Phantom Addictions
Two frightened little girls escaped their captor alive and physically unharmed. Their parents thank God. A city breathes a sigh of relief. And another pedophile is placed behind bars.
How can we stop this madness? How can we help a man end the downward spiral of sexual obsession and compulsion before they harm anyone, including themselves?
No one is able to offer an easy solution. We understand physical addiction well enough. Most Americans do the zombie shuffle straight to the coffee pot every morning. Many, like myself, with a guttural groan that would make Belle Lagosie proud.
We understand craving. When you put some kind of chemical in your body, things like, alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, prescription or illicit street drugs you may become addicted. We understand that a habit may develop, and society has a reasonable degree of success when dealing with substance abuse.
What I call phantom addictions are far less understandable and extremely difficult to treat. Addictions to gambling and pornography come to mind. Young girls with eating disorders. Mankind has a smorgasbord of phobias, sexual fetishes, superstitions and idiosyncrasies.
Our human family is relentlessly attacked with a myriad of mental and emotional madness. Depression drives many to suicide. The human mind is trapped in a complicated maze. Many are lost in this labyrinth of confusion. Jim Morrison of the Doors sings of our “fragile eggshell mind.” The Bible simply calls us “lost.”
It seems so obvious to me that, “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:12b) The cure is in the blood of Christ.