|
February 27, 2004
In the fourth grade, my curious friends and I wanted to dig up anything about sex we could get our hands on. Back then, besides a few racy Judy Blume books, all we could find were the section on reproduction in the encyclopedia and some cartoonish birds and bees books in the library. It was harmless stuff in comparison to what a fourth grader could unearth today.
A simple search via the Internet on the word “sex” can start a wildfire. And we aren’t talking about diagrams and technical terms; we’re talking complete loss of innocence. Today an infinitely burgeoning variety of hardcore pornography is readily at the fingertips of any curious human being with a computer or a library card.
Scary? Yes, and highly addictive. Adults and children alike are finding themselves helplessly and shamefully held captive to porn. The fact is that a majority of men and a good percentage of women who regularly attend church report purposefully visiting porn sites in the past year. Children are even becoming porn addicts as early as nine years of age.
Some of you are probably wondering why this is a problem. After all, porn is a harmless thrill, just between the individual and the computer, right? How I wish that were true. Although the specific outcome varies from person to person, research shows that exposure to porn always leaves perversion in its wake. Whether it appears in the form of sexual dysfunction, emotional numbness, self-loathing, misogyny, psychopathic tendencies or criminal conduct, it is to some degree a loss of the gift of sexuality and the ability to fully enjoy it.
 Fortunately, there is a ministry called Pure Desire that deals with the issue of sexual purity. It is for men who struggle with sex addictions and for those who simply desire to be sexually pure. This is not just a ministry for the unusually depraved. It is for average Christian men who need accountability and prayer support in winning this battle.
Proverbs 28:13 says, “Those who conceal their sins do not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.” Pure Desire and ministries like it are effective because they target one of Satan’s key weapons: secrecy. The enemy of our souls thrives in the dark. He needs it to fuel the shame and condemnation that, in tandem with temptation, enslave his victims. Even though statistically we know that most men and plenty of women in the church are giving in to this particular form of lust (not to mention other forms), a majority of them aren’t talking about it. Consequently, they are not getting free of it either.
Whatever your struggle, start addressing it by discovering the freedom of confession. Getting up the nerve to expose your darkest sins to even a trusted friend can be tough, but it’s well worth it. It won’t solve your problem overnight, but with God’s help and the support of good friends, you can begin to live a sexually healthy life. Temptations will still come, but with help and resolve you will be able to stand against them.
Additional Resources:
For more information on the Pure Desire ministry, please call their voicemail at 651-287-3018, Ext. 420.
Click here for more information on battling a pornography addiction and to download free accountability software.
 article by Hannah Zasadny
email her about this piece at chezhannah@hotmail.com
| 
