Pathways of Addiction ~ As a Man Thinketh

The Book of Proverbs tells us that, “as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” This is true.  Addictions begin in the mind and heart of a man – or a woman.  They begin as a single thought, what the Bible would call a temptation.  Temptations are all about us.  They come to our awareness through all of our senses, although we, ourselves, may or may not be able to pinpoint exactly when and how we became so aware.

 

Carrying through with the metaphor of a path, one might say that the single thought is the first step on a path to an addiction.  We can avoid some temptations by avoiding the environments and circumstances where they might be found.  But it is impossible to avoid all temptations without moving into a cave on a mountain top!  Even then, the thoughts of our own minds might betray us.  So we will begin our discussions with a thought that is suddenly there in our field of awareness without premeditation – like Bathsheba bathing on her roof.* 

1.       The stimulus is there and we are aware.

What we choose to do next is crucial.  David did not sin by looking once and seeing Bathsheba bathing on her roof. David sinned by looking twice.  

There we stand, perched on the first step of the path and, instead of stepping off the path immediately and walking the other way, we contemplate.  We ponder.  We consider.  Then, we begin to rationalize.  Everyone else is doing it.  It won’t matter just this once.  No one need know.  It won’t hurt to just try it.  I won’t get caught.  I can’t possibly happen to me.  It's not that big a deal compared to what everyone else is doing.  I am invulnerable. 

So we take that second step inside our own thoughts.  “Ye have heard it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” (Matthew 5: 27-28)

2.       We choose to look twice.

You will notice throughout this series that I use the words choose and choice frequently.  The path to addiction is all about agency and choice, which will become more apparent the farther along the path we go.  This information is not meant to be judgmental in any way.  We have all “sinned and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)   What I hope to do is to bring the process to a more conscious awareness of the choices involved.  There are points along the path when, like David, we could still choose to turn around.  I hope that, unlike David, we will choose to do so.  I also hope that this might be a tool for parents as they observe the choices their children make so that if intervention becomes necessary, they might intervene earlier on the path rather than later.

To sum up today’s pathway, the first step on the path is to become aware, which may or may not involve choice.  But the second step is to ponder, which involves a clear choice.  As the knight guardian said to Indiana Jones, “Choose wisely.”*

And remember: “As a man thinketh, so is he.” (Proverbs 23:27)

© Gebara Education, 2012.  No part of this book may be copied by any means whatsoever without the express written permission of the author.

Picture of the stepping stones from www.pavingsuperstore.co.uk

Biblical quotes from the KJV; Story of David and Bathsheba can be found in the 11th Chapter of the Book of Second Samuel in the Old Testament

*Quote from the movie, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.