And Achan answered Joshua, “Truly I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and this is what I did: when I saw among the spoil a beautiful cloak from Shinar, and 200 shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels, then I coveted them and took them.” Joshua 7:20-21
Anyone who’s struggled with an addiction to anything – whether it’s drugs, food, pornography, or even shopping – has experienced cravings. When the one who’s addicted goes without the object of their addiction, they feel bad, hungering for the thing that they know will make them feel better. That’s a craving. Working in addiction medicine, I can prescribe medications that help decrease drug cravings, but my medications aren’t anywhere near 100% effective. In fact, I always tell my patients that if they rely solely on my pill for sobriety, they’ll likely fail. I can give them a push, but if they don’t put in the work of recovery, they won’t remain in it very long. Cravings lie in wait and, when an individual is stressed, their cravings explode, screaming for relief. At that point, if the one addicted has not put in the work of recovery, he (or she) will relapse.
Today’s passage is about craving, or rather, coveting, which means a desire or a longing for something that isn’t right. In the story, as the Israelites conquered Jericho, God commanded them not to keep anything for themselves. One soldier however, Achan, secretly kept several items, incurring God’s wrath upon the Israelites, who were subsequently defeated in their next battle. In the aftermath of that loss, God directed Joshua to Achan who confessed. I coveted them and took them. Achan knew it was wrong, but he left a door open in his mind and when he saw something coveted, he took it.
The tenth commandment, Thou shall not covet, specifically addresses longing for a neighbor’s possessions, but the verb covet means to desire something that isn’t right. I’m not sure that simply having a hunger for something is wrong. When I walk by the donut display at the gas station, I naturally have some desire for them. That’s not harmful. The harm comes when I indulge in that desire in my mind, stopping to gaze at the donut display, feeding my cravings.
My point is that if God commands me not to covet, then I must have some control over my cravings. I know this to be true from my own addiction. When I was using drugs and tried to stop, my cravings were overwhelming. Now, after 10 years of seeking recovery, the cravings are negligible. What happened? What happened is that God transformed my mind as I daily did the work of abandoning my way to follow his. I went to treatment. I still go to recovery meetings. I daily read, pray, and meditate. Every day, I continue to pursue faith and recovery, and in doing so, I have stopped craving opioids.
God has commanded us not to crave or covet that which is unhealthy. This means that we have some control over our cravings. If we indulge in our cravings with our thoughts and behaviors, we grow them. If, however, we daily put in the work of pursuing faith and recovery, God transforms our minds, killing our cravings. If we’ve struggled with addiction, we don’t have to white-knuckle it for the rest of our lives, desperately trying to resist our cravings. We can, if we daily follow God instead of ourselves, transform our appetites.