Greetings, my dear friend, I’m writing this essay on “Addictions” because I’ve suffered through my own addiction, and I assume, that you too are suffering through yours, whatever it might be.  I’m writing this, one sinner to another, because I know how you feel.  Now, if you bristled at my saying, “one sinner to another”, then, I’m sorry to say, I don’t think you’re ready to hear what I have to say.  You see, I had to hit bottom before I was ready to be lifted up by God’s grace and if you still think that, “I don’t have a problem” or “I’m in control”, all I can say is "God bless you and congratulations" because, “You’re a better man than I am, Gunga Din!”

On the other hand, if you’re thinking that life’s a big black cloud and every path seems closed off to you with the Sword of Damocles hanging over your head ready to drop, let’s talk, buddy.  I know how you feel, ‘cuz I’ve been there, done that, as they say.

THE HOOK

When we are born, we have certain characteristics that we get from our parents by virtue of heredity.  Some of these we can see: hair color, height, and body build for example.  Other traits that we inherit you can’t see physically but you can see in the behavior from father to son:  “He has his Dad’s temper”, etc.  This is called our temperament.  In that temperament, also comes certain predispositions towards things that morally are called "sins".  You might call them family traits or bad habits but I will call them “hooks”.  Now I call them “hooks” because we are just like fish in the water and this is the means by which the devil "hooks" us and pulls us out of the waters of grace by tempting us to commit sin.  All he has to do is dangle the bait in front of us and just reel us in since the hook is already “set”.

These hooks are our weaknesses.  That’s right.  We have built-in weaknesses that we inherit from our parents.  They can be formed by our environment but, at least from my experience, they seem to be mostly ingrained in us as part of our very natures.  These “hooks” are the major faults that we have and just about every time that we are tempted by our own personal hook, we fall for it.  These hooks can be just about anything from gambling to pornography to greed to alcohol to just about any other activity or temptation which could be called a weakness or a sin but we all have at least one of them. 

IN STRUGGLING AGAINST OURSELVES WE GIVE GLORY TO GOD

Now you might ask, "Why would the good God put a “hook” in us which would make it easy for us to sin?"  Doesn’t it sound ridiculous that God would purposely put in our natures weaknesses that make it easy for us to end up in hell?  Actually, if you think about why we’re here on earth to begin with, it’s not really ridiculous at all.  Since we are born with only one real purpose, and that is to save our souls so that we can be with God in heaven, we need a means to demonstrate our love for Him.  It needs to be a challenge and it needs to really tax us. 

What glory is there for a pro football team to beat up on a high school team?  None!  If all we had to do was just say, "I love you, Jesus", what glory would there be in that?  Job tells us that "man's life on earth is a warfare" so let's look at a military example.  When we think of the great armies of history, their glory was achieving victory by overcoming great odds. 

One of my favorite examples was the 10,000 Greeks under Xenophon back in the ancient days.  He wasn't even an officer in the army of Greek mercenaries fighting alongside an army of Persians who opposed the king.  Hundreds of miles away from home, they were in a battle in which their allies were defeated.  To top it all off, all of their generals were treacherously murdered by the king.  Completely without leadership, with no supplies, and surrounded by a superior enemy, Xenophon just simply took over the 10,000 and, strictly by force of will, led his little army over the mountains of Asia Minor (Turkey), through hostile mountain tribes until, one day, the cry rang out from the advance guard, "The sea, the sea!" - they had finally reached the safety of the Black Sea and returned home.  This is one of my favorite military stories simply because Xenophon refused to do the easy thing and just simply give up and die.  He simply exerted his will to achieve victory and, in the process, achieved great glory.  This true story occurred over 2000 years ago and yet it is still told.

By the same token, God gives every man a challenge consisting of a personal weakness (or two) which he must overcome in order to achieve his salvation and  by his victory over himself, he gives great glory to God.  God is greatly pleased with us when we show Him, by our struggles to overcome our sinful selves, our love for Him.  This is so important for us to understand, let me state it in big bold letters: IN STRUGGLING AGAINST OURSELVES WE GIVE GLORY TO GOD.

ESTO VIR

Esto vir, that's Latin for "Be a man!"* and that is the challenge that I give to you my friend.  I am weak, too, but I know because I have experienced it in my own personal life, that God is with us.  If we simply set our wills to reach "the sea" just as old Xenophon, God will not abandon us.  He will give us the grace we need to succeed.  We will fall.  We will mess up.  We will have setbacks.  But if we have the will to succeed, He will not fail us.  Come, my friend, let us together "take up our cross daily and follow Him".

If you have the will to conquer yourself, join us: "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers" to St. Augustine.