The Pusher

Officials in China recently cited 35 restaurants for adding opioids to their entrées in an attempt to engender customer loyalty through addiction. I have to wonder who came up with the idea and how it spread to other nearby restaurants.

Yet, that’s an old trick of the devil.

Any kind of pleasure we feel releases a neurochemical called dopamine, which brings on feelings of gratification. The brain attaches memory to whatever was associated with that dopamine high, and then subconsciously seeks a repeat of it by bringing the memory to mind, creating a craving to repeat it.

This originated in God’s creation and is a beneficial mechanism to drive us to satisfying behaviors. Many of those dopamine behaviors are good, such as productive work, fulfilling interactions with those close to us, and enjoyment of art and music.

In the past, it normally took time and effort on our part to do the things that produce dopamine. But very quickly, humans learned ways to take shortcuts, leading to unhealthy addictions.

Studies have shown that shortcuts to dopamine, such as alcohol abuse, quick sex without relational work, gambling, porn, and now technology-based social media, create the same dopamine release. But since it requires little time and effort to get the fix, the brain sends us to those activities in front of the things we were designed to crave.

Most of our addictions are related to good things. Craving sex was designed to cause couples committed in marriage to be “addicted” to each other. Porn is the cheap substitute. Workaholism came from the beneficial satisfaction of completing difficult projects. Social media addiction has become the shortcut of God’s plan for people to enjoy relationships.

But in each of these cases, it’s as if the devil sprinkled an opioid onto an entrée, creating an unfulfilling craving.

While Jesus’ brother, James, probably didn’t understand the science behind it, he knew full well what the evil one attempts to do to each of us. He wrote, “Each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death” (James 1:14-15).

And that’s the end result of following through on the short-circuited quest for dopamine — death. Death to the soul…and death to the body.

Don’t be fooled by the evil one’s schemes. He’s busy sprinkling poison into your food, attempting to lock you into a destructive lifestyle.

Romans 7:24-25 – “Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord” (NLT).