The Dopamine Made Me Do It!

So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. (Galatians 5:16 NLT)

While none of us is immune to 'cravings', we can do a great deal to 'curb' them. Do a simple Google search and you will find all kinds of ways to 'curb' cravings depending on which type of craving you have. People share their insights into food, substance, or habit cravings in order to help others eliminate their own. It is always wise to learn from others who have gone through and come out the other side of some form of craving, isn't it? Then why would we neglect the guidance of the Holy Spirit in helping to curb the cravings of our sinful nature?

It is futile to think we can just 'ignore' sinful cravings. Our sin nature makes those desires known over and over again. We don't know how to curb them on our own, so we need the assistance and wisdom of the one who knows not only what will 'curb' them, but what will actually eliminate them from our lives! A guide actually knows the way and is able to point out certain things along the way. If we want to finally be free of some of the sinful habits we have developed over time, we need to have his guidance in order to 'find our way' in what has been a very problematic area of our life.

A craving is nothing more than a powerful desire to have or do something. There is something called the 'dopamine drive' that is behind almost all of our cravings. That simple neurotransmitter (dopamine) is responsible for almost all habit formation as it carries a desire for pleasure. It not only makes you feel pleasure - it drives you to find it! It drives you toward the 'reward' of whatever it is that is hoped for. It doesn't really matter what the craving is for, the dopamine drive is behind it. It seeks reward and doesn't give up until it finds it. No wonder it is so easy to form bad habits!

Our brains actually 'cue up' when it comes to the cravings. They want the reward more and more. In terms of sinful behaviors, the reward isn't really all that satisfying, but we are 'hooked'. Since the brain is the real issue with the cravings, we need someone who knows how our brains work, where that memory is stored, and how to present a barrier in that 'dopamine pathway' that will effectively break the pathway. There is no better help than what the Holy Spirit offers. Time to tap into his counsel and see those sinful patterns finally broken. Just sayin!