four, five, SEX part 6: Porn is like White Castle.

Hey guys, Luke Shortridge high jacking this blog again… this time I’m talking porn! NOT because I am a porn expert but because Sammy asked me to… and basically I do whatever he tells me (next time I’ll get 3 coats of wax on your car boss, I promise).
 
Anyway, I wanted to tell you about the most hardcore guy I know. My buddy Josh is a Sergeant in the US Army. The guy is a little nuts (in an awesome Rambo sort of way).

If bullets started flying at me, my first response would be to wet myself… then I would run away like a little girl… flinging old ladies out of my way. But when Josh has been shot at, something in his brain tells him to charge after the bad guy.

He’s seen combat in Afghanistan and has biceps bigger than my neck...

A few years back this super hardcore guy and his best friend Jeff were starving. Fans of the movie, they decided to pull a Harold and Kumar by driving straight to White Castle. No hilarious adventure happened along the way… but they did make good time. Not one to do anything halfway, Josh ordered 30 sandwiches. 

He told me that since they were small, he could shove the whole greasy thing in his mouth at once. It only took a few funky tasting onion burgers to realize there was a problem.

It sounded so good when they ordered but after eating 4 each, they were sick. Josh and Jeff literally tossed 20+ sandwiches in the trash and headed home for the bottle of Tums.

So how did a guy so hardcore get taken down by a finger sized sandwich?
 
The answer is simple and has two parts.
 
1.       White Castle is horrible. This is not up for debate.

2.       Looks can be deceiving.
 
Porn is kinda like White Castle. When you are starving it sounds great but it leaves you feeling nauseous.

What porn offers is pseudo intimacy. As sexual creatures (which we’ve talked a lot about this week… not bad or evil), on some level we all desire sexual intimacy. We desire to know others in an intensely personal way and to also be known/accepted/loved.
 
Porn takes our naturally created, God given desires and fills us up with Satan’s cheap imitation. We want someone else to see us for who we really are, deep down inside and accept us without our mask on. 

Porn does the opposite. It is available all the time so we don’t get rejected… but we never truly find acceptance. We trick ourselves into believing in a fantasy that steals our very soul. We self medicate our lack of intimacy with deadly poison. And that toxin affects everyone close to us.

Don’t think your porn habit is a problem? Try explaining that to your wife after she catches you, throws her wedding ring at you and starts smashing all your family pictures.
 
Make no mistake, everyone who uses porn gets caught. It happens every day. Porn destroys families. Porn destroys lives. Porn takes control. Porn steals your soul.

Here are the facts about porn (from xxxchurch.com):

-11 is the average age a person first views porn.

-40 million adults visit pornographic websites every day.

-Nearly ½ of all divorces list porn as a contributing factor.

-28% of those who access porn online are women.

-The U.S. spends 13.6 billion a year on porn.

-$3,000,000,000 (that’s billion folks) is generated annually by child porn.

-Promise Keeper men (Christian dads and young men) who admitted they viewed porn in the last week, 53%

-Daily pornographic search engine requests-68 million (25% of total search engine requests)

The truth is that the church has been largely silent on this issue. It has become the church’s dirty little secret. It makes us uncomfortable so we just ignore it and hope it will go away.

Also, many pastors will not talk about porn on Sundays because they have been viewing it Monday - Saturdays. Ouch.
 
If you or someone you know is struggling with porn, Jesus desires you to be free from this bondage. And freedom IS possible.

Each situation is different… some may require Christian counseling to break free… others need to toss their laptop away (hmmm… 700 bucks or the price of my soul?) but here are some general keys to finding freedom from porn.
 
1.       Talk to God. Tell him that you are sorry for falling short of his standard and that you need his forgiveness. Ask him to help you overcome this sin and to make your heart pure.  (1 John 1:9)
 
2.       Ask God to take your thought life captive. If you desire to seek out porn, what lies have you bought into? What is missing from your life that you are trying to fill with pornography? Allow God to change the way you think (Romans 12:2).


3.       Confess your sin to someone you trust. Satan wants to isolate you and make you feel like you are battling alone. There is true power in confessing your sins TO ONE ANOTHER. Fighting alone means you’ve already lost. (James 5:16)


4.       Set boundaries and standards for the future. Don’t put yourself in tempting situations. Meet regularly with an accountability partner who you can be 100% honest with. Ask the tough questions with each other. Finish the meeting with “Have you been 100% truthful in everything you’ve told me?” Get accountability software free on your laptop and Smartphone at: www.x3watch.com (1 Corinthians 10:12)


5.      Get educated. What does the Bible say about looking at porn? (Matthew 5:28) Check out the ministries of xxxchurch.com, the Every Man’s Battle series of books, and Pure Eyes (men)/Pure Heart (women) by Craig Gross. For more theological reading about the destructiveness of sin in our lives, I highly suggest Counterfeit God’s: Money, Sex, Power by Timothy Keller

What jumped out at you from this post and why?

Also, from first exposure to now, victories and failures e.t.c, What has been your experience with porn?

Don't let your identity be an excuse from coming out of the dark. You can leave anonymous comments and find community support. It doesn't replace real life community but for many reading this, admitting you have a problem is a great first step. And remember, freedom is possible in Jesus.