Pornography is an area in which many, many Christians struggle. In fact, this has been probably the biggest thorn in my side from my past, and it has taken me years to get beyond it. Why is pornography so addictive and so tough for believers - primarily men - to move beyond? Proverbs 5, a chapter that I call the "anti-pornography chapter", gives us some good insight.
Pornography is enticing (vs.3) and it beckons men to look at it. This doesn't mean that we don't have a choice in the matter, but porn is marketed so that men will want to look at it. Of course it doesn't satisfy and does more harm than good (in fact, it doesn't do any good), yet even though we know that there is still that seductive hook that it lays out for us. And too many take a bite.
Proverbs 5:10 is perhaps the most sobering verse in this chapter: "Strangers will drain your resources, and your earnings will end up in a foreigner's house." How true! The pornography business is booming now more than ever, and the internet has only greased the wheels of that train. It is a multi-billion dollar industry and it can clean out the pockets of those who are caught in it's addictive grip.
What is the solution for someone who is struggling with pornography. First, a relationship with God through Jesus Christ is of the utmost. Then, Proverbs 5 gives us some more answers. Verse 8 makes it clear: "Keep away from her. Don't go near the door of her house." The "her" in these verses is the seductive woman, and in the case of pornography this is the woman who has sold her body for sexual immorality so that men (and women) can get caught in her trap. Simply put, we aren't to go anywhere near pornography. If we know that something is there that will cause us to stumble, then we need to run in the opposite direction. This means that HBO, Showtime, Cinemax (aka Skinemax), internet sites, etc..., need to be personally off limits to you.
Next, verses 15-20 give the married men out here great counsel: What's wrong with your wife that you want to indulge in a meaningless and empty glance at a stranger that you can't have? Would you want to share your wife with someone else? No! Then why do you think it's okay to betray your wife and unite with another woman? Verse 18 says that we are to "take pleasure in the wife of your youth." Why are we wasting time with what we can never touch or have when we can enjoy true intimacy with the woman that God has blessed us with? I don't know about you, but I'd rather have the real deal with a woman that I truly love than a few digital moments with an air-brushed woman who really isn't real at all.
Finally, let me say that I know that men are wired different than women. There is a rush of hormones released when our eyes look at sexual images, but that doesn't give us an excuse. If we take Proverbs 5 to heart, then we simply won't go to those places that will cause us to mess up royally in the arena of sexual purity. Just because you are married doesn't make it any easier either. Married or not, men must commit themselves to purity before and during marriage and not fall into the deceptive and empty trap of pornography. With God's help, this is possible and it's a winnable fight.
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