Addictions

Our pastor is talking about addictions now, what they are and why we can't stop. Most people know what they really are: things we do because we believe they will ease our pain and make us happy...at least for a little while. Whether the addiction has a physical component like many drugs or is purely mental, they're all attempts at escape.

In a discussion group we have after the sermon, one woman told of a recent high school grad she knew who smokes marijuana often because, according to him, it's the one thing that keeps him from committing suicide. I've had other addictions for the same reason, to restore just one shred of the happiness that was missing from my world.

And we can get addicted to pretty much anything, even things that are normally good. I've known someone who was addicted to volunteering and burnt himself out. Others can be addicted to being around people, work, shopping, or a bunch of other things we don't normally consider addictions or that we don't consider to be as bad as being addicted to sex, drugs, alcohol, and gambling.

In a way, though, these lesser addictions can be more dangerous. The point of addictions is escape from something, usually a certain high level of stress. It's easy to realize a drug addiction is dangerous, but how bad could an addiction to work really be? You make a lot of money to support your family, get a lot done, get the respect of coworkers, and might even be able to retire a few years early.

One problem with this is that if you're addicted, you'll never be able to stop working, even if you have the money to. A bigger problem is that as long as you keep telling yourself it's not an addiction or, perhaps worse, that it's a positive addiction, the longer you'll keep using it to ignore the problem you're escaping from.

And what are we trying to escape from? I want you to ask yourself that question. I also want you to honestly examine your life for any behavior that may be an addiction. In my life, I have one of the "lesser evil" addictions, yet it sucks dozens of hours of my time away each week.

Then I want you to think about how to break these addictions. I'm going to think about it, too (because I really don't know for sure). It's too easy to say "give it up to God," and, though that's certainly a part of it, what does that mean on a practical level?

For me, on a practical level, it means I'm going to start limiting the time spent on hulu and video games (my lesser evil addiction), particularly during work hours. I might even turn off my wireless internet card to make accessing hulu impossible. I will also have to fill my time with something more wholesome while not getting addicted to my replacement.

The real issue, though, is I have to find what I'm trying to escape from and deal with it with God's help. It's not enough to change habits; we have to change our hearts. We have to replace what we feel will give us happiness with what will truly satisfy us. Otherwise, we'll all be addicted to trying to please ourselves.