NorthStar Community Daily Devotional

May 18

Scripture focus: “This is the crisis we're in: God-light streamed into the world, but men and women everywhere ran for the darkness. They went for the darkness because they were not really interested in pleasing God. Everyone who makes a practice of doing evil, addicted to denial and illusion, hates God-light and won't come near it, fearing a painful exposure. But anyone working and living in truth and reality welcomes God-light so the work can be seen for the God-work it is." John 3:19-21 The Message

If freedom is the ability to love, and God is love, then it makes sense that we must be free to love – even when loving is in contradiction to our desires. Andy Gullahorn is one of my favorite musicians. He’s written a song where the first line says, “Have you ever let your baby cry while you finish your video game?” (I know, trust me, it’s a great song even if it sounds silly.) Andy is illustrating how often our desires – even the small, petty ones – usurp our true, God intended life of love. Silly sounding or not – these decisions to choose dark over light are indicative of addiction. In the next five days, we’re going to answer a series of questions that will help us know if we may be on the road to addiction.

If we’re trying to live life in the darkness, we won’t like these questions. But if we can answer them, knowing that when we disclose our self-centered ways we are really making space for grace – that’s a good start to a great life.

Characteristic one of addictive living is tolerance – always wanting or needing more of something in order to feel satisfied. If one cappuccino per week was a treat, and a few months later, we need one per day – we are developing tolerance. Are you tolerant (in a bad way)?

__ Do I feel secure with what I have in the way of possessions, or do I need more?

__ Do I feel I need more control of my life, more power to feel satisfied?

__ Do I need the people in my life to love me more for me to feel satisfied?

The need for “more” might mean that we are in crisis.

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