Hello everyone, as my name suggests I am not Jewish but as I am following the Noahide laws Judaism is my reference. With this background this site has become a life saver for me.
I have had a problem with acting out since I was 14 I was homeschooled and I hadn't had "the talk" with my parents. Right from the beginning my first fall was associated with a lack of knowledge. I basically didn't know what I was looking at. From there I acted out and I didn't know why but I felt guilt. I had no beliefs on the matter but I felt guilt anyway. This of course makes things worse, another trick of the yetzer hara, and I have been dealing with the problem ever since.
It was during my recent search for the truth and my discovery for G-d's plan for Gentiles that I also began to take action against my addiction. I have failed more times than I can count.
It occurred to me last week that the voice of lust in my head was arguing with me. It would use information that had supposedly reliable sources. (Eg it's healthy, a phrased used by many psychologists). I realized that deep down I knew that I needed to combat this and it was extremely important for me to have the knowledge to back me up when in an argument with the yetzer-hara. I have succeeded so far. I have been clean only a week but because I understand the science and information and truths about this topic I feel invincible. My final takeaway from all this is that it is not enough to believe something is wrong. I need to KNOW and UNDERSTAND exactly why it is wrong and why it is damaging on all levels of my being.
This is my first time posting in the forum. I wanted to share my story so as not to feel alone in my journey. I would really appreciate hearing back from anyone who can encourage me or help me.

Welcome and I wish you a lot of success!

Welcome.
Keep truckin'.

Science and Torah are often on different pages. If you are finding that to be an argument that is strong enough to be used as a tool by the Yetzer Hara, you could probably find resources to disprove it. However, my gut thinks that even if you do the research to disprove it, your Yetzer Hara will immediately find another plausible argument.
I have friends who used to be Noahides, it's a fascinating and inspiring society.
KUTGW!

Thank you for replying. Yes this is very true. I would rather say "scientists" are going in different directions to the Torah. However when I refer to knowledge I certainly do not mean science. Instead i feel a great need to educate myself on the truths taught in the Torah so I can win the fight with the yetzer hara.
As far as science is concerned, any addiction is bad, period. That is all I need to know. I find when you eliminate the opinions from science, of course it will agree with the Torah as G-d created both.

But again thank you eslaasos. I know now to be especially careful to distinguish between knowledge and science as I did confuse them in my first post. That could possibly have been a tool used in the future by the evil inclination. Thank you for causing me to redefine that.

LearningNoahide wrote:

Nice distinction, thank you!
Stick around, keep us posted on your journey.

LearningNoahide


There are many levels of what is wrong and damaging about it. Here are two.

1) It is a selfish act, and it changes our perspective to be self-focused. It's all about me and my pleasure. As such, it can damage relationships and prevent healthy relationships from developing.

2) It can become addictive, which means that whenever we experience any sort of discomfort in life, we run to pleasure ourselves. Instead of dealing with our issues in a healthy way, we are running away, and the issues just become bigger issues.

Welcome to GYE. Keep us posted on you journey. Best wishes.

Thank you so much, that is extremely clear. Simple articulated facts like that, state the truth without leaving room for question and are exactly what I need. Thank you.

You seem like a fascinating person... Hope you find this website helpful and keep in touch.

Welcome. Thank you for sharing and joining our little club here. Your background and resolve are inspiring, and I look forward to reading about all your success!

hello all a gut yur. i only speak for myself. i do not wish to turn anyone off from what works for them.if what i say is helpful, great.if not, also great.now, there is NO reason that works for me.no reason in the world is enough to get me to stop.not religion, not the danger of being caught, nothing.the ONLY thing that works for me, is surrender to someone (or G-d) that I trust.when i am strong enough to surrender, i'm fine.when i'm weak and have to be 'strong', i get into trouble.
jack

Jack, I'm on the same beanstalk as you

thanks for the humor.it made my day, really.but surrender can be difficult.it is losing a part of ourselves. ok, it's a part of ourselves that was not given to us by G-d, so therefore it's not REALLY a part of ourselves, but we THINK it's a part of ourselves.and therefore to give it up is not easy.we have to do all the other steps as well, which are also not easy.but to get to our real selves, the part given to us by G-d, our pure neshama, we have to throw off the part that we created ourselves.that's what avrohom avinu was prepared to do.to give up his own flesh and blood, to do the will of G-d, and ignore his own love for his son.that's why he became who he became.
may we be zoche to accomplish this.and after more than 40 years being an S&L addict, i can tell you it's not easy.