you are doing on the path to recovery.

As for what you can do; you can pray for them, you can encourage them to go back into recovery, you can place boundaries on their relationship with you and your family, and you can share your concerns with them. If these prove unsuccessful in changing the situation, I encourage you to seek counseling with a counselor who is familiar with addiction. It may help to have a fresh perspective and they may be able to give you new insight into the situation and give you some strategies to deal with your particular situation.