An addendum to the article about persistent and addictive sin, this is in response to some who allege that addictions are nonexistent, and to some who allege that addictions are permanent features of the human existence once they’ve been initiated. I disagree with both allegations.
I’ve heard it myself, the admonishment to exert self control, to break the habit, to recondition my behavior so it’s no longer habitual, or so it’s habitually more beneficial. Whatever it is, it’s merely an habit, so just stop doing it. Sure, it may be difficult, but it can be done. Just stop doing it. If you keep calling yourself an addict, or applying the nomenclature of addiction to whatever activity you’ve become entangled with, you’re going to inculcate your mind to believe it can’t be free. You’re going to batten the escape hatch on yourself, since you’ve convinced yourself the way out doesn’t exist.
Addictions cannot be conflated with habitual behavior. They are not synonymous. There are commonalities, traits shared by both conditions, but they are not the same in total. Habitual behavior can become the framework of addiction, but is not correctly defined as addiction. The distinguishing trait of an addiction is compulsiveness. A person may not derive any pleasure from the activity, but normal functions are debilitated until the act is satisfied. Even when a person is afflicted with heavy sorrow as the act is commenced, the person is unable to desist. An activity developed into an addiction is one which affords no pleasure, often causing physical, emotional, or psychological damage, but which has become requisite to sustain normative function.
Habitual behavior is an action inculcated to the subconscious mind through repetition, but is not consciously compulsory. Habits can be instilled or expunged by an exertion of will, but they are sustained by subconscious memory. It is a means for the mind to assist with discharging daily activities by removing the necessity of conscious recall. Habits are generally done without thinking about them. Our conscious minds train our subconscious minds to perform duties or actions that free our conscious thinking potential for immediate action, or to plan future action, to analyze whatever situation or set of circumstances that may require our conscious attention.
An example of habitual behavior is cleansing your hands whenever they’ve contacted an objectionable substance, such as bacteria laden food, or a chemical with adverse properties. This would be considered by most people to be a beneficial habit, I surmise. Conversely, refrenation from cleansing hands can be habitual, and I surmise would be considered by most people to be a detrimental habit. Both behaviors are prompted by the subconscious, which has been trained by a consistent decision of the conscious mind. Neither of these behaviors is analyzed by the subconscious to determine its beneficence or detriment, and neither behavior is unalterable by the same conscious exertion of will that established it.
Habits can be good or bad, depending on the circumstances. Habits are the result of a natural psychological mechanism that incorporates conscious and subconscious levels, and which provides sustenance and defense for all aspects of human existence. Many responses to adverse stimuli, or sometimes even innocuous stimuli, are subconscious defensive mechanisms intended to preserve the mind from further emotional trauma. We are sometimes not aware these mechanisms are being utilized, or perhaps do not recognize the nature of a response as being a subconscious mental defense. These responses often follow high stress situations, such as the demise of a relationship, a betrayal of trust, a situation that initiates a severity of fear, a situation that initiates a severity of anger, and so on. A resultant mental defense can often be established within, and wielded by, our subconscious mind, causing such conditions as anger displacement, wherein we treat our loved ones to the anger or bitterness that’s subconsciously directed at another target. All of this can be corrected with an exertion of conscious will.
But when any habitual behavior becomes inveterate to the point that normative functions are reliant on the behavior, it then becomes compulsory, and this is the addiction that is not easily eradicated. The habit of washing hands can be psychologically ingrained to the point that, while sobbing, a person cannot stop washing even when the skin is so chafed by the action that it’s outer layer is abraded away and blood seeps from the exposed meat. This is a psychological addiction, but there are physical addictions, as well. They are not merely habits which can be altered by a consistent exertion of will over the subconscious mind, they are behaviors necessary for mental and physical welfare, even though they are simultaneously detrimental and damaging, and they require healing over training. Healing often incorporates galling experiences, such as enduring withdrawal pains in the body, or suffering emotional anguish, both of which may drive a person to retaliate against the ones who are applying the ointments.
Here is good news, that both habits and addictions can be broken, especially when we receive abetment from a source that is able to recognize their existence and their distinctions, and when that source is imbued with loving patience and selfless dedication. Those who proclaim, “once an addict, always an addict,” are contributors to the longevity of an addiction, the same as those who proclaim, “once a criminal, always a criminal,” are contributors to the perpetuation of delinquency. We who believe the salvific grace of Christ and its effective power, cannot lend credence to either of those oppressive assertions, since we’d also have to proclaim, “once a sinner, always a sinner.” In which case, both salvation and eternal life would be peremptorily revoked.
Here is bad news, that not all sources of abetment are able or willing to recognize the existence of an addiction, or that an addiction can be broken. The person who is told that addictions are merely habits may be enmired for many years in addiction, and be immured in the repugnance of melancholy because of being incapable of quitting the “merely habitual” behavior. This is the same station as the one who is told that physical healing or prosperity has been withheld due to an inferior grade of faith. Many people have departed the Way because of falsities in charismatic dogma, or the doctrine of word of faith proponents. The truth is, addictions are reality, and addictions can be demolished.
There are two dynamics at work in our existence. The temporary and the eternal. The physical and the spiritual. A person can receive salvation from the law of sin and death, having been born into the family of the Maker of heaven and earth through spiritual means delivered to us by Christ, thus becoming an inheritor with Christ and having the right to become a son of God when we are released from our physical tents, yet become entangled in the sin of this flesh, the sinful nature inherited from the man, Adam. As Scripture has stated, there is a sin that leads to death, and a sin that does not lead to death. (1 John 5:16-17) The eternal sin is our rejection of God’s only begotten Son, Jesus, the Christ. The temporal sin is what this flesh entangles us in during our stay in this physical life. These entanglements can be habitual behaviors or compulsive addictions.
It’s vitally important that all disciples of Christ recognize the reality of both habits and addictions, so that we can equip ourselves to help the ailing members of our body, because the church is the body of Christ. We are interdependent, as a body, and we’re to dedicate ourselves to serving our body, since our health as individual members is contingent on the health of the body, and the health of the body is contingent on our individual health. This is why we’re to be in church consistently, not strictly for what we’ll benefit, but for what benefit we can provision to our brothers and sisters.
Let’s be the leukocytes of the church, and stave off the infections that harrow the health of our fellowship. In order for our immune system to fight these infections, it must be aware of them. Let’s be tutors to each other, and increase in knowledge and understanding, and we’ll increase the potency of our body in all things, and we’ll all benefit individually and corporately. Amen.