I can stop whenever I want… but I am not a Quitter!
The world is raising addicts.
Every commercial venture wants you to spend more time with their product and every scientific & biological and psychological loophole is exploited to try and teach you to become more dependent.
Unfortunately, if you train your brain into a skill, that skill transfers. Think of it as mr Miyagi teaching the Karate kid to fight with “Wax on, Wax off” (If you were born in the late 1900’s… you might need to google that reference 😉 )
The Tinder / Discord / Snapchat world we live in also means that there is a shift in reality. On average, a young 23-year-old woman will already have had more sexual partners than a 53-year-old woman. Considering the “free love” generations that came before, that is a scary statistic!
We consume more new information in 30-40 minutes than our grandparents did in a month, but instead of standing in awe about the world we live in, the conclusion of the newest generation has become… why bother?
How do we break addictive patterns when every app, every news broadcaster, and every product manufacturer is actively trying to get you addicted? How is it even possible to fight against companies so large that they employ thousands of psychologists and psychoanalysts just to study how to make their business products more addictive? Can you imagine the more illicit avenues?
Should we just give up? give in, and run with what has become normal in society?
Peter reminds us of something: When Jesus redeemed us and made us heirs of God’s Kingdom. It wasn’t a transaction. It wasn’t just a partnership but a Koinonos – a transference of “nature” – God imparted His DNA into us, giving us, with the promise of a restored relationship with Him, also the Power of the Holy Spirit.
Not an outside power, just walking next to use and lifting us up, but also an internal power, strengthening us, giving us ability beyond what we had before!
“As a result of this, he has given you magnificent promises that are beyond all price, so that through the power of these tremendous promises we can experience partnership with the divine nature, by which you have escaped the corrupt desires that are of the world….”
(2 Peter 1:4 TPT)
We already have the power inside of us to say no. To break the cycle, to stand against societal norms.
We are not ordinary anymore!
So when we find ourselves looking at a bottle, or a screen, or a needle, or a vape, or an enticing person… Know that we have the power to simply step away, throw away, close the laptop, and switch off the phone.
God provided that strength in us to walk away from worldly desires.
