By Gavin Boyle
Comedian John Crist had to rebuild his life from a place of brokenness and addiction, but because of that time, he now understands the Lord’s view when we mess up and choose sin over Him.
“The way I was raised is, you’d be like, I can’t believe you just did that show at a church. This is embarrassing. Don’t say that you’re a representative of me. I would walk by this bar and go, I can’t believe he’s in there,” Crist told the “Granger Smith Podcast” when discussing how he thought God viewed Him before he faced his addictions. “And my therapist [said]…‘I think Jesus would sit down next to you.’ I’d be like, I’m feeling sad, and He goes, ‘Yeah.’”
“You know, we think about Jesus as — He is perfect — but He was sad. All his friends left Him. He was 100 percent human. He was alone. His best friend Lazarus dies. He goes, ‘All these feelings, I have had them.’ And He’d probably sit down right next to [me] at the bar,” Christ continued. “He goes, ‘Hey, if you get another couple shots here and go up to your room with that woman,’ He’s like, ‘That’s not the best plan for you.’ But, He goes, ‘If you did that, I would understand. Not that I let you off the hook, I don’t.’ He goes, ‘I got a better plan for you. I have a better way for you.’”
This view of Jesus and the Lord, completely changed Crist’s relationship with God as he came to see Him as an understanding Father, rather than a judgmental God looking to punish him at every turn. Transforming how he understood Christ’s love also saved Crist’s life; it allowed him to overcome the addictions to sex, fame and alcohol that were ruining his life.
In 2019, these addictions were exposed to the public and his Christian image came crashing down. He ended up checking into rehab in order to get his life back in order and now lives a much healthier life.
“After the glory or height of this comedy show, everybody, you know, signing autographs, everything, this is unbelievable — I cannot survive the night in this hotel room,” Crist said in 2024 when recalling how he felt before rehab. “I felt like closing that hotel door was like a prison cell, without my cell phone, or in some kind of relationship, flirty type situation, or alcohol, I will not survive.”
Related: John Crist Opens Up About Addiction to Fame
Five years later, Crist has overcome these addictions and now lives the clean, healthy life he used to portray.
“I remember going to my first AA meeting, and the guy who said he was third, 30 days sober, I go, ‘There’s no way. There’s no way. I don’t believe that,’” Crist recently told Sadie Robertson Huff. “And to be five years. So now, granted five years, I still got a lot of problems, but that is a miracle.”
“I want to be alive, I want to be able to do comedy, I want to be able to spend time with my family, my girlfriend,” he added. “If you don’t have that outside of a relationship with Christ, I don’t know what to you. Life is all about balance.”
Read Next: Comedian John Crist Celebrates 5 Years Sober: ‘A Miracle’
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