Be In Control

How pathetic are those individuals whose failure or refusal to control their actions, to check their behavior, whether alone or amid society, thereby find themselves restrained, locked away, and shackled behind concrete walls and iron bars, no more to be trusted than a common zoo animal.

They've expelled kindness, acts of love and charity, sharing, and empathy from their lives and instead now allow selfishness, anger, hate, and unbridled passions, to govern and dictate their behaviors, even to make their choices. They hence have chosen the unholy and unruly to be their master; a master they instinctively kneel before and blindly obey. 

For the life of me I cannot figure out why anyone would willingly allow something unnatural or artificial, to control them - to be dominated by something weaker than even themselves, be it drugs, alcohol, pornography, or any other vice. I struggle to understand why we provide room for these controlling distractions. And why, once discovered, do we allow these impurities to fester and continue as the dominating, destructive forces they are? They leave the individual much like Pinocchio-controlled and fettered by the strings of an exploitative and manipulative puppet master. In a very real sense, they've forfeited their agency for a mere moment of satisfaction, a moment that leads to a potential life of sorrow, misery, and pain. 

Now I understand no one starts smoking or drinking with thoughts of, "I'm gonna make a habit of this." No one plans to become an addict prior to their first anything. And few if any are aware of their propensity to any vice. But with all we now know, with all the warnings, news stories, and sad tale testimonials, why would anyone start something, anything that can develop into such a gripping, destructive, life-squeezing, and life controlling force, damaging their spiritual and physical self?

There are countless tales of marriages disrupted and dissolved due to the effects of pornography addictions. Mistrust and betrayal have left their scarring marks on many homes because of alcohol abuse. And much family happiness has been uprooted because of video game addictions. 

For many, the habits and addictions we struggle with are not evidently obvious, with known negative impacts on communities and families; rather they come in subtle, quiet, even approved forms. But unrestrained, they morph into an uncontrolled beast with a voracious appetite for destruction. Sometimes they come at no fault of our own. Bad things happen. But we are still expected to overcome them and be in complete control of our lives.

Of course I am eternally grateful that I have not found myself a slave to these issues. And as with all the obstacles we face in life, none of this needs be permanent. Just as we had the choice to venture where we should not have, it is our choice to begin the oft times slow, but real and rewarding road back. It will take time. It will require patience and understanding. This path will involve forgiveness and forgiving. But it's been done before. As we stop seeing ourselves as a victim and rather as a victor, we will once again cut the strings controlling us and feel the freedom that brings true happiness.