(Part II)
God hates pornography
God knows that pornography can wreck lives
Ephesians 4 : 17 – 19 says “so I tell you this, and insist on it in the lord, that you must no longer live as the gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more”
God loves us and wants to protect us from harm
Isaiah 48 : 17, 18 “this is what the lord says – your Redeemer the Holy one of Israel : I am the lord your God, who teachers you what is best for you, who direct you in the way you should go. If only you had paid attention to like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea.
God wants to safeguard marriages and families
Mathew 19 : 4 – 5 says “Haven’t you read,” he (Jesus ) replied, “that at the beginning the Creator made them male and female, and said, “for this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh? So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let men not separate”
God wants us to be morally clean and to respect the rights of others
I Thessalonians 4 : 3 – 6 “it is God’s will that you should be sanctified : that you should avoid sexual immorality, that each you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you.”
God wants us to respect our procreative powers and use them in an honorable way.
Hebrews 13 : 4 says “ marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.”
God knows that pornography reflect a warped, satanic view of sex.
(Genesis 6 : 2 ) Jude, 6, 7 “And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home…. these He has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day. In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire
To sum up: pornography damages a person’s friendship with God”. (Romans 1 : 24)
Breaking free from Pornography
Pray to God
the most important step in overcoming the snare of pornography is to ask for God’s help in prayer. God has great compassion for those wanting to escape pornography’s grip (Psalm 103 : 8 , 14) . “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. For He knows how we are formed, He remembers that we are dust.” Hebrews 4 : 16. God invites humble ones to turn to him to “obtain mercy and find undeserved kindness for help at the right time.”
God can give the person Holy Spirit, empowering him “both to will and to act .” (Philippians 2 : 13) “For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” If the person yields to God’s leading, it will help him to conquer wrong “passions and desires” Galatians 5 : 16 says “so I say, live by the spirit, and you will not gratify the desire of the sinful nature Galatians 5 : 24 “those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.”
Get help from others
An addict says, “pornography addiction is so secretive and shameful that you feel you can’t ask for help. You think you can beat it by yourself. But that is not true. You can beat it only with help. So I swallowed my pride and opened up to my wife. I also sought the help of a trusted friend. It was the hardest thing that I have ever had to do, but I got the help I needed.”
Confiding in others will take courage and determination. Yet, it is an important step towards overcoming the addiction and reconnecting with love ones. An overcomer relates:” Afterwards I felt a huge gush of relief. Those moments were painful. But they resulted in feelings of peace and approval.” James 5 : 16 says “therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”
Identify and avoid potential triggers
What situation, thoughts, or emotions trigger wrong desire? Surfing the Internet ? watching late – night TV? Reading magazines? Visiting the beach? Being hungry, angry, alone, or tired? One former addict says “Identify your weakness and avoid them like the plague.” Mathew 5 : 29 says “Jesus said, If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.”
A former addict says “when I am tempted to gaze lustfully at a woman, I immediately pray to God and force my eyes to look away,” the faithful Bible Patriarch Job said in Job 31 : 1 , “I have made a solemn promise not to look lustfully at a girl.”
Strengthen spiritually
A former addict says “fill your mind with wholesome thoughts and fill your life with spiritual activities.” Philippians 4: 8, 9 says,
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable. If anything is excellent or praiseworthy…think about such things…and the God of peace will be with you.”
