“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”

-2 Corinthians 3:17

In today’s time and age, there seems to be more addictions than ever. There are more drugs out there (prescription and illegal), than ever before. But, drugs aren’t the only thing people get addicted to. And, perhaps we may think we are far too superior to have the word “addicted” applied to us or look down on drug addicts/ alcoholics, but we could be  addicted to something ourselves. Haven’t we all been addicted to something at some point in our lives?  Wikipedia defines addiction as “characterized by compulsive engagement in rewarding stimuli, despite adverse consequences.” Think about that for a moment. What would you consider a rewarding stimuli? The more I think about it, the more I realize that almost anything could be a rewarding stimili. So, an addiction could be anything: eating a particular food (ie. caffeine, sugar), using technology (games, social media, texting, talking, skyping), watching tv (sports, movies, shows), listening to music, reading books, shopping, exercising, traveling, or anything else done excessively. Of course, some of these things are beneficial if done in moderation. And, even if some of these activities were done excessively, they could still be harmless and not dangerous to our health. But, still they could become addictions and more importantly could take our primary focus away from God. “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” -Matthew 6:24 Are we making something in our lives more important than God? Do we have addictions or distractions that are keeping us from God?

May we always remember that God never intended for us to be dependent on anything. Our freedom is in Christ alone.

Dear Lord Jesus, please help us not to become addicted to the things of this world. Please help us not to become consumed with anything, but You. Amen.