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achievement no longer hung from the track and field queen’s neck. They were taken away by the International Olympic Committee, leading to Jones’ painful admission: “Making the wrong choices and bad decisions can be disastrous.” 30

“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it”
    (H EBREWS 12:11).
     
    From September 2000 to July 2001, Marion Jones trained more intensely than ever and had improved her running times and recovery periods. But the peak performances weren’t due to modifications in diet and exercise. Jones had gotten swallowed up in the performance-enhancing promises of steroids, and they were paying off.
    Her former coach originally told her he was giving her flaxseed oil, but she later realized it was an illegal substance, something Jones emphatically denied publicly for years. In 2004 she made the following statement: “I have never, ever used performance-enhancing drugs.” 31 However, misguided choices marred her reputation.

“If anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor’s crown unless he competes according to the rules”
    (2 T IMOTHY 2:5).
A. What Are Misplaced Dependencies?
    Marion Jones’ misplaced dependency on performance-enhancing drugs led to catastrophic consequences for her. The need to excel, to maintain an edge over her competitors, to retain her five Olympic medals drove Jones not only to lie to the public for years about her habitual steroid use but also to federal investigators. In 2008 she served a six-month federal prison sentence for those lies as well as for her involvement in a check fraud scam. 32 The Bible says, “There are six things the L ORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers” (Proverbs 6:16-19) .
    The deepest longing of the human heart is to have intimacy with God through a loving, personal relationship with Him. God created each of us with this desire to seek Him. He knows He alone can fulfill us, and anything less will ultimately fail us! Everything and everyone except God is subject to death or decay, destruction or dissipation.

“You, O L ORD , sit enthroned forever; your renown endures through all generations… In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth , and the heavens are the work of your hands . They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment . Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded . But you remain the same, and your years will never end”
    (P SALM 102:12,25-27).

    Uncontrolled habits often represent our own attempt to meet our God-given inner needs for love, significance, and security through unhealthy dependencies on people, things, or activities. 33
    As you examine your habits, give honest answers to the following questions:
    • Are you seeking to meet your inner need for unconditional love through sensual pleasure?
– Sexual activity
– Drug use
– Pornography
– Overeating
    The Bible says,

“Among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity…Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving”
    (E PHESIANS 5:3-4).
     
    God created you to have a loving, personal relationship with Him:

“The L ORD appeared to us in the past, saying: ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness’”
    (J EREMIAH 31:3).
     
    • Are you seeking to meet your inner need for significance through achievement?
– Performance
– Position
– Popularity
– Power
    The Bible says,

“Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through