Born to Be Addicted

Valerie Bertinelli told JuJu Chang this week on ABC's “Nightline” that food was her drug of choice. What's yours? I believe everybody's an addict.

“That's my drug,” said Bertinelli. “That's why I'm still not using coke. I mean I could still be on coke right now but that wasn't my love. Food is my love. I was getting bigger and bigger the tougher it got. That's how I was feeding my fears and calming my emotions, was through food. And it showed.”

We are born to love. We are born to worship. But it's when our love and worship is focused inwardly rather than upwardly that we get into trouble. So what is the object of your love and worship? When you answer that, you answer the question of your addiction.

The definitions for addicted according to the Encarta Dictionary are “dependent” and “very enthusiastic.” Synonyms include captivated, obsessed and passionate. God desires us to be addicted to Him.

The first step to a healthier life is to recognize that you are an addict. The second step is to get your addiction straight. One way to do that is deliberately shift your obsession from self-gratifying behaviors (such as drugs, alcohol, sex, food, exercise, attention-seeking, work, shopping, texting, the computer, etc.) to God-glorifying behaviors. How do you do that? Here's one idea.

There's a great praise song, a favorite of my pastor Jack Graham, entitled “One Pure and Holy Passion.” Here are the lyrics:

Give me one pure and holy passion
Give me one magnificent obsession
Give me one glorious ambition for my life
To know and follow hard after you
To know and follow hard after you
To grow as your disciple in the truth
This world is empty, pale, and poor
Compared to knowing you my Lord
Lead me on and I will run after you

If you want to shift your addiction, ask God for His help. He'll gladly help direct your addictive personality in His direction. Learn this song, and then sing it–often! You'll be amazed. The results will be better and last longer than NutriSystem or Jenny Craig!