Addressing addictions

BY PRISCILLA CHRISTOPHER

Addictions are habits we find our selves indulging in without being duly conscious of. They are attitudes we put on that apparently stand out no matter how much we try to hide them or pretend they do not exist. It is an excessive involvement in a particular act which renders the performer incomplete or dissatisfied when they are unable to carry out the act as at when due. It is in summary, an unstoppable interest developed for an action for which one is always noted for. 

Addictions, like habits, could either be negative or positive but they are commonly used to mean a negative inclination to an act. While the positive addictions could be an inclination to good habits, obsessions and attitudes such as singing, reading, praying, exercising, cleanliness, punctuality, truthfulness,

openness, transparency, faithfulness, commitment and the likes; the negative addiction includes stealing, prostitution, armed-robbery, lies, deceit, false witnessing, gossiping, heavy drinking, recklessness, disrespect for and abuse of the rights of others and so on, which are detrimental to emotional, physical, mental and psychological health. Negative addictions can also be certain attributes portrayed in public without fear or consciousness of public eyes. 

So engrossed does an addict get in their bad acts that an attempt to stop them from continuing may result in a trauma too magnanimous to manage. And many times too, the addict is very conscious of his addiction but knows not what to do to stop his negative habits. Strange enough, many a addicts know the weights and implications of their addictions, having been told by friends and acquaintances consequences imminent of their actions and yet, they do not seem a bit bothered. Others have by themselves researched and read from reliable sources grave dangers accompanying their addiction but this also has not changed their perception of their obsession. For instance, ‘the Federal Ministry of Health warns that smokers are liable to die young’ is crisply embossed on every packet of cigarettes for a smoker to see clearly yet, the number of smokers has not decreased a bit. 

Another very bad addiction which has crawled into the society and especially among youths today is that of ‘pinging’, ‘tweeting’, ‘facebooking’ and all forms of online interactions which they engage in at the expense of very important things. People who have access to virtual communication platforms now spend nearly all their time online and even sleep and wake there. The resultant effect is that chores are left undone, commitments are forsaken and important tasks are ignored. The ‘spirit of online’ is such that can eat into a person’s time and render the user completely lazy and oblivious of the real world without having the willingness to end the craze unless issues of low battery and insufficient megabyte arise. This explains why people have fallen into accidents and casualties overtime-their inability to control their obsession with the social media. So concentrated does one get once ‘online’ that no external distraction is regarded. Students in lecture halls engage in it while lectures are ongoing, people at meetings and churches do same and this spells great doom for their progress. 

Of all these, most notable is the bringing-in of this ill into the church. It is no longer strange to see a number of youths heads down during service doing nothing but chatting endlessly with careless abandon and no regard for the God they claim to have come to worship. While some of them claim to be making use of their mobile Bibles, others do not care a dime if there lie any adverse effect of this new-found hobby of church-chatting. They go home at the end of the day with no moral lesson from the day’s message. Other addictions we find in our churches today are sleeping, chewing of gum, loitering, side-talks and etc. We can’t deny the presence of habitual ‘sleepers’, pathological side-talkers, consistent gum-chewers and stationary loiterers in our churches and these issues if ignored would not augur well for the overall growth of our religious institutions. 

Another addiction we find amongst us today is the blocking of the ears with earpieces, with volumes of music so loud that external sounds are not heard. This particular attribute is characteristic of not only youths but a number of adults as well. Recently, a lad was knocked down by a vehicle because he was cut-off from reality. He was caught in the web of the Hip-Hop music he was listening to that he didn’t notice he had left the pedestrian and was walking on the speed lane. His eyes became open to his madness but he was knocked down before he could regain composure. Many have fallen victims of this severally but has it reduced the obsession?

Need I talk about verbal abuse? A number of parents take to verbal abuse as the best way of relieving their hearts of the anger brought them by their wards. It is common today to hear a parent curse and pour negative words on their children, instead of blessings and goodwill. Spoken words they say, are powerful and weighty and sadly, negative words do have more effect than positive ones. Words said in anger also move faster than the speed of light. It is therefore pertinent that parents seal their lips from any verbal abuse on their wards no matter the wrong done against them. Certainly, these words do have a lasting effect on children especially in the nearest future. It also leaves the child psychologically redundant and emotionally drained, and for those who can handle it, they end up becoming verbal abusers as well. The Bible condemns verbal assaults and advices Christians to be wary of their utterances to forestall problems.  

Addictions are everyday habits we find ourselves indulging in without giving a second thought. Whether good or bad, they creep into our daily activities, eat into our time, and breach our behavioural norms in loud volumes that we unconsciously give out our all to it. It is only wise that we heed to this call and disengage from things that hinder our overall growth, instead of building us for good.