The Plague Of Porn
I believe Satan uses pornography to divert us away from what we could
be achieving for God, our loved ones and ourselves. Porn preoccupies us with
something totally unproductive so that we waste time, time that we could be
using to others and our own advantage. The apostle Paul caught up into heaven
in the book of REVELATIONS was "fascinated" with the wickedness of
the woman riding the beast. I believe the Devil "fascinates" us with
pornography to virtually short circuit our usefulness. Our bad feelings about
ourselves that result are due largely from our frustration at being duped by
the Devil. Only by intellectually realising that pornography can lead to no
good, and by understanding that it prevents God's blessings from flowing to us
and that it is unproductive in every way, can we willfully decide to keep away
from it, just as we would keep away from getting too near to a fire. Also,
knowing that it would offend God if we dwelt on pornographic images should be a
motive for us to avoid pornography. After all, if we love God, we should try
not to offend him just as we would for example try not to offend our partner by
doing something we know would upset them.
Pornography distorts what sex should be, an act of love between a man and wife. It turns sexuality into something selfish, an obsession, a vehicle for lust and self-gratification. It leads to a man using his wife rather than giving out of love to her. It erodes the physical and emotional warmth between a man and a woman.
Pornography distorts a persons natural affection for fellow human beings. It gradually reduces normal innocent affection to a darker and more selfish desire to use and control others. Cigarette packets come with a warning that smoking is harmful to your health. Pornography should come with a warning that exposure to it is harmful to a person's mental and spiritual health.
Pornography condones the victimization and
humiliation of women (and men), and thus the viewer of porn condones it as well.
When a person starts to view porn it provides them with a “rush”, a forbidden
fruit sense of excitement, a sexual “high” if you like. It’s a bit like a
person taking an illegal substance for the first time. However, as an addict
will tell you, soon the rush from a given drug or pornographic exposure wears
off, and the viewer or drug taker needs something more to achieve that rush. In
the case of pornography, the person starts to seek out more extreme and
perverse depictions of sex to achieve the same excitement and curiosity
satisfaction. If left unchecked, the exploration of porn can lead to spiritual
death, relationship breakdowns, depression, guilt and a morbid pre-occupation,
just like with a drug addict.
Pornography is a waste of time, a waste of resources, something
that gets in the way of us doing something more rewarding, more productive and
enjoyable in the long term. Pornography is a
DEAD END STREET leading to nowhere useful and fulfilling.
Above all I believe Satan loves us to feel guilty about looking at porn because
this usually stops us from praying to God, the very thing we should do when
confronted by defeat and problems in our lives. Avoid porn like the plague it
is, but if you do weaken, apologize to God and move on. Don't let Satan use
pornography and the resultant guilt and frustration, to stunt your spirit,
emotions and relationships.
GET OFF THAT DEAD END STREET AND TAKE THE STREET TO SUCCESS,
THROUGH JESUS CHRIST!
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The Plague Of Porn .....
(take 2)
by Steve Gallagher
Solomon
intimately understood how powerful sexual temptation can be for a young man. It
was with him in mind that he wrote the fifth chapter of Proverbs. "My son,
give attention to my wisdom, incline your ear to my understanding .... For the
lips of an adulteress drip honey and smoother than oil is her speech"
(Proverbs 5:1-3).
Those
two sentences perfectly describe both the power of sexual temptation and its
antidote. The wise king understood that, if a young man is to successfully
withstand the charms of the temptress, he must be prepared ahead of time. Time
spent in the Word every day builds up a man's immune system against the poison
of pornography. The scriptures are simply the thinking and perspectives of the
Lord. As a man continually immerses himself
in the Bible, he will gradually take on God's mindset toward life, people and,
yes, even sexuality. A man who devotes daily time to the Word is given
spiritual insight into the power of temptation and how it works.
Notice
again what Solomon says about sexual sin. He personifies it as an adulteress
whose lips of honey represent promised fulfillment. The temptation seems
irresistible because it is laced with deception -- namely, that the act of sin
will bring about tremendous pleasure and satisfaction. The tantalizing thought
is presented and all thoughts of resistance are forgotten. The act of sexual
sin looks absolutely intoxicating and therefore irresistible. The smooth oil
represents the craftiness of the enemy .... Fully camouflaged and extremely
calculating, he presents the perfect illusion, timing each consecutive attack
"to steal, and kill, and destroy God's property."
The
wise man, whose heart has been fortified with the Word of God, sees the devil
behind that intoxicating temptation. In the Garden, Satan exposed himself as
the "crafty" serpent he is. I imagine him being very much like a
cobra. Known for the hideous hood it extends when preparing to attack, it
actually spits into the eyes of its victim before striking. With its target
blinded and helpless, the serpent could easily squirm away into the brush. But
this viper is not content with escape; it enjoys killing. With bared fangs, it
lunges, injecting its deadly poison into its victim's body.
