Can you increase your pleasure by going back to an addiction? The correct answer is not yes, but it is also not no. The Heroin addict who relapses increases their short-term pleasure (unless they die or overdose), but, then they return to their own personal hell for the long-term. If you are addicted for life you will always choose the short-term over the long-term.
Second, the pleasure that we get with addiction never includes joy. I wrote an article which stated: “You can’t increase your pleasure with addiction.” While this does contradict the above statement a bit, it is true if you have any joy in your life.
When you are free for a bit you may love your job, mom, spouse, hobby, sport or a million other “clean” things. But within hours of going back to our chains, the darkness surrounds us, we treat others more poorly, our great job seems meaningless, and we almost don’t care about “anything.”
The truth is… that tiny short-term bit of pleasure, made almost everything that was good in our life decrease. Now read the above underlined sentence again. It makes more sense now.
But if you fully believe that fact, that is great news. With your new found faith you can now try activites with a new confidence. Example: you tried playing the guitar as an alternative activity. It did not take. If you were going back to the habit regularly, you contaminated that activity, or any other activity.
Instead, if you are going to war with drinking/drugs, and trying to do things God’s way, guitar playing might become a great hobby for you. You might even learn a few Christian songs to play. The key thing with hobbies is: “The more fully dedicated to quitting you are, the more fun your new hobby will become.”
Do you believe your life can be great if you do things God’s way? Consider praying:
“Father, help me to remember that I can’t increase my pleasure by going back.”
Even our pleasure will “Always” be better for the week, month, and year if we focus on living life the right way.”
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