Tuesday, January 05, 2010

An alternative to addiction

You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing (Psalm 145:16).

Are you an addict?

An addiction is a powerful craving that cannot be ignored. When someone mentions addictions, we usually think of illegal drugs like cocaine, heroine, or methamphetamines. But you can become addicted to legal substances too. Brett Favre and Rush Limbaugh both got addicted to pain killers. Millions of people are addicted to alcohol and nicotine. I would guess that many of you cannot start the day without a dose of caffeine in your coffee cup.

There are all sorts of chemicals that are addictive. For a while, they make you feel good. A few sips of alcohol can give you the confidence to go speak with an attractive stranger. A cigarette can calm your nerves before an important business meeting. A line of cocaine can make you feel on top of the world, ready to face anything. But eventually the high wears off and you lose that sense of euphoria. Life seems hard and tedious. The desire to feel good again draws you back for another dose. Soon your body starts depending on the chemical you are swallowing, inhaling, or injecting. When that happens, you move beyond wanting the high—at that point, you need the high. Trying to live without the drug becomes physically painful as your body goes into withdrawal.

Trying to suppress your cravings is a very unpleasant experience. I knew a person who tried to give up smoking; she became so crabby and short-tempered that it was almost a relief when she started lighting up again. A person I worked with guzzled Diet Pepsi all day long; when she got pregnant and gave up caffeine, she was a frazzled wreck. Drugs like Meth are so powerful that addicts need medical help to break the habit.

We use stimulants and depressants to fill a gap in our lives. We want to be confident but we aren’t; we want to feel good but we don’t. But filling your body with addictive chemicals is not the answer. In the long run, you are only hurting yourself. There is a much better option: go to Jesus for happiness. If you trust in His care, you won’t need a drink to get a shot of courage. When He forgives your mistakes, you won’t have to get high in order to cope with stress. Nothing can make you feel better than the loving arms of Christ.

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