Injected ... Infected ... and Helpless
This
is a fitting picture of the man lured into viewing pornography. The temptation
usually begins when he comes across a glimpse of flesh and/or a sexually
suggestive hyper-link. It is just enough venom to temporarily blind him to the
impending danger. The initial presentation is stimulating, creating a sensual
atmosphere which spiritually incapacitates him.
Now
the serpent moves in for the kill. That one glimpse of porn unleashes a poison
that rockets into the man's soul and instantly spreads throughout his being.
Just like a snakebite victim, he enters a catatonic state of mind: a sexual
trance where all reason seems to abandon him. Lust rushes through his body; his
face flushes with excitement; his palms get sweaty. Solomon described this
spiritual stupor this way: "With her many persuasions she entices him.
With her flattering lips she seduces him. Suddenly he follows her as an ox goes
to the slaughter, or as one in fetters to the discipline of a fool, until an
arrow pierces through his liver; as a bird hastens to the snare, so he does not
know that it will cost him his life" (Proverbs 7:21-23).
Conversely,
the man who "receives with meekness the engrafted word" discerns the
source of temptation that comes his way. He understands that, behind the
beautiful illusion of pleasure, there is a snake -- coiled and ready to strike.
He has been bitten by it before and has learned the hard way the price that is
paid for every indulgence. He has the heart-knowledge (much different from
head-knowledge) to "be a doer of the Word" and turn away from the
temptation.
Continuing
in Proverbs 5, Solomon went on to speak of the "aharit" -- the end --
of sexual sin: "But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a
two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death, her steps take hold of hell."
This Hebraic term describes the inevitable consequences of all sin. He would
later write, "There is a way which seems right to a man, but its 'aharit'
is the way of death" (14:12).
Once
a snake bites, its victim then becomes vulnerable to other predators. Some time
ago, I watched a National Geographic special that showed a lioness who had been
bitten by a cobra. For days, she suffered under the effects of its venom.
Weakened to the point of collapse, she faced great danger from a roving pack of
ravenous hyenas. She was helpless to defend herself from their savage attacks.
This
is certainly true of the man who views pornography. Its poison, rather than
dissipating after he has completed his act of lust, continues to contaminate
his heart over the coming days. Its toxin remains in his system, altering his
perspectives, polluting his mind, and spreading darkness over his soul. The
lust it initially appealed to is now inflamed into burning desire. Rather than
satisfying the man's sexual passion, it only serves to further ignite it.
Not
only must the infected man deal with the after-effects of the bite, but now he
is even more weakened spiritually against the enemies of his soul. He attempts
to go about his daily routines, but lascivious memories continue to haunt him.
These images are like Third World beggars crowding around him, clamoring for
another handout. No matter how much you give them, they're never satisfied.
Indeed, every gift only emboldens them to demand more.
No
wonder Solomon warned: "Keep your way far from her and do not go near the
door of her house, or you will give your vigor to others and your years to the
cruel one" (5:8-9). The house of the adulteress -- much like an X-rated
website -- is nothing more than a den of writhing vipers. It would be wise to
avoid such a place!
God's Word is the Antidote
The poisoned victim's only hope for freedom is to go "cold turkey."
(Sometimes, demonic activity may be involved if a person has somehow and for some reason opened themselves up to an unlean spirit, in which case experienced Pastoral help may be in order. Demons are still at work on the earth, and their influence and activity is largely but unwisely overlooked by Christians and Church leaders. ...Keygar)
Just
as a heroin addict must lock himself up until the drug gradually works its way
out of his body, so too it takes time for the venom of pornography to lose its
power. Every tick of the clock could be harboring a voluptuous temptress, ready
to lure him back into sin. And yet, every minute that passes without failure,
delivers the man that much further out of her reach. When it comes to porn
addiction, the longer he stays away, the better his chances of escaping her evil
clutches for good.
Just
as the Word of God prepares a man to face temptation, it is also the only
antidote for the man once he has been bitten by the serpent of lust. Regular
doses of Scripture are the very thing he needs to be built up spiritually and
thus counteract the effects of the poison of pornography. "Precept upon
precept; line upon line; here a little, and there a little ..." (Isaiah
28:10). Every word, verse and chapter he meditates upon serves to strengthen
him.
Christian men must do everything within their power to avoid the "house" of the adulteress. Two practical measures a man should take would be to use an Internet filter on his computer and controlling his television viewing.
However, the fact remains that we live in a pornography infested world. In our day and age, it is almost inevitable that men will face this temptation at some point. The wise believer will prepare himself for that time with the Word of God. It is only "the sword of the Spirit" that can sever the head of the serpent of porn.
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