{"id":1416,"date":"2014-02-28T12:30:47","date_gmt":"2014-02-28T17:30:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/?p=1416"},"modified":"2014-07-22T11:28:23","modified_gmt":"2014-07-22T15:28:24","slug":"affluenza-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/2014\/02\/28\/affluenza-season\/","title":{"rendered":"Affluenza Season?"},"content":{"rendered":"

A teenager gets drunk, slides behind the wheel of a vehicle, and ultimately crashes in an accident that kills four people. His attorneys argue to the judge that the teenager has \u201caffluenza,\u201d a term describing the negative and infectious effects of consumerism and the pursuit of \u201cmore\u201d on individuals. In response to the attorney\u2019s diagnosis, the judge gives the teenager probation, and NO jail time. Probation, when four victims of this crime are dead. Currently, Affluenza<\/i> is not a real, DSM-V approved disorder \u2013 it\u2019s just a description that one psychology expert uses to describe \u201cspoiled brats\u201d as he calls them; yet, it is accepted as \u201cscience\u201d by some in society. <\/p>\n

As a play on the words \u201cflu season,\u201d clearly, it is affluenza season<\/i> right now in the USA. I hope you take your affluenza shot <\/i>soon before you catch the so-called disease, too. Obviously, I\u2019m being facetious with these comments. It\u2019s true, though, that our culture is searching for any explanation (aside from sinful choices and idolatrous hearts) for bad behavior; and in this case, criminal behavior of a teenager.<\/p>\n

I touched on it above, but what does it mean to have affluenza? CNN explains in an online article about the sad case of a rich young man who got drunk and had a car crash killing 4 people<\/a>.\u00a0One quote from the article is revealing:<\/p>\n

Is \u201caffluenza\u201d real? Or is it a way for coddled children and adolescents to evade consequences for their actions?\u00a0Not surprisingly, \u201caffluenza\u201d does not appear in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM, the \u201cpsychiatric Bible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Affluenza implies that unrestrictive and affluent parenting causes a child to become a self-centered adult. A few generations ago, it was called \u201cspoiling\u201d your kids and teaching them to be \u201cbrats.\u201d Today, it is a disease that one somehow contracts after experiencing parental neglect and parental excess.<\/p>\n

In my Addiction-Proof Parenting<\/a> book, I call affluenza <\/i>by my own description: the Entitlement Mentality. This mentality is rooted in pride and love of self. Love of self is always at the root of addictive choices. The Bible would call affluenza<\/i> a sin stemming from a love of self and a violation of both the 1st<\/sup> and 5th<\/sup> Commandments: to have only one God you serve, and to honor one\u2019s parents through obedience (of course, it is hard to obey parents who require zero obedience with zero rules).<\/p>\n

BACK TO THE COURTROOM<\/p>\n

What saddens me is that in a court of law, attorneys use one person\u2019s idea of a made-up mental disorder called affluenza<\/i>, originally meant as a descriptor of selfish behavior, as a primary reason for their defense. On top of the attorneys\u2019 actions, we have a judge who rules no jail time for the teenager\u2019s sinful choices. Seriously, this is a real-life situation and not made up.<\/p>\n

What is true is that this new mental disorder, affluenza<\/i>, has as much scientific data behind it as many of the psychological disorders in the DSM-V. When you study the history of the DSM, you will find that psychologists tied to the pharmaceutical companies meet to vote on which disorders to put into the newest version of the DSM. Where\u2019s the science? (Find out more about psychology as a pseudoscience by watching this non-Christian, YouTube video: The Marketing of Madness<\/a>)<\/p>\n

The Bible speaks to affluenza,<\/i> but calls it a sin, not a disease. It is a behavioral problem of willful choices, or the lack of choices, not a disease. In this specific instance, there are many sinful choices involved: the sin of the parents due to the lack of biblical parenting (Eph. 6:4) and sin of the teenager due to selfish choices, getting drunk, and killing 4 people (Eph. 5:18).<\/p>\n

If you haven\u2019t read Addiction-Proof Parenting<\/i> yet, see why Dr. Tedd Tripp, author of Shepherding a Child\u2019s Heart<\/i>, endorsed it. Addiction-Proof Parenting<\/i> will clearly explain drunken choices and the real cause of affluenza<\/i>. My intention in writing the book was to encourage parents to do biblical parenting, so as to foster the mind of Christ in their children instead of the mind of an addict. Any parents, no matter how old they and their children are, can benefit from this book to gain insight into the nature of Christ and the nature of mankind. The Bible offers us truth that will set us free when we embrace and obey it by His grace!<\/p>\n

-Mark Shaw (emphasizing how the Word of God diagnoses the real heart of addiction and offers the hope of the Gospel)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A teenager gets drunk, slides behind the wheel of a vehicle, and ultimately crashes in an accident that kills four people. His attorneys argue to the judge that the teenager has \u201caffluenza,\u201d a term describing the negative and infectious effects of consumerism and the pursuit of \u201cmore\u201d on individuals. In response to the attorney\u2019s diagnosis,… read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":1418,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[1],"tags":[12593,15800,15801,15803,15802],"yoast_head":"\nAffluenza Season? - Vision of Hope<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/2014\/02\/28\/affluenza-season\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Affluenza Season? - Vision of Hope\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A teenager gets drunk, slides behind the wheel of a vehicle, and ultimately crashes in an accident that kills four people. 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