Flirting with Your Addiction

When we stop practicing an addiction we go into physical and/or mental withdrawals from that addiction, especially if we have not worked through the root causes that have been fueling the addiction. In the weeks and months that follow our quitting an addiction, we may kind of try to flirt with our addiction by practicing lesser degrees of it, or by accidentally/on purpose brushing up against it just enough to smell its stale perfume again. Old habits can be hard to break so our mind and body can seem like it is just naturally gravitating back to its addictive state, but this can be a dangerous thing to do if you want to live and remain free from all addiction.

We have a love affair with our addictions that can be hard to break off once and for all. That lover may call to you, and you may miss it to the point that when stress comes, you may want to feel that security, relief, and pleasure again, that you used to feel when you practiced the addiction. We must realize once and for all that this old love affair with our past addictions will bring nothing but bad things back into our lives should we start up that destructive romance again, so don't feel sorry for it no matter how alluring things look. That lover will always just use and abuse you, and then stand there laughing and mocking you when you have crashed back to the earth in failure and humiliation.

Try to remember that your natural state is the state in which God created you to live, and how he tells you to live in His word, the bible. Anything other than that state is error, and you are not obligated to live by those old lies anymore. Plus, evil spirits will try to throw your addiction back into your path right in front of you, but if this happens, you can and must just walk around the temptation and pray for Gods help. When we sympathize with our sin, we allow it a place again to live in our heart, and rest assured that addiction will tug on you to be given its place back in your life. Show no mercy to that which seeks to utterly destroy you.

One of the ways you can help yourself to avoid playing with your old addiction is by not allowing yourself to get overloaded with stress or work. Most of us are already chemically imbalanced, so when you put too much stress on yourself during recovery, your mind will automatically seek relief through the old unhealthy pleasure avenues it still remembers. You will also have to be brutally honest with yourself when you are tempted to lie to yourself about "just a little fix won't hurt". With addiction, a little become a lot very quickly and easily, so it's best to just tell yourself the truth about where that relapse will take you. The truth will show you the way out.

One last aspect of flirting with your addiction is that you will have to face God when you die and give an account for what you did while living in a body here, and nobody else will stand with you. That addiction and those demons that deceived you into practicing that addiction and being an idolater in life will not stand with you and tell God that it is was all their fault. You have to be a bit selfish and determined about your recovery because it is you alone that will bear the consequences and punishment for your actions. When you feel stressed out or in need, allow yourself to meet your needs the right way through the natural avenues that God has provided, and know that you can live your life and endure some pain without falling apart or dying. Tell your addiction, "the affair is over".