Something Happened on My Way to Hell

We All Love Something Too Much

You’re addicted to thrills? What an empty life! The pursuit of pleasure is never satisfied. --Proverbs 21:17, The Message

Insatiable cravings. Nasty habits. Vices. Addictions. We’ve all got them. We all love something too much. We all want more. More pleasure. More love. More chocolate. More affirmation. More money. Most of us know that an unquenchable desire for drugs, alcohol, nicotine, food, shoplifting, and gambling can destroy lives. However, multitudes of people are hooked on things that don’t fit the addiction stereotype: love, work, sports, people-pleasing, shopping, exercising, dieting, watching television, even pain and chaos. Add to the list: technology, religious activities, risk taking, celebrity worship, gaming, tattooing, tanning, even love for pets and children. It has been said that to be alive is to be addicted; that life in America is so stressful that it is impossible not to become addicted to some object. One Christian psychiatrist suggests “we are all addicts in every sense of the word.” We live in the great age of excess which breeds an unsatisfied yearning for more and more. You need. You deserve. You must have. Misplaced affections and insatiable cravings often become addictions. Completely unaware, we harbor an infestation of hidden dependencies because they have silently invaded our lives. And they don’t have to be grandiose or visibly evil to do great damage. Behind every craving is a compelling urge to pursue pleasure—to feel terrific while avoiding pain, physically and emotionally. From the brain’s perspective, whatever we do to produce feelings of euphoria, is worth repeating. Ultimately, we end up mastered by those things. Surely you’ve noticed that the number of television shows developed around the topic of addiction and compulsive behavior has increased. Today we’re restless, stressed, irritable, discontent, and obsessed. We distract ourselves and medicate our anxiety with activity, mood-altering substances, entertainment, and relationships, because we’re unable to simply be present with ourselves. We may love God, but deeply rooted habits take control. Our focus rests on our objects of attachment instead of on him. The church culture is not immune either. Christians, as well, hide and deny their behaviors. Many believe the church propagates addiction. The church, however, is in the unique position of becoming its own recovery center. I have a message of hope: We are not confined to or defined by our insatiable cravings and compulsive behaviors. God is genuinely interested in your problems. He is in the business of changing lives. Turning to him empowers healing and transformation. We study the Holy Bible because it is God’s personal Word to us, literally “God-breathed”(see 2 Timothy 3:16). Unlike what the pop culture presents, the Bible always tells the truth. It gives us exactly what we need. God intends for us to learn from the people portrayed in the Scriptures (the text of the Bible is referred to as scripture). We can see reflections of ourselves in their messy and troubled escapades. We share the same Father who declared, “I am the LORD, who heals you” (Exodus 15:26, NIV). This 12-week healing study explores real issues of deep bondage that real women experience—both celebrated and condoned habits. This is not a self-help book. We need more than ourselves to be saved. This is a God-help-transform-me book. My intention is not to prescribe an antidote—the Word of God has already done that. I want to contribute to a changed paradigm. My objective is to paint a picture for you of human nature and divine efficacy, which most addiction-recovery models do not account for. If we’re going to be addicted, let’s be addicted to the power of the Gospel, which not only heals and frees, but empowers; let’s be addicted to the Word of God. Are you ready to begin a quest to find pleasure in him, and him alone? God is calling, “Come back to me and live!” (Amos 5:4, NIV)