ADDICTIONS

I've been reading on fb several posts and blogs about various addictions to food, caffeine and the like. There was discussion about whether drinking coffee was wrong or energy drinks or processed foods. It gave me a lot of food for thought (no pun intended!).

It came down to this for me - all addictions are a symptom of a deeper problem. If I want to stuff my face with a Big Mac, most likely it is more than a taste for greasy, fried foods. It probably means I am upset or stressed or some other unpleasant, uncomfortable emotion.

The one thing that was mentioned was caffeine. Now I drink one or two cups of coffee each day. I enjoy my coffee. I've gone several days without it and not had an issue, but I miss it. But does that mean I'm addicted to it? I don't think so.

Paul said that all things were permissable but not all things were profitable. That means I am free to drink my coffee and enjoy it guilt free. However, if I start downing it by the gallon, am so jittery I can't sit still or have other negative side effects, I need to start looking not just at the coffee, but at WHY I am drinking all that ooffee.

Maybe the problem isn't the coffee at all. Maybe the problem is that I am want to please everyone so much I can't say no so I'm exhausted and am turning to coffee to perk me up. Maybe I worry so much that I can't sleep at night so I need coffee to wake me up. Maybe I have an unhealthy need for control so I have to be in charge of everything so I exhaust myself. See? It's not quite so simple as the coffee.

The bottom line is that if you have an addiction, you have a deeper issue. If you don't address that deeper issue and find a God-way to fill that hole, you will most likely replace one addiction for another.

I've seen this happen too and have been guilty of it myself. I get so into getting rid of my addiction that I start to become addicted to/put my faith in whatever I am using to get rid of the first addiction. For instance, I know people who are obsessed with what they eat - and they eat healthfully - but it is all they think about constantly. I see it in the Prevention magazine I get - "stop cancer forever;" "never have a heart attack," or "live forever." Last time I checked all that stuff isn't totally up to me.

We can get so caught up in the "answers", that instead of putting our faith in God, we put it in a diet or a lifestyle or whatever. Maybe that isn't a temptation for you, but it can be for me.

This is not to say that we should not use some discipline and make good food choices so we can be stewards of the health/body God gave us. For instance, if you are diabetic you should say, "Oh I have faith in God's sovereignty" and then go on a sugar binge.

My son and I are getting tested for gluten intolerance. If we ARE gluten intolerant, it would be wise to cut gluten out of our lives to feel better. But that doesn't mean no health catastrophe will never befall me either. I am called to be a good steward of my body, but I'm also called to trust in God's sovereignty rather than my own understanding.

"Trust the Lord with all your heart, and ean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path." Proverbs 3:5, 6

~ Blessings, Bronte