From a religious standpoint, then, this distortion of attention, which is the fifth characteristic of addiction, could be called “the distortion of ultimate concern.” Another word for it is idolatry. Whether we are conscious of it or not, for however long a particular addiction controls our attention, it has become a god for us. The major religious traditions of the world proclaim in unison that such false gods must fall away from us. We are called to grow toward that point at which nothing other than God will be our god. However short-lived or minor our concern for something other than God
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