Can Anyone be Addicted to God?

There are instances where people who were addicted to things like money, power, luxury, recognition, or pride give up on those things when the love of God touches their heart. God actually finds ingenious ways to touch the hearts of those people who are addicted to worldly things. One of the most effective way He uses is by allowing suffering to enter the lives of those whom He wishes to touch. During the times of trials and tribulations, many tend to turn to God seeking relief from the desperate situations that they are in. Once a person discerns the presence of God - the warmth of His gentle and comforting love - there is no going back. Once we realize that the life offered by God through Jesus Christ is worth more than anything we ever possessed, it is easy to trade our life, with all of its riches and relationships, for a life in Christ. But many would argue that when somebody give up their worldly pleasures for joy in Christ, all they are doing is trading one addiction in for a different one. But is that really so, is it possible to be addicted to God?

Addiction often refers to an unhealthy dependence or inclination towards someone or something. But addiction doesn't always have to be something totally unhealthy - there are people addicted to working out or eating healthy. In fact, we all have addictions in our life - an unbalanced affection towards a person or object. We are addicted to those particular things because we draw more pleasure from those than other things in our lives. Everything from alcohol to drugs and from Facebook to an afternoon nap can all be sources of immense pleasure in our lives. One of the unique characteristic of addiction is that it creates habits. It becomes a regular tendency or practice that is hard to give up. If anyone tries to break away from those habits and thus the addiction itself, then the addictive factor fights back with both physical and mental withdrawal symptoms. These symptoms can be so overwhelming that often a person goes right back to being addicted. So the question is, does God fits in this criteria of addiction? Can God be habit forming? Is there anything addictive in God that fights back when someone tries to leave Him? 

One of the most noticeable aspects about God and things associated with worshipping God is the resistance involved. There are a lot of physical, mental and spiritual resistances when someone tries to get closer to God. These resistances are often not from any external sources, but our body and mind puts up so many barriers to block ourselves from doing anything that involves God. For most of us, it is a struggle to pray at a particular time everyday. There many things we need to set aside just to go to church on Sundays. And it is horrifying to fast twice a year. But we never have to fight so much to eat three of four times a day even when we are not hungry; going to movies on a weekend even when reviews are negative; or making that annual trip to the favorite destination even when there is nothing left to see there. Unlike addictive things, we don't normally anticipate eagerly or perform enthusiastically anything to do with God - we struggle with it, stumble through it and often give up on it.

It is not addiction that keeps a person close to God, it is dedication. It is the willingness to fight all the addictions in our life to find permanent room for someone who is so non-addictive. 

God is not seductive either, therefore a relationship with Him require sacrifice. Responding to the greatest sacrifice known to mankind, we are also called to sacrifice some of those possessions that occupy too much of our hearts. 

And God is non-coercive, so staying in line with His will requires character, not habits. There is nothing repetitive about God; having a habitual interaction with Him, therefore, would not work. It takes character to surrender to God's will and make necessary adjustments in our lives to accept, keep and grow in our relationship with God.