sexual identity

In the past, pornography was limited to books, specific magazines, or a movie. In today’s society, “pornography has gone almost completely digital”. In fact, that is the title of a recent study about Internet Pornography and the effect on our culture and The Church.

The enemy is working overtime to do all that he can to not only enslave us, individually, into the shackles of sin, but also our spouses, our marriages, our children, our entire homes. Some of the statistics from this study reveal the rising crisis that pornography has upon our culture. 27%of young adults ages 25-30 first viewed pornography before puberty. Teens and young adults consider “not recycling” more immoral than viewing pornography. Nearly half of young adults say they come across porn at least once a week—even when they aren’t seeking it out.”

How does this battle even begin? The dangerous truth is the deception that it initially causes. “It’s only one look” or “I’m not hurting anyone” is the beginning that leads to the destruction of relationships, marriages, and even lives. Marnie C. Ferree, Director of Bethesda Workshops explains how these initial thoughts end up.

“The power of pornography is so incredible, and perhaps unexpected, almost without being aware; it’s like the accelerator pedal gets stuck and you think, ‘Okay. I’m just going to do a little bit. I’m just going to dabble a little bit. This isn’t going to hurt anybody. And, BOOM. In a second, they’re in their Maserati barreling down the race track at the speed of light.”

Many struggle with pornography but don’t know how to rise above their battle. Mark Hall a singer of the band ‘Third Day’, shares sobering wisdom by stating, “If there is not a person in your life, a believer, who has the right to ask you the hard questions, you are living in a very dangerous place.”  If not, pornography has the potential to rob us of the marriages that God intended for us to have; robs us of the lives of integrity we so desire to live out; robs us of the purity we seek to maintain; and robs us of the fathers and mothers that we seek to be to our children.

Each of us are responsible for the gates of our lives. For those who are parents, the ever-changing development of technology poses an ever increasing threat of temptation for our families. Every computer, tablet, and cell phone is another “gateway” that we must be aware of. What is coming through entry ways? What are we allowing in? Imagine if the eyes are a gateway into the entire body. In Matthew 6:22-23, Jesus said, “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”

We have to have internet accountability with others about our activity on the internet. This can be a new concept. Brian Doyle, National Director of Iron Sharpens Iron, describes internet accountability this way, “I have a couple guys that know what I’m up to. A couple guys who, if they choose, can view everything I do on the internet. I’ve made that available to them.”

Software such as “Covenant Eyes” offers not only such internet accountability, but also has filters  that block tempting websites from your everyday exposure. Covenant Eyes can not only be added to a computer, but also tablets, and cell phones. Just like the ratings applied to movies, Covenant Eyes sets ratings to individual websites. Ratings beginning with ‘Everyone’ to ‘Highly Mature’ can be applied.

Empowered with the knowledge of these truths, we can understand now why so many teenagers are desiring and begging their parents to have a smart phone. Is it because of the phone, or all of the other “accessibilities” that are now made available with such technology? Considering the dramatic rise of pornography in our culture, combined with the exponential increase of technology, opens the door to ‘sexting’. What is sexting? Sexting is sending naked or sexually provocative images of oneself online, most often through a cell phone. The increasing danger of sexting is not just the reality of what is taking place, but also the records of digital imagery is often permanent. What is posted, shared, or messaged, is there forever.

A pastor has a significant influence in our communities. For many, they do not have a single person to have lunch with and share their life’s struggles with. If the head is struggling, it is all throughout the body. Instead of shaming someone for what they are battling, be that friend who will be there, to support and encourage leadership.

God is revealing these things because He desires to heal them and free us from what we are not able to get free from on our own. We need the victory of the Cross to free us from these shackles. Regardless of who we are, regardless of how old we are, gone unchecked, these statistics have eternal consequences. Hear the full details about this empowering and encouraging study, and so much more.

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