Abolishing Acceptable Addictions

I am addicted to coffee.  Why do I call my love of java an addiction?  Bottom line, I continue to consume coffee even though I know it is going to make me sick.  Coffee is bad for me, and yet I have to have it.  In addition to making my stomach feel like its wants to turn inside out, when I don't consume coffee, my brain starts banging wildly on the walls of its room demanding coffee.  That definitely qualifies as an addiction.

Not only am I addicted to coffee, but I've also come to realize that food is an idol in my life.  Here's where things get tricky, and I'm probably going to say something that people will find offensive, but its been bugging me for a long time, and well....this is my blog, so I can say what I want.  I think I am not the only one who has given food a throne above God in their lives.

I'm just going to ask this question very quickly and move on (like ripping off a band-aid):  Why does the Church frown on addictions to alcohol, pot, crack, meth, tobacco, porn, sex, etc, but we all just accept and ignore food addictions?

Okay...moving on.

I spend a ridiculous amount of time thinking about food...not just do I WANT food, I spend hours pouring over food blogs, food pins, food sites, books about food, pictures of food.  If I spent half the time thinking about Jesus that I spend thinking about food, I would have a much better relationship with Him than I do now.  

When I am sad, I want food.  When I am lonely, I want food.  When I am angry...food.  When I'm happy, I celebrate with food.  When I have friends over, my first thought is the appropriate food.  

But it doesn't just stop with me...oh no, I push my idol on other people, too.  When people come over, "Eat this."  When its cold and rainy, "Eat these things I baked."  When you have a baby...food.  When you are sick....food.  When you lose a loved one....LOTS of food.

Of course I am not saying that offering food is wrong, but it is my #1 knee-jerk response to absolutely every life situation, when my #1 default, auto-response really should be prayer...every single time.  There is absolutely no circumstance for which prayer, either praise or petition, isn't the right response.  

God has been so merciful throughout my life to help me recognize idols, and to help me start tearing them down.  Years ago, when my perfect-little-family was my idol, He sent a storm to knock it down.  Today, we are so much better for it.  Then, my beautiful home became my idol, and He sent a bright light (Perspectives) to shine on my life and help me see more clearly.  Now, He has brought celiac into my life to aid me in tearing down my idol of food.  

Paul prayed three times that God would take away the thorn in his side.  I, too, have prayed that He would take away the pain that food causes.  He has chosen to leave it in my life, and it is high time I remember how good and faithful He has been, and accept the loving discipline from my tender and merciful Father.