When you think of the way an addict behaves toward their addiction, certain words come to mind such as reverence, obsession, slavery and servitude. Addict’s live for their addiction, to the detriment of their own well-being. When you revisit the biblical concept of worshipping false idols, you will be able to draw many comparisons between addiction and false idol worship. When the Israelites bowed down before golden statues, they were turning their eyes from the god they served to worship a false, empty god – one that would offer no provision or relationship.

Addiction and false idols are similar in that they both demand to be served. Addiction has a heavy sway over the addict that bows down to it. It commands their time, energy, money and devotion with no regard for the things the person used to value, such as personal relationships,worh ethic and health. Similarly, a false idol is not any kind of real god, but rather a pretend god that offers the servant nothing of value in return for their servitude. Those who choose to follow a pretend god will have no reward for their efforts.

An addict behaves in a worshipful way toward their addiction. Their top priority on any given day is to ensure that their addiction is protected and accessible. The organize their schedule around it. They reallocate funds toward it. They save up their energy for it. They may even tell others how great it is, and why it is the best thing in their lives. All of these behaviors are condusive with worship. A false idol, of course, serves the same purpose. People fuss over a false idol in order to appease it in a mislead belief that the false idol will bless them and favor them. Their efforts are, of course, fruitless because a false idol is not worthy of worship.

Addiction is an inherently harmful behavior. It is human nature to want to deny the existence of addiction within one’s self, but it is also human nature to be more perceptive than denial and eventually recognize addiction within one’s self. When that time comes, it takes immense strength, courage and support to commit to ending your addiction. One necessary ingredient for addiction recovery, the element that inspires a path of health and purpose over a path of destructiveness, is love.

Love is the feeling that tells us we are valued. Love tells us that it matters if we live or die, cry or rejoice, experience life or hide from it, grow or shrink. Possessing the feeling of reciprocal love is half of winning the battle with addiction because it validates our lives as meaningful. Many people find love in the relationships they have with family and friends. Sadly, some people do not have love in relationships with family and friends, so they seek a support system outside the one they were born into, or accept a lonely existence. There is one type of love that is available to everyone, that is only ever a breath away at any given moment. This is the love of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ is the living son of God, and God incarnate all in the same. He is the one true God, a God of love, forgiveness and acceptance. Jesus died for us, by our own hand, to serve as a sacrifice and to take the penalty for our sins so that we could be in heaven with God when we die and not face the judgment we deserve. There is no greater kind of love than this. The bible makes it clear that, although Jesus lived and walked the earth 2,000 years ago, the sacrifice he made was for every person who ever lived, because he loves all of us equally and desires what is best for us, as well as our presence in heaven with him.