I love this line from Who Framed Roger Rabbit. “I’m not bad, I’m just drawn that way.”
Every addict can relate. No one asks for sex addiction. Addicts were “drawn that way” through abuse, trauma, and isolation. So far today, I have heard men tell me of the following abuse: (a) physical abuse by a mother, (b) sexual molestation by a friend at school, (c) sexual abuse at the hands of a foster parent, and (d) verbal abuse by a kindergarten teacher.
I’ve heard all of that today, and I haven’t even had lunch yet.
We are all sinners, by nature and by choice. King David, the “man after God’s own heart,” confessed, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalm 51:5).
I’m never shocked when I hear that another person has fallen into addiction. I’m actually shocked that more haven’t fallen – that we know of.
If you suffer from addiction, to call you a “bad person” is not productive. What matters most is not where your addiction has taken you or even how your got here. What matters most is what you’re going to do about it now.
Recovery Step: If you have been driven into addiction by abuse, trauma, or isolation, that’s not on you. But if you stay in addiction – well, that is on you, 100%. It’s time to quit digging and climb out of the ditch.
