Living with shallow relationships is risky. Unless we are moving toward other folks with the love with which God moved toward us, the appeal of a broad range of intense pleasures may become compulsively attractive. The power of bad habits is not simply in the pleasure they provide. Sinful habits become compulsively attractive when the pleasure they give relieves deep dsiappointment in the soul better than anything else one can imagine. The good feelings offered by having enjoyable sex, eating delicious food, or controlling crowds with skilled oratory can numb the ache of unmet longings by providing a satisfaction that, for a time, fulfills like nothing else ever has.
People feel alive in the midst of consuming pleasure.
Thus, whatever generates the pleasure seems so right. Their insidious appeal lies in their power to give quick relief from groaning, a relief that feels more than good - it feels like life. When pleasures of any kind are used to satisfy our thirst for God, this thirst becomes a demanding tyrant, driving us toward whatever relief is available. Our god becomes our appetite. Thirst for God meant to create a panting after God energize our addiction to whatever feels good for a moment.