The End of Want 1-10-10
There was a recent news article in the NY Post titled Stern sidekick in suicide try. “Troubled comic Artie Lange landed in the hospital after stabbing himself nine times in an apparent suicide attempt, sources told The Post.”* The article detailed numerous problems including ongoing battles with substance abuse and addiction. Mr. Lange is not alone in this world, as addictions of all sorts enslave millions of Americans. The recovery website www.myaddiction.com lists the following statistics**:
Americans with a Substance abuse or dependence problem: Over 22 Million
Americans with alcohol use disorders: 14 million
Americans (12 and older) who have tried cocaine: 33.7 million
Americans (12 and older) who have tried methamphetamine: 10.4 million
Americans (12 and older) who have tried heroin: 3.5 million
Americans abusing prescription drugs: 4.7 million
Americans with gambling problems: 6-9 million (3 million are “pathological gamblers)
American sexual addiction:
· sex addicts - 18 million - 24 million (200,000 are addicted to E-porn)
· 25 million visit cyber-sex sites between 1-10 hours per week
· 4.7 million visit cyber-sex sites in excess of 11 hours per week
· One out of every 6 women struggles with an addiction to pornography
American eating disorders:
· One percent (1%) of female adolescents have anorexia, and four percent (4%) college-aged women have bulimia.
· That means that about one out of every one hundred young women between ten and twenty are starving themselves, sometimes to death
· More than half of teenaged girls are, or think they should be, on diets. They want to lose all or some of the forty pounds that females naturally gain between 8 and 14. About three percent of these teens go too far, becoming anorexic or bulimic.
In looking at these statistics, it would be easy to become depressed with the tragedy. Look at how many have lost control of some important part of their life! Think about the pain and suffering, not only of these people but also of their families and friends. Think of the cost in resources spent, lost productivity, and damaged values that our society must bear. But I am also reminded of the hymn “Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah”:
Guide me, O thou great Jehovah, pilgrim through this barren land. I am weak, but thou art mighty; hold me with thy powerful hand. Bread of heaven, feed me till I want no more; bread of heaven, feed me till I want no more.
I thought of this verse and had a new appreciation for the sentiment contained therein. “Guide me, O thou great Jehovah;” isn’t that what we are all about? We tell people to seek God, to turn to God, to read God’s word; why? Because we know that we are made to follow God, and when we are not following God our lives will go horribly astray. “Pilgrim through this barren land;” the statistics above confirm that seeking our spiritual completeness in this world is like seeking cool water and fresh food in the middle of the Sahara desert! “I am weak, but thou art mighty;” we humans are incredibly weak and unable to resist the simplest temptations, but Jesus proved that through God’s power and might we are able to overcome them. “Hold me with thy powerful hand;” it is only when we, like Moses and Elijah, seek out and submit to God’s protective hand, that we can survive and prosper. “Bread of heaven, feed me till I want no more;” it is only Jesus that can give us the true nourishment that we desire and crave. When we feed on the world, we want (lack) more and more: the world is devoid of nutritional value for our lives! But when we feed on Jesus, we want (lack) no more: Jesus fulfills all of our needs completely.We can see this in the lives of Lot and Abraham.
Now Lot, who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. But the land could not support them while they stayed together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together. And quarreling arose between Abram’s herdsmen and the herdsmen of Lot. The Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land at that time. So Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and mine, for we are brothers. Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.” (Genesis 13:5-9 NIV)
Lot chose to go to the urban and comfortable areas around Sodom and Gomorrah; Abram chose to remain in the lands God picked for him. As Lot sought after earthly wealth and delights, he lost everything. As Abram sought after God’s promises, God changed his name to Abraham and blessed him and everything he touched.Through the prophet Malachi, God promised that if we would just trust in him and walk after him in faith he would “throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it,” (Malachi 3:10 NIV). If you are tired of seeing the world’s promises of happiness lead you to misery, then seek the end of your wanting by filling your life with God’s promises.
-Charles Peterson
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* http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/stern_sidekick_in_suicide_try_5m9Hwhn1OvpONlzbsiW3oJ#ixzz0cAiYLxj9
**http://www.myaddiction.com/education/articles/alcohol_statistics.html, /cocaine_statistics.html, /meth_statistics.html,
/heroin_statistics.html, /prescription_drug_statistics.html, /gambling_statistics.html, /sex_statistics.html, /eating_disorder_statistics.html