A Declaration of Independence:
Today, we celebrate Independence Day in the United
States of America. I am grateful for the freedoms we have been given in this country. Some of the freedoms I had, however, were very harmful to me. These freedoms included the freedom to view and use pornography, the freedom to pursue happiness in legal forms of sexual acting out, and the freedom to worship my own god; sex addiction. I have also been given new freedoms, the freedom choose a recovery program that satisfies my needs, the freedom to say “no” to sexual acting out, and the freedom to call Jesus Christ my higher power, and worship Him fully without fear of persecution or harm against me or my family.
Independence means a lot of things to different people. The definition is written below:
in·de·pend·ence
/ˌɪndɪˈpɛndəns/ [in-di-pen-duhns] noun
1. Also, independency. the state or quality of being independent.
2. freedom from the control, influence, support, aid, or the like, of others.
In my case, it is freedom from the control of my sexual addiction and the behaviors associated with that addiction. Every July 4th, I not only celebrate the independence of these United States of America, but I also make the following declaration written below, as edited from the original Declaration of Independence.
I, Jorge S., a recovering sex addict, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of my intention, do, in the Name, and by Authority of Jesus Christ and my healthy being, solemnly publish and declare, That I am, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent of sexual compulsive behaviors, that I am Absolved from all Allegiance to demoralizing and incomprehensible compulsive sexual behaviors, and that all connection between me and my addiction, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as a Free and Independent man, I have full Power to levy War against my addiction, conclude Peace of mind, contract Alliances in my recovery, establish psychological therapy as needed to do all other Acts and Things which a healthy, sexually pure man may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Jesus Christ, I mutually pledge to my Life, my Fortunes, and my sacred Honor.
My declaration is short and to the point, definitely not as elegant as the one written by our Country’s founders. Also, I wish it was as simple as making the declaration! The United States had to fight a war, and subsequent wars against the British to gain their independence. Furthermore, the United States had to continue to battle against other foreign nations in order to gain full independence. And later, it had to fight a Civil War (a war against oneself) in order to maintain its independence! Even today, the United States continues to fight to maintain its independence, this fight may be against terrorists, against energy monopolies, against corruption, etc… The point is, the United States of American has continued to fight to maintain its independence and must continue to fight.
In this same way, I need to continue to fight against my sexual addiction. I can’t let my guard down. If I do, then I will have allowed my addiction a foothold into my life and that makes the fall easier! I must be always vigilant in my struggle to maintain sexual purity. Sexual Purity is not a right, it is a privilege given to me, by God, on a daily basis, and I must always be grateful for that privilege and do whatever I can to maintain it. I have not been and am not perfect, however, I will continue to strive for progress, not perfection in my recovery.
So I not only declare indepenendce from my sexual addiction but also that I will do whatever it takes to maintain my sobriety. One moment at a time, one second at a time, one minute at a time, one hour at a time, one day at a time!
Take what you like and leave the rest.
