Results from a survey conducted by Barna group in 2016 showed that 76% of 18-24 year
old Christians are watching pornography. This alarmingly high number suggests that we
are not talking about it enough. Watching pornography comes secrecy, guilt, shame
and strong feelings of condemnation and these emotions can stop us from talking about
it within the church or with a fellow Christian.
Pornography is any printed or visual material that contains the explicit description or
display of sexual organs or activity intended to arouse or incite sexual excitement. This
includes but not limited to; pictures of a naked person, videos and movies with explicit
sexual content and erotic books.
Most of the time the desire to watch porn is grounded in a need for something greater;
love and acceptance. It may give momentary pleasure but negative emotions always
follow and somehow, it will never be enough; the urges get stronger every time. You may
watch porn because you are bored or feeling lonely and there is also that ever present
fear of missing out on what others your age might be ‘enjoying’. Porn addiction can also
happen as a result of abuse. An individual who has been sexually abused from a young
age may seek validation through sex and this can cause other problems that might affect
them throughout their life if they do not seek help.
Why is watching pornography a bad thing? Matthew 5:28 tells us that if we even look at a
woman lustfully (looking with strong sexual desire) we have already committed adultery
in our hearts. Each and every one of us is made in the image of God (Gen 1:27) and whilst
we are sexual beings, we are not to be used as sexual objects to satisfy anyone that we
are not married to. Every naked person that appears in pornographic images or videos
was created by God just like you and they deserve to be treated as such. Secondly, as
we are made in his image, God calls us to be pure and holy like him. Everything we do
should be for the glory of our creator (1 Cor 10:31) and watching porn does not glorify
God. As we discussed earlier, watching pornography comes secrecy, guilt, shame
and condemnation and these feelings can get in the way of our spiritual life and growth.
The more guilt we feel, the less likely we are to not pray, worship, read the word or be
around other believers. This can leave us in isolation thinking there is nowhere to turn to
for help. Another reason why porn is bad is that it distorts the view of sex in our minds.
spouse or God. Lastly, watching porn is bad because it WILL lead to more sin, such as
read, wanting to try out fetish and other obscene practices that might not honour our
spouse or God. Lastly, watching porn is bad because it WILL lead into more sin, such as
masturbation, sex before marriage and possibly infidelity (James 1:14-15).
If you have been struggling with pornography there is a number of things you can do to
stop. One of the best ways to kill sexual sin is to expose it. Find a person who is
grounded in the word of God, someone you can trust. Share your struggles with them, allow
them to pray with you and hold you accountable (Proverb 11:13-14). Reduce the number
of hours you spend on the internet and set healthy boundaries around how late you stay
professional help by speaking to a counsellor. Finally, on our own, we can do nothing but
with Jesus, we can all things. We read in 1 John 5:3-4 that it is our faith that gives us
victory over the evil in our world and this includes sexual sin. It is our faith that allows us
to please God and live righteous lives. Therefore I urge you to wholeheartedly devote
yourself to loving Jesus. In him, you will find freedom.
By Claud Jaiyeola
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