Are addicts reprobates?

Absolutely not! In my case, God stood by patiently and waited for exactly the right circumstances and time in my life to pull me from the flames. I have attempted to quit this sinful addiction so many, many times. God used my job to teach me things like root cause analysis, empathy and compassion. With each failed attempt I learned slowly and incrementally to recognize the mistakes and conditions that will always make me dangerously vulnerable to this temptation. Along the way, he has also been teaching me humility by reminding me of my years of sin and to see the severity of the sins I committed while at the same time reassuring me that even a sinner like me is welcome to His infinite mercy.

Some great saints, such as St. Augustine and Mark Ji Tianxang were addicted sinners who ultimately found redemption. Clearly, our loving Father is capable of anything. It is not hard to see that a divine being of infinite wisdom could use the snares of the devil as a means to create goodness and to draw us back to Him. God's timing is not ours and his thoughts are infinitely superior to those our limited minds can conceive. Most of all, His unconditional love and mercy is beyond miserly human conditional love and mercy.