“What Kind of ‘-Holic’?”

 

“What Kind of ‘-Holic’?”

 

(When I finished the previous article {“What ‘-Form’?”} I remembered the one below that I wrote for a church bulletin many years ago. It’s repeated here with minor changes and updates.)

 

In recent years a new suffix seems to have found its way into the English language which, when attached to familiar words, carries the idea of addiction or control. This addendum, “-holic”, wasn’t even found in the unabridged dictionary I consulted years ago but is now included in Dictionary.com. It can carry great impact on our lives and those of others.

Sometimes the idea can portray the humorous side of life--chocoholic and shopaholic come to mind. In other cases it may be a red flag for potential problems which reflect misdirected priorities as in sportsaholic or movieholic. A third type can be so threatening that support groups have sprung up to help those so affected (alcoholic, workaholic, foodaholic, etc.). The common thread is excessive domination by something that has lost its proper perspective in one’s life.

I’d like to suggest a few positive “-holic” practices to which we’d do well to give our attention. We ought to be, first, prayeraholics. We’re told to “…pray continually….” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) so our tendency ought to be to go to the Lord no matter what the needs or circumstances might be. We should also be Spiritholics. In Ephesians 5:18 we’re commanded to “…be filled with the Spirit.”—in other words, be controlled by Him. Then, too, we’re to be growaholics. The Lord’s friend and apostle challenges us to “…grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 3:18), a principle reiterated in Hebrews 6:1 (“…”Let us…go on to maturity….”). Finally, let’s be servaholics as we “…serve one another in love.” (Galatians 5:13). One caution, however: we must be careful not to neglect our families and other responsibilities as we put these practices to work (see 1 Timothy 5:8).

Chances are there are certain areas of our lives which control us more than others. If they’re questionable we need to put them off and be the kind of “-holics” that can be used of God to make Him look good.

 

Grace and Blessings!

Jim McMillan