addictions and self-control...

we all have them...addictions.  a lack of self-control when it comes to one particular item...wether it be a food, a beverage, a substance or a "thing" of value to us.  it uses us. it sucks us dry. we crave it. we give in to it. it consumes us until we cannot live without it. we try to challenge it, but it's too powerful...but only because we give it power. the dictionary describes addictions as "the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma."

i'm addicted to coffee. i cannot go one day without it. i need it. i want it. i crave it. and it gets worse...i have to have at the very least, 3 cups per day or i will get an insane headache. some days, i have 4 cups. on very rare occasions, 5.  but as the months and years go by, i am concerned about this addiction. my "tolerance" levels have increased drastically.  my body has become accustomed to getting it's caffeine supply no matter what the cost. perhaps it's a lower calcium level in my system, or a decrease in bladder control. whatever the cost is, i think it's worth it because i don't stop, or even begin to decrease my consumption.

is this a problem? well, most would say yes. i would definitely say no...because i'm an addict.  and addicts usually have a problem called "denial." (and that's not a river in Egypt!)  in order to rid ourselves of any addictions we have, we must withdraw ourselves from the thing we hold much too high in esteem. that prospect is very uncomfortable to say the least. deny myself coffee? i couldn't possibly do such a thing! think of the suffering it would cause my body, my mind, my soul! where would i be without it? in bed with a migraine most likely! but...

think about one soul. one man. one inherently Holy being. sent here for one purpose and one purpose only...to suffer for our addictions...our sins.  i cannot even imagine what Jesus Christ went through when He was beaten and then hung on the cross...nailed to the cross...and sliced open while He died for our sins.  it's unimaginable.  yet it happened.  Jesus suffered for me.  body, mind and soul.  He suffered.  and at what cost? He tolerated abuse...verbal, physical and emotional.  He craved truth, love and obedience to God. don't deny Him. He's the only one who could save you from yourself...from your addictions...from your sins.
so i ask you, what's a little caffeine withdrawal compared to that? 

what's your addiction?