Hooked (on a feeling?)

When a person is addicted to something, their brain says one thing, but their body says another. The brain says nicotine can kill you, but the body wants it anyway. The brain says gambling is bankrupting the family, but the body wants it anyway. The brain says an online addiction is ruining your marriage, but the body wants it anyway.

Simply put, addiction causes the addict to say and do things that he or she wouldn't otherwise say or do.

While you may not be battling a full-fledged addiction, my guess is that you may have been "hooked" a few times in life. I certainly have been. Hooked on a dream. Hooked on an opportunity. Hooked on a plan. And, with that "hook" firmly in place, I have said and done things that I wouldn't otherwise say or do.

For example, you've been hooked if:

- You have prayed about something that you had already decided on.
- You have sought out advice from your spouse on an opportunity that you had already taken.
- You have asked for input from your boss on an idea that was way more than just an idea

Being hooked on a thought is awfully similar to being addicted to a substance.

We leap before looking.
We fire before aiming.
We refuse the wisdom of others.
We ignore our own moral codes.
And, most importantly, we spend little to no time objectively praying.

Proverbs 15:22 says, "Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed." When you and I unilaterally make decisions, and then try to convince our friends, family, co-workers, and even God himself that we're genuinely looking for their input, we are both fooling ourselves and setting ourselves up for failure.

The key, of course, is getting wisdom, advice, and direction before we've gotten hooked. Before we've passed the point of no return. Before we've made up our minds. This allows the choices that you and I make to be because of what the most trusted people in our lives tell us...not in spite of it.