The Root Issue Behind All Addictions

#019: Enemy Access Point No. 2 – Inhe... Signs that Pride May Be the Problem

The Root Issue Behind All Addictions

There is a key root that is common in all addiction issues and that is this . . . an excessive need to be loved. God created us for love. We have a love bucket that needs to be filled by Him and others through healthy relationships. When that need to be loved is not filled, a festering, excessive need develops that is never satisfied. We then become vulnerable to addictions. Addictions creep in where love has been compromised or absent or where abuse has been instead of loving acceptance. Rejection fuels this excessive need to be loved through driving us toward addictions.

There is a key root that is common in all addiction issues and that is the excessive need to be loved.

It is important to note that addictions are inappropriate responses to a valid need. The enemy knows how to control you by taking advantage of your needs. Satan knows you need the Father’s love, but he make you think you can satisfy those needs in other ways, especially when you have never been taught how to walk in the love of God.

When we are not loved properly, go through stress or carry inward pain we are tempted to numb that place in our hearts. Teenagers will get involved with crazy crowds and say yes to dangerous behaviors when they are in pain. The same is true for adults. Brokenness and hurt have spawned all kinds of dysfunction. Those who are abused can often fall into some kind of addiction to cope with the pain of the horrific experiences.

This excessive need to be loved also involves a lack of nurture, something we either learned or did not learn from our mothers. Nurture helps us deal with and process pain in a healthy manner. It is in the realm of love that we receive comfort, something the Holy Spirit of God does. Those who did not learn nurture are absolutely wide open for addictions, especially during times of stress, tumult or pain. This lack of nurture causes people to be insecure and have low self-worth and to often find a way to cope through an addictive pathway.

An addict spirit will come and lie to us, keeping us convinced that we are not loved by God or anyone else and we need a “fix” to make ourselves feel better.

Addictions mess with two key areas; our state of being and our state of belonging. State of being has to do with our identity; how secure we are in who we are. State of belonging addresses our ability to know we are loved and cared for. Our state of being asks “Who am I?” while state of belonging asks, “Why am I here and does anyone care?” Those who have a deep unmet need to be loved will be unable to obtain solid answers to these questions, leaving them wide open to the assault of addictions. An addict spirit will come and lie to us, keeping us convinced that we are not loved by God or anyone else and we need a “fix” to make ourselves feel better.

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