By Ida Kiruba
Is getting addicted to something good? You might ask me what I mean, when I say get addicted. Such a question arises because usually the word addiction is related or combined with something negative. To have a better understanding of this term, think of someone you might know who is addicted to something that is hazardous to health. Also, I am sure you’ll agree with me, when I say, all of us are addicted to something or the other.
We may not be addicted to smoking or drinking alcohol but there are certain other equally hazardous addictions like watching your favourite television programme or talking to your friend on the phone for long hours or reading a particular book or playing your favourite play station. You just can’t be without doing it. It doesn’t feel normal, when you don’t do it. You feel you are missing something and nothing seems to be right when you have not done it. Compulsion, dependence, need, craving, habit, obsession and these are the words that describe addiction.
Now I am going to share about getting addicted to something positive – THE WORD OF GOD. The word should become the basic necessity of you living. You should be compelled to read the word. You need to be completely dependent on the word. You should make it a habit to have the word a part of your life. You should have a passionate craving for the word. I am going to list out the symptoms that you will exhibit if you are a Word addict.
1. You will always be thinking about it (the Word).
2. You will try and get to know all about it (the Word)
3. You will find out where you will get it (the Word – the right stuff)
4. You will find a way to indulge in it (the Word) whenever possible.
5. You will never stay away from it (the Word) no matter what others say.
6. You would have made it (the Word) a habit in your life.
7. You will miss it (the Word).
8. You can never stop it (the Word) influencing you.
9. You will share it (the Word) with your friends.
10. You will always lean on it (the Word) for comfort, when you are stressed out.
As a child of God do you exhibit these symptoms? If you don’t then you are not addicted to the word. You just use the word depending on your need. It is like a medicine when things go wrong or when you need to solve a problem or when you are in a struggle or when you need a healing. But you are not addicted to it. The only way to check out is whether you have any withdrawal symptoms. These are signs that you show when you do not indulge in what you are addicted to. If you withdraw yourself from the word, do you feel guilty, upset, you cannot concentrate on your daily tasks or you wait in urgency for the moment, when you can get in touch with the word. So, if you don’t have any withdrawal symptoms it means whether you read the word or not- doesn’t make a difference in your life.
The Psalmist says in Psalm 119:105. ‘Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path’. You can’t be without a lamp and a light. 2 Timothy 3:16 declares, ‘All scripture is God- breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work’. We need the word to survive in the world. I would go a step further to say not just to survive but to overcome this world. So, that is the basic requirement to be a child of God. Check on the symptoms of “Word addiction” in your life and keep a track on your withdrawal signs, when you distance yourself from the word. So, it is good to get addicted!
