Those Weaknesses Can Be Overcome

THREE problems, more than others, seem to trouble modern youths as well as many adults. What are they? Alcoholism, smoking and masturbation (also known as self-abuse or autoerotism).

These habits appeal to the weaknesses of the flesh, and the modern environment makes it especially difficult to overcome them. For instance, liquor and cigarettes are appealingly advertised far and wide. Erotic inclinations are abetted by an avalanche of pornographic literature, motion pictures and television programs. But this does not mean that these problems or weaknesses cannot be overcome.

Divinely Provided Aids

In this regard it is helpful to consider the example of the apostle Paul. Christian apostle though he was, he confessed that he failed to do the things he wanted to do and did the things he did not want to do. (Romans 7:14-25) However, he also said: “I pummel my body and lead it as a slave, that, after I have preached to others, I myself should not become disapproved somehow.” (1 Corinthians 9:27) In fact, he was able to say to his fellow Jews: “Men, brothers, I have behaved before God with a perfectly clear conscience down to this day.”​—Acts 23:1; 22:3.

What divinely provided aids are there to assist us in ‘pummeling our bodies’? How can we be helped to ‘behave with a perfectly clear conscience’ as regards such weaknesses as alcoholism, tobacco addiction and masturbation?

God’s Word, the Holy Bible, is one indispensable aid. Reading it regularly, yes, daily, and especially such portions as the Psalms, the book of Proverbs and the Christian Greek Scriptures, can be of great help. True it is that ‘man does not live on bread alone but on the truths coming from God’s mouth’ and found in His Word, the Sacred Scriptures.​—Matthew 4:4.

We gain spiritual strength from reading God’s Word and Christian publications that help us to understand and apply it. These give us a better view of what pleases our Creator, Jehovah God. Moreover, we get good motivation from the righteous precepts and warning examples recorded in God’s Word. We are thus helped to love​—and to do—​what is good and right, while hating, yes, abhorring, what is bad, or wicked.​—Psalm 97:10; Romans 12:9.

Prayer to God is another great aid. Time and again Christians have testified to prayer’s great help in combating their weaknesses. This was so with one Christian woman who was having a difficult time breaking the cigarette habit. Upon hearing a fine Bible lecture on the subject of prayer, she went home, prayed earnestly to Jehovah God to aid her in overcoming the habit, and from then on she had no further problem with it. (Philippians 4:6, 7) When we ask God, in all sincerity, to forgive us for having transgressed along a certain line, we get a sense of relief and are helped to make a fresh start in our struggle.

God’s holy spirit, or active force, also is an aid. It is available to us if we pray for it. Jesus said: “If you, although being wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more so will the Father in heaven give holy spirit to those asking him.” That holy spirit is a powerful force. (Luke 11:13; Zechariah 4:6) If we yield to its influence, we will be helped, for the fruitage of the spirit includes self-control, essential in coping with plaguing problems.​—Galatians 5:22, 23.

Mature Christians also can be a source of help. Especially is this true of those who have spiritual qualifications, such as the congregational elders. By taking an elder into our confidence, we can be greatly aided in our struggle. But others can help also. The “aged women” may be able to help younger women. (Titus 2:3-5) For example, one retired nurse who had smoked heavily all her life was determined to stop smoking so that she could qualify for baptism. She set a certain date and told her close Christian associates about her determination. Well, every day one of these fellow believers either phoned her or visited her to give her moral support. The result was that by the end of the week she had completely overcome her craving for cigarettes.

So, then, we have noted four basic avenues of aid: (1) reading and studying God’s Word, together with Christian literature; (2) persevering in prayer; (3) yielding to the influence of God’s holy spirit; and (4) enlisting the aid of mature Christians. In these ways, many, many persons have been helped in their struggle to overcome weaknesses. Yet, some have a far more difficult time conquering weaknesses than do others. Are there yet other aids that they could effectively use?

Why More Difficulty?

Why do some have more difficulty than do others in overcoming certain weaknesses? Without doubt, there is the matter of spiritual immaturity. Anyone who fails to make use of the aids previously mentioned, or who uses them merely in a perfunctory way, is bound to have a more difficult time overcoming his weaknesses.

Ancestry is another factor. Some apparently have acquired certain weaknesses from their parents, or even their grandparents, in much the same way that one may have a predisposition to a disease, such as diabetes. So with respect to weaknesses it seems that ‘fathers have eaten unripe grapes and their sons’ teeth have been set on edge.’​—Ezekiel 18:2.

There is also the matter of how frequently or how avidly a person has pursued a questionable course. This has great bearing on how firmly he is addicted to it. To illustrate: An individual who is smoking only half a pack of cigarettes a day would likely have less trouble stopping the practice than would one smoking three packs a day, a chain smoker.

Environment also may have a bearing on the problem. For instance, a wife may want to stop smoking, but her husband and teenage children may all smoke. It would be far more difficult for her to break the habit than it would be for a woman whose family did not use tobacco.

Giving Up the Tobacco Habit

A certain physician was addicted to tobacco and repeatedly tried to quit using it. But he did not succeed until he decided to become a Christian. It was not easy to stop smoking, but not too difficult. (2 Corinthians 7:1) However, another physician, this doctor’s fleshly brother, was faced with the same problem. In his case, overcoming the habit took a supreme effort, as he was a chain smoker. Though he eventually succeeded, he said that breaking off the habit nearly drove him to commit suicide.

Some nutritionists hold that proper nutrition will help a person to break the tobacco habit. They believe that often those addicted to tobacco have bad nerves, poor circulation or are overweight and that by remedying these problems there is a better chance of overcoming the addiction.

Another somatic approach (known as “One Step at a Time”) consists of smoking cigarettes with certain filters. First, the smoker uses a filter that removes 25 percent of the nicotine. Then for two weeks he uses one that filters out 50 percent; next, one that removes 75 percent; and, finally, one that filters out 90 percent. It is claimed that after that a person should have no difficulty in stopping altogether.

Cling to Bible Standards

Today, more than ever before, members of the human race have difficulty in trying to live by the righteous standards found in the Bible. No doubt, among the factors accounting for this are heredity and also a person’s rearing and environment. And not to be overlooked is the fact that Satan the Devil and his demons are out to debauch the human race. (Revelation 12:12) But, with God’s help and by clinging to Bible standards, a person can successfully resist the Adversary.​—James 4:7.

The somatic approach has at times provided help in dealing with the problems of alcoholism, tobacco addiction and masturbation. Nevertheless, the chief remedies are spiritual aids, including the studying of God’s Word and Christian publications, persisting in prayer, yielding to the influence of Jehovah’s holy spirit and receiving the aid of mature Christians. With such help distressing weaknesses can indeed be overcome.

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Are You Struggling?

What should you do if you realize that you need to overcome the abuse of alcohol, the tobacco habit or masturbation? See if you can draw more heavily on one or more of these divinely provided aids:

1. Read God’s Word regularly, drawing strength from it.

2. Pray to God daily, seeking his comfort and aid.

3. Ask God for his holy spirit, or active force.

4. Draw upon help available from mature Christians.