Some things to consider about craving:

1. Behind the craving is a genuine need.

We tend to think of craving as wrong or sinful. We need to understand that we have genuine needs that must be met. These are God-created needs that keep us dependent on each other and him. The problem is not the need or the craving, but the way we seek to meet it. God has given us instructions about how to meet those needs. When we go against his instructions and seek to meet those needs our way rather than his way, we are in error, are sinning against him and face the consequences of our actions. Usually our self-centered approach to meeting needs only masks the need and exacerbates the problem.

2. Craving is the signal of an unmet need.

Just as when a warning signal flashes or an alarm sounds, we spring into action by quickly responding appropriately, so we must understand that a craving is an alarm which signals that there is an unmet need and we need to pay attention. To ignore the warning or seek to suppress the craving only makes the situation worse.

3. Craving can have a powerful hold on our lives.

There can be no doubt that urges or craving are a driving force in our lives. We schedule our lives around meals because of the strength of hunger. We put aside other endeavors to satisfy our thirst. Craving creates discomfort, and we seek to alleviate the discomfort and satisfy the craving as soon as we can. Craving can cause us to cancel, postpone, or redirect our plans to respond to it.

4. Craving can become so intense that it can drown out everything else in our lives.

How many of us have witnessed the destruction of a life, a family, a career over the lust or craving that drove a person to satisfy it over any other considerations. It so consumed their time that they couldn’t hold down a job, it so consumed their resources that they couldn’t support a family, and it so consumed their mind that they allowed it to steal their health and their sanity.

5. Craving must be mastered or it becomes the master.

Obviously, we must control our craving or it will control and consume us. Discipline is required. The strength of will to say “No” is a must. But at the heart of the matter is the passionate desire to change. Even people who will admit to “having a problem” with some craving still refuse to believe it is a problem or that it is destroying their lives. They may say that they want to change, but they only half-heartedly even try. It becomes evident that the desire to change is not as strong as the craving.

6. We must discover the true need behind the craving and meet it.

Often our craving is not about obvious needs like hunger and thirst. Many times we eat, drink, or pursue some other habit because we are mentally or emotionally stressed and the comfort and temporary satisfaction of these habits relieve the psychological pain. They may cause other physical problems: obesity, substance abuse, economic collapse, but the temporary relief is so desired and the pain of the craving so intense that we are willing to “sell our souls” to satisfy our lusts.

7. Craving has a spiritual dimension.

I believe that one intense craving lies in the spiritual realm. We have a strong desire to have a relationship with God. I don’t need to offer proof that we are spiritual and religious beings. Just look around at people around the world and throughout history. People are willing to do bizarre and unbelievable things to pursue a spiritual relationship. We are worshipping creatures by nature. We were created for worship. I propose that often we are seeking to satisfy this craving in ways that will never truly meet the need. You can fill the body up with food, stimulate it and numb it with drugs, keep it so active the thought of the craving is drowned out, or seek the solace of religion that still doesn’t satisfy the need for a relationship with the true and living God. But this need continues to cry out for real satisfaction and is ignored at our eternal peril.