What Advice Does the Bible Offer to Young Men About Overcoming Habitual Vice?

Among the many challenges young men face today, a common one is the struggle with habitual vice, oftentimes in connection with sexual sin. In the face of near-overpowering societal pressures to live a lifestyle of vice and spiritual slavery, what encouragement can today’s aspiring “man of God” (1 Tim 6:11) find in the Scriptures?

Before all else, the Bible reminds young men of their desperate need for divine grace. Like St. Mary Magdalene and St. Augustine of Hippo, they must learn that until they abandon themselves completely to Christ, spiritual victory will evade them. Young men must come to the firm conviction that they can’t do this on their own. As St. John Paul II liked to point out, the great saints of history became saints not by conquering the world, but by allowing Christ to conquer them.

This truth is echoed in the great Pauline insight that God’s “power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor 12:9). For young men in the throes of habitual vice, this is an incredibly consoling verse. In our most frustrating, demoralizing, and shame-filled moments, we must remember that this is precisely the place where God desires to intervene with power to soften our stoney hearts and conform them more closely to his. As Saint Paul exclaims in another place, “Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more!” (Rom 5:20).

In the fight against sin and demonic powers, God’s Word continually prescribes prayer as an essential weapon: “Pray that you may not enter into temptation” (Lk 22:40). Prayer is one of the non-negotiable elements in the Christian life, a dependable protection against spiritual bondage. Prayer invites us into a daily contemplation of our immeasurable dignity as sons of the Father: “I praise thee, for thou art fearful and wonderful. Wonderful are thy works! Thou knowest me right well” (Ps 139:14).

Prayer teaches us that we are loved and known, no matter the extent of our sins. When Satan, the great accuser, points to our failings and tempts us to despair, it is our rootedness in prayer which empowers us to spit in his face and turn confidently to Christ and the Blessed Virgin, our sources of Hope.

In the great spiritual combat which we cannot avoid, complacency is not an option. As St. Peter reminds us, “Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Pt 5:8). When writing to the young bishop Timothy, St. Paul encourages him to strive for spiritual excellence: “Let no one despise your youth, but set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity” (1 Tim 4:12).

Overcoming habitual vice and forming habitual virtues requires discipline and hard work; it is a process, not something to be achieved all at once. In the same way that we strengthen our muscles by exercising day in and day out over an extended period of time, likewise our spiritual struggle will demand patience, humility, and dedication: “Train yourself in godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come” (1 Tim 4:7-8).

Happily, we are not alone in this task. Christ and His Mother are there with us, and so are our fellow believers. As Proverbs famously teaches, “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another” (Prov 27:17). If we are serious about overcoming habitual vice in our lives, then we should have the humility and the resolve to reach out to our Christian brothers and seek their help and accountability in the fight.

When the Gospels speak of the rich young man coming to Jesus to find out what might be needed for spiritual perfection (see Mt 19:16-22), it is striking that the young man goes away sad. Faced with Christ’s dangerous invitation to adventure, he finds himself afraid to say yes, and that inability leaves him with a deep sense of sorrow.

Imagine how different the story might have been if that young man had fallen to his knees and declared, “Dear Jesus, I want this so badly, but I don’t know how; please help me.” In a sense, that is the only appropriate response, and it’s the same response every young man is called to in that battle against the evil powers which rule our culture and seek to damn our souls. As Jesus Himself reassures us just a few verses later, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Further Reading:

Fr. Francis Insa and Dale Parker, Why Purity: Navigating the Confusing Cultural Messages (Scepter: 2021)