To me, an addiction is something that someone can't quit - or can quit only through intense, difficult, painful focus. I don't care much for clinical definitions in cases like porn; I care much more about whether someone is justifying the continuation of something that is done privately (secretly) that would have SERIOUSLY negative ramifications if discovered.
Call it addiction or just prioritization; I really don't care. If someone "cleaves" to porn at the potential expense of their spouse, that person "values" porn more than they value their spouse. To me, that is an addiction - again, even if it might be just a matter of prioritization.
For what it's worth, I have a bit of an addictive / obsessive personality - and I have struggled all my life with not letting myself get obsessed with various things (including blogging). I'm not addressing this from an intellectual, removed perspective; it's personal to me in a very real way.
Having said that, it's interesting that we tend not to care about "addictions" we don't see as "sin".
That, in and of itself, is a fascinating topic.
The Party Crasher
20 hours ago
2 comments:
Interesting thoughts, Papa D.
One of the hallmarks of an addiction is that it causes us to lose control of our lives. Most people come to 12-step programs to get help to restore their lives to sanity.
I certainly have observed that people with addictive personalities may be addicted to more than just drugs or alcohol or porn. Some are addicted to helping others. Some are addicted to food. And so on.
Not sure I agree with the assertion that we don't care about addictions we don't see as sin. If you mean "we" as those who are not affected, then I suppose that's true. Those who are affected and who recognize the addiction probably care very much.
Thanks, Paul, for your input.
I meant that the collective "we" generally don't classify something as an "addiction" unless we see it as negative ("sin", in religious terms), so we tend not to care about it - at least not to the extent we do about what we see as negative behaviors or sins.
Post a Comment