Ministering to Those Addicted to Porn
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Common Justifications for Porn Use
Common Justifications for Porn Use
It can’t actually be sin, because I am not physically having sex with someone. Matthew 5:27-28
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
If you let sinful thoughts have free reign in your head, you have committed sin.
1 John 5:21 says:
Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
Porn becomes an idol it will overtake your brain and you will be addicted. You will start choosing it over godly things. It will distract you from God.
Well me looking at porn only affects me.
I am going to tell you right now that is a huge lie. It affects people on two different levels.
One it affects the people involved in the porn industry. You looking causes more of a demand. So it is supporting the lifestyle of some who choose to live ungodly. Then also it is helping drive sex trafficking. Some people in it are not in it by choice.
Secondly it affects you, thus how you treat others around you. You start sexualizing most people around you. So that means you start seeing others with less value and less human. Porn makes you struggle with patience and anger. You will be more likely to lash out. Porn makes you struggle with guilt, driving the anger. Porn makes you distant and depressed. You start pushing people away. You start becoming more of a loner.
Porn is not a private sin, it is a sin that reveals itself very publically.
Battling Porn with the Word of God
Battling Porn with the Word of God
1 Corinthians 6:18 says
Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.
It is easy for me to say hey you flee from your sin. But is it always easy to flee? A quote from the Christmas carol sums up porn addiction well.
I wear the chain I forged in life, I made it link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will, and of my own free will I wore it. Is its pattern strange to you? Or would you know the weight and length of the strong coil you bear yourself? It is a ponderous chain! -Marley’s Ghost
Sometimes we have became shackled and beat down by our sin. So the rest of the lesson is going to focus on breaking the shackles and healing. I want to start off with saying though don’t get discouraged if you don’t do well at first battling your sin. Dr. Juli Slatterry says, “Before you do something well you have to do it poorly.” You are not going to do awesome right off the bat. You got to stick with it and keeping fighting.
Porn will put spiritual and mental shackles on you.
So let us start with Ephesians 6:12
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
We gonna start with some spiritual principles because if you don’t address it spiritually you are going to replace it with another destructive behavior.
So one of the number one things that comes up to those struggling with porn is the issue that in the days to follow after trying to stop images keep popping up in their heads. What do you do when this happens? I encourage them to pray for them. One because that person either is stuck in slavery or addicted to an ungodly lifestyle. So pray for their salvation. Pray for them to find true worth in themselves. So one this is praying for the gospel to be made known to them. Two it is purifying your mind.
Prayer helps redeem and rewire the mind.
So another scripture is Philippians 4:8
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
Memorize and quote Scripture out loud to battle sins seeded in the mind.
When temptation starts to hit you start quoting it to battle the temptation. Quote it out loud. One so you are physically hearing it. Two it is a spiritual battle. If it is a demon whispering in your ear you are hitting him with the sword of God.
The Neurological Side of Porn Addiction
The Neurological Side of Porn Addiction
Why is porn so addictive and hard to break? It is a moral issue that turns into a neurological issue. When using porn there are seven different chemical reactions that happen in your mind while many addictive behaviors usually only trigger two chemical reactions. One of these chemicals is dopamine, the feel good chemical. That is why so many struggle with porn and try to normalize it. That is why so many never leave it alone. It is not an easy habit to break. That is why $3,075.64 every second is spent on porn. That is why 1 out of 3 Americans look at porn at least once a month. 78% of y’all in the room will be exposed by 18.
So your habits are formed by neurons firing between one another. The chemical reactions form pathways between them. The more they are used, the stronger the pathways get.
So not only do we need to battle porn spiritually, but mentally and physically.
So from a mental standpoint is it going to be easy to quite? No. You are going to go through a withdrawal period.
For most people the wall comes between day 7 and 14. A lot of people make it to day 14 and break bad because their mind is going crazy needing a fix. A clarity of mind and improvement in mood does not usually come until around day 30. As you are quitting you should expect at least 2-3 weeks of where you are going to battle strong depression.
A lot of our neurological cycles work in cycles around 21 days. So about every 21 days layers of that addiction break away, and some new paths start to form. The new habits to become more automatic will start to come sometime after 66 days.
So it is not an easy journey, it is not an easy journey. That is why it is so important to open to others about this struggle, it is not a battle easy to win on your own. 1 John 1:9 says:
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Advice on Battling Porn
Advice on Battling Porn
Matthew 5:29-30 is important here
If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.
We got to be ready to take extreme measures.
Avoid being alone when possible
Keep an emotions journal
Place phone away from the bed
Place phone out of room
Find new habits
Exercise
Place blockers on devices
Prayer
Bible study
Memorize scripture
Turn on the explicit content blocker on phone (in iPhone it is under Screen time)
Have someone set filters on your phone and they have to enter the pin
Tell somebody
1 Corinthians 10:13 will be our closing statement
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
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