I’m sure by now just about everyone in the United States has been made aware of Subway’s former spokesman Jared Fogle and the sex crimes he’s been accused of, some of which he’s already admitted to. While everyone seems to be either making jokes about him and Subway, or are outright lambasting him in total detest, I have felt truly sad and had some compassion for him. Why? It’s simple really. Jared has a sex addiction and I can somewhat relate to that.
Thankfully I can say that I never went down those dark roads that Jared did with his sex addiction, as I never engaged in any underage sexual behaviors or child pornography. Given I was molested at 12, those were things I loathed because I had so much pain around being violated myself at such a young age. So how can I have any empathy for someone like Jared then? Well, I came to realize that sex addiction was a disease due to my own battles with it. Although I was more of a love addict, endlessly chasing after married or unavailable individuals, I did have my own issues with sex addiction as well. Adult pornography, cyber and phone sex were often my replacements for a former alcohol and drug addiction for way too many years and my life suffered greatly because of them.
Having been in successful recovery for both my sex and love addiction for almost 3 ½ years now, I’ve learned to have a lot of sympathy for those still suffering from this disease. In fact, I regularly attend weekly meetings to help with my recovery and it’s there I see others still battling with it like Jared has. But instead of making jokes or being disgusted by what I hear, I continue to look at them with love and kindness, remembering I too once suffered greatly. Even more important is the understanding I have now, that deep down below their toxic behaviors and addiction is another of God’s souls worthy of redemption.
This is why I’m so grateful I was able to find healing and recovery from my own sex and love addiction behaviors because I wouldn’t have the compassion for those still suffering from it like I do now. Unfortunately, there are too many others out there who try to fight this disease on their own like Jared did. Most end up falling only deeper into it and many eventually get arrested because of how far it takes them into its perpetual darkness. Nevertheless, I’m 100% convinced that no matter how far one retreats into that darkness that sex and love addiction leads to, that God’s love and guidance can always lead them back into the light.
Hopefully people may begin to pray for Jared Fogle instead of chastising him, and remember that he too has a piece of God within him, fully capable of being healed from a disease that has held him in its deadly grips for far too long…
Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson