The Slippery Slope: How Small Vices Become Addictions

Just think of the mustard seed or the smallest of seeds like the reeds of cheers, they are very tiny almost the size of a grain of sand, that is how vice or habits start, tiny enough that it can easily be ignored. We do recall from the parable of the sower, the sower plants his crops that in the night the enemy comes and plants in the weeds, naturally, we're good people, listeners to the gospel and practicing Christians just like the good seed that fell on the good soil but as time goes on the evil seeds that are planted within us start to sprout, the little habits or small sins we tend to neglect, they start growing and choke up the good norms in us. As Scripture warns, temptation begins with our own desires: "each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death" (James 1:14–15).

Take an example, there was a man who had wealth, a lovely family of two boys and a beautiful daughter, his second born, Thomas was the most loved in the home that he would literally get everything he requested from the parents which was not the case with the other two children, Thomas was picky, he would steal sugar from home and both parents would take it as something light, he then took the same habit to school, stealing pens and pencils and sometimes even money from colleagues and his parents would still defend him.

As time went on, the young Thomas starts stealing things which were bigger than before, at 16, he was accused of stealing the neighbour's chicken but the parents kept defending him insisting that their child was not a thief, the following day, he was caught red-handed with a goat, he got arrested but he made one request to the policeman, to grant him just some minutes to talk to his parents of which he was granted.

"Dad, it is you and mum who are responsible for this for when I used to steal sugar at home, you kept defending me, you made me believe that it is absolutely fine to steal, I stole money, you said nothing, stole food at home, pens, books, pencils, money at school and yet you kept defending me, you never taught me that what I was doing was bad. and here I am today, branded as a thief, I put the blame on you both, you two are thieves just like me, you should equally take the blame and shame" Thomas said in anguish and disappointment, filled with sorrow, tears in his eyes & a frowning face.

He picked the gun from the policeman and shot his father out of disappointment, he was then reprimanded and charged of murder and aggravated robbery. That is how Thomas' family and life got ruined, his other siblings were successful and his mother died just after two months due to stroke that resulted from the shock she experienced when her beloved son, Thomas murdered his father.

They start as small sins, become a habit, culture and then later becomes a part of us, sin makes us slaves, we can't freely break free from its bondage just like someone all chained up. As Jesus teaches, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin" (John 8:34). The devil once it gets comfortable in your life, it will eventually go out and bring in other friends, for instance, if you only had the demon for theft in your life, it will eventually go and bring in others like those responsible for lust, murder, pornography, masturbation, corruption, laziness and so many others, they do erode the graces of God from our lives, we lose the sense of awareness, we lose the fear to commit sin, we lose shame and committing evil just feels right, the Holy Spirit departs leaving us vacant for more evil to occupy, the Holy Spirit does not share room with evil; it will eventually go.

The hardest part of all this is that uprooting it is the most challenging, planting a tree is quite easy but uprooting it is the most difficult, it takes a lot of prayer and determination to break free from the bondage of the devil, since they have become vice or a culture in our lives, we feel like we cannot live without it, sometimes we find ourselves doing the evil we do not want to do because of the evil that dwells in us.

Some days, we even lay down strategies on how to get back to our renewed feet again and spiritual life as before, we even go for Penance, make a good confession and start the journey for a newly re-branded life but from nowhere find ourselves going back to the old self, we at times succeed in a few days or even a month but as the scripture states, 

"When the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then he goes and brings with him seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that man is worse than the first" (Matthew 12:43–45). 

It is therefore our duty to clean up our lives and stay on guard to fight the evil one who will always return to re-establish himself in us, that is the only way we can fight the scenario of falling back into sin and the safest way to break the vice and addiction to sin. It is eventually the culture that leads us into addictions.

The spiritual fight is one of the hardest responsibilities, especially for sexual sins like lust, adultery, pornography, masturbation.... Once a person is addicted to watching pornographic articles or content, they become prone to committing various sexual sins, as it strongly connects with our bodily desires. It is so hard to break the addiction, and once we fail to break free from it, we become weak in prayer, our spiritual lives degrade, our prayers do not reach God when we are in that state. As Jesus warns, "everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart" (Matthew 5:28). We are called to "flee from sexual immorality" (1 Corinthians 6:18) and to "put to death... sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire" (Colossians 3:5).

Asmodeus, normally called the "Prince of Lechery," is the demon associated with lust and sexual sins in tradition. He is known for tempting people into wantonness, causing jealousy, and interrupting marriages, as seen in the Book of Tobit. Once such influences take hold, lives can become miserable: happiness fades, relationships tear apart, and patterns of adultery or other unchaste behaviors may become more frequent. In our fallen world, temptations to lust affect everyone differently; some struggle with heterosexual sins, others with same-sex attractions that lead toward unchaste acts. The Church teaches that while homosexual acts are contrary to natural law and gravely sinful (as they close the sexual act to the gift of life and do not reflect the complementarity of male and female), the experience of same-sex attraction itself is not a sin. Persons who experience it are to be treated with respect, compassion, and sensitivity, and are called to live chastely, just as all people are called to chastity in accordance with their state in life (see Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2357–2359). Through God's grace, many find support in prayer, sacraments, and communities like the Courage apostolate, which ministers to men and women experiencing same-sex attractions and helps them grow in holiness while living faithfully according to Church teaching.

To break free from these bondages whether from lust, pornography, or any disordered desires, one needs to regularly go for confessions, receive the Holy Eucharist, practice regular fasting, engage in regular Adorations, constantly recite the Rosary, maintain daily prayers, and above all attend Mass regularly. As our Lord teaches about certain stubborn evils, "This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer and fasting" (Mark 9:29).

O good Jesus, you created us and made us for yourself alone, our bodies are your temples and dwelling places for the Holy Spirit, renew our conscience and your graces. Grant us the strength, courage and persistence in prayer just like Job did, may you keep us steadfast in all our spiritual battles against Lucifer and all his fallen angels, with the help of the prince of the Heavenly Host, St Archangel Michael and all the angels in heaven most especially our Guardian Angels to fight all principalities that lead us far away from attaining Eternal life that you long prepared for us even before we conceived in our mother's womb: for our struggle is "not against flesh and blood, but against... principalities... powers... spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12), fight for us and never take your Holy Spirit away from us. O blessed Virgin Mary, mother of God, be a mother to us too in this troubled world: Jesus, I trust in you. Amen.

Footnotes

1 For more on Courage: Visit the official website at couragerc.org , a Roman Catholic apostolate providing spiritual support for those with same-sex attractions seeking chastity and union with Christ. See also the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 2357–2359, at the Vatican website: vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P85.HTM (or search "Catechism 2357" on vatican.va). For help with pornography addiction from a Catholic perspective, consider resources from Integrity Restored (integrityrestored.com or related books by Dr. Peter Kleponis).