THE TRUTH BEHIND OUR SECRET PORN ADDICTION

Approximately ten to fourteen billion dollars is spent towards the porn industry each year. This makes its combined revenue greater than the revenue of professional baseball, basketball, and football. And studies have also shown that 38% of American adults believe that viewing pornography is morally acceptable. Is there anything wrong with these figures? Is “casually” viewing pornography every other day the new norm that is sweeping our nation?

BACKGROUND ON PORNOGRAPHY

Pornography is defined as, “printed or visual material containing the explicit description or display of sexual organs or activity.” In layman’s terms, pornography is naked pictures of people. Pornography is a topic that has been hidden under the rug in most churches, homes, and public conversations. But due to recent findings, this issue cannot be kept secret anymore. Here are a few statistics that Mars Hill provided on the viewing of pornography amongst Americans.

• 90% of children ages 8-16 have looked at porn.
• The largest consumers of porn are young boys ages 12-17.
• 70% of men ages 17-34 visit a porn site each month.
• 25% of searches on the internet are for pornography.
• 1 in 6 women struggle with a porn addiction.

PERSONAL INSIGHT ON PORNOGRAPHY

Growing up, I remembered being exposed to my first pornographic material at the home of one of my relatives at the age of 5. Ever since then, I fell into a slippery slope of an unhealthy porn addiction. But luckily when I became a Christian in 2010, Christ freed me from that bondage. As I began to converse with different people about the topic of pornography, I started to find out that people of all ages (both male and female) were struggling with some type of unhealthy addictions to pornography.  So in order to provide help in regards to this issue, I am going to discuss the physical, psychological, and spiritual effects of pornography. Then at the end of the article, I am going to provide hope for everyone who is struggling with a secret porn addiction.

PHYSICAL EFFECTS OF PORNOGRAPHY

For those who watch pornography on a consistent basis, it destroys the way they view the opposite sex. No longer will they accept people for the way they look, but now they will only desire for individuals who have the same appearance of those that they’ve watched on a porn video. As a result they will live with an unrealistic expectation of what a man/woman should look like.

I can relate to these physical side effects because as I was growing up I could feel the direct effects of pornography. I wasn’t able to be truly attracted to any woman of my age group, unless they looked like the girls that I watched in the videos. By doing this, I was judging girls upon my perverted sexual preferences and not based on who God created them to be.

PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF PORNOGRAPHY

Studies have also shown that pornography has the same addicting effects as cocaine, heroin, or any other drug. These addictive agents create new neuropath ways in our brains which only allow us to experience pleasure by going to that specific medium. This means that for those who are addicted to pornography, eventually they will be so conditioned to only experiencing pleasure from watching the porn that they won’t be able to experience pleasure anywhere else.

This situation is best addressed in an Rolling Stone interview with popular musician John Mayer. During the interview, Mayer spoke about how he was so addicted to pornography that he would rather watch pornographic videos than to be with an actual woman. This loss of reality is a devastating reality for all the individuals who are psychologically trapped into pornography.

SPIRITUAL EFFECTS OF PORNOGRAPHY

Pornography does not only affect the body but it also affects the soul. Watching pornography is a direct offense to God because it is committing two different sins, lust and covetousness. A person who is watching porn is lusting after a woman from a computer screen, which the Bible clearly condemns. Then the person who is watching pornography desperately desiring for the person that they are watching on the computer screen, which is called covetousness. These two sins have lead many people to a path of death, destruction, and failure.

HOPE FOR THOSE TRAPPED INTO PORNOGRAPHY

Unfortunately, if studies are correct, most people who are reading this article have either viewed pornography or are currently viewing pornography today. But there is hope for those who are struggling with the fight against pornography, because Christ can conquer any issue. If Jesus can heal the blind, turn five loaves of bread into a thousand, and raise a man from the dead, he has the power to give someone the strength to defeat their struggle with pornography. By coming to Jesus with all of our struggles he is faithful to forgive and transform our minds. And for those who feel condemned for viewing porn in the past, know that there is no condemnation for all those who have been saved by Jesus. For believers, Jesus forgave all of our sins, no longer viewing us for the sins that we have committed in our past. So, the best way to begin the fight against pornography is to go before God and confess your sins to him. Then afterwards, look for some men or women that you can trust to talk with, so that you can come clean about your addiction.

Jesus helped me overcome my porn addiction, and he has the power to help you as well. Sin grows in the dark, and if you keep on hiding your porn addiction it will ruin you. So the best thing that you can do is bring it to the light, because in the fight against sin-it’s either kill or be killed.

If you want someone to talk to and walk you through your personal struggles with pornography e-mail us at submissions@urbangospelmission.com. Also check out the sermon by Pastor Mark Driscoll about the dangers of pornography. The sermon also contains an interview from Chrissy Wright, who was a Preacher’s kid, turned Porn star, turned Believer of Jesus Christ. http://marshill.com/media/real-marriage/the-porn-path