Posts Tagged: common addictions regarded as normal

“Addicted to the Past”

On December 5, 2020 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

“          Behold, I am doing a new thing;

                        now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?

             I will make a way in the wilderness

                        and rivers in the desert.” (English Standard Version)

Addiction comes in many forms. One of the commonest forms is addiction to the past. In fact, it is so common that it isn’t usually recognized as an addiction. (If addictions are common enough, we baptize them and rename them “normal”—but they’re still addictions.)

It doesn’t much matter whether we are looking back with longing or with regret. Too much looking back is not a safe thing to do. I discovered this one time when I looked in my rearview mirror for too long and rear-ended the car in front of me.

What is wrong with looking back? In a sense, nothing. In fact, looking back at the past to learn from it can be very helpful. And sometimes, we all need to take a stroll down memory lane, just for fun.

But, at any age or stage in our lives, we mainly need to focus on the present and lean into the future. Looking back too often or for too long can cause more than automobile accidents. Such addiction to the past can cause life wrecks as well. Most things in the present moment are either enjoyable or endurable. It is when we begin importing the past (“It has always been like this!”) or the future (“It will always be like this!”) that we get into trouble. Such imports come with high tariffs.

The Bible teaches us to learn from the past, but not to spend too much time there. The Bible is mostly concerned with new things that God wants to do in our lives and in our world. God will and does work with addicts, but God refuses to live us in our addiction. Maybe one of the reasons why so many of us miss what God is doing is that we are looking back too much. It is hard to see things when you’re looking in the wrong direction.

Or, as my wife once said when I was reminiscing too much, “Honey, the past is a nice place to visit, but you can’t live there!”

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