August 29, 2025 Devo

There’s a term I heard some time ago that is a good descriptor. It’s “love junkie.” A love junkie is someone who is addicted to people. They are those of us who are constantly seeking the approval, the affection, or the affirmation of others. Some of us do so even though we’re terrified of rejection. So terrified, in fact, that we see rejection and feel rejected even when it’s not there. Because of that, we often leave people before they leave us. And we do that over and over again.
Others of us become love junkies out of a sense of needing to be needed. We get our value from what we do for other people. The problem is, we do too much. We smother them. We don’t respect their boundaries. We take too much responsibility for what they do or the decisions they make. Then, when they ask for some space or tell us to mind our own business, we’re devastated. So we find someone else to smother.
Still others of us need to be “liked.” Making people happy makes us feel complete. So we make promises we can’t keep. We let people take advantage of us. We give until there’s nothing left to give. And most of the time, we find ourselves in relationships with people where we do all the giving and get little to nothing in return. Not even the appreciation we’re so desperate for. We frequently end up angry, depressed, and alone. Like all addicts, our high never lasts and never does what it promises.
Interestingly, it actually is love that we junkies are seeking. It’s just not a love that can be fulfilled by another human being. It’s God’s Love that we are craving. His love is unconditional. His love is complete. As the psalmist says, His love alone is “satisfying and unfailing.” Until the deep thirst of our hearts is quenched by the love of God, the love of others will always be a bit like drinking saltwater. It’ll leave us more parched than before. When we fully open our hearts to the love God offers, it satisfies that thirst. It meets our deepest need. As we bathe ourselves in that love, it heals us. It fills us. It completes us. It’s only when we’ve known His love that we can do something else that some of us have never done. We can love OURSELVES.
With God’s love, you won’t have to look for value because you’ll know you ARE valued. You won’t have to look for significance because you’ll know you ARE significant. And you won’t have to look for love because you’ll know you ARE loved. Your junkie days will be over. You’ll be freed to go looking to GIVE love rather than always trying to get it. And instead of “singing the blues,” you can “sing for joy to the end of your life.” Now THAT’S a love song! That’s God’s Word for you today.