Do you have a fenced in backyard? We do, and it comes in handy when you have a dog. We can open the back door and let Rosie out without having to worry about her wandering off getting lost or worse, getting hit by a car. While Rosie is a seventy-five pound golden retriever, she thinks she’s human. To us, she is a member of the family. We love her and we want to keep her safe.
If someone is going to spend time outside, Rosie wants to go with them. She’s pretty good about entertaining herself if we’re working in the yard. Last spring we were doing some pretty major yard work to our back yard. We put out four truck loads of dirt and five truck loads of mulch in the back beds. We had to leave the gate open so we could drive the truck back there to dump the dirt and mulch to spread out. In doing so, Rosie got out without us noticing it. We didn’t have the gate opened long, but in the short time it was opened, she slipped through and was gone. We were frantic. We went through the neighborhood searching for her, calling her name. Fortunately for us, she hadn’t wandered too far away and she came running back as soon as she heard us calling her name.
There is a gate we all must keep securely closed to protect ourselves and our loved ones from extreme danger and that is the electronic gate that takes us into the world of pornography. It only takes one crack in that gate to lead to extreme danger in your life, your marriage, your family, your finances, and your health. It isn’t a victimless act and it can lead to death and destruction like nothing else.
According to statistics, there have been 653,092,118 searches for pornography on the internet since the start of 2013.
I pulled that statistic off the internet yesterday, so there have been over six and a half million searches for porn in 107 days. Between computers and smartphones, porn can be accessed anywhere. Children are being exposed to it younger and younger. The U. S. Department of Justice stated,
Never before in the history of telecommunications media in the United States has so much indecent (and obscene) material been so easily accessible y so many minors in so many American homes with so few restrictions.”
Pornography is called the gateway to human sex trafficking, because eventually viewers of porn will want to participate in the type of acts they’re viewing. We’d like to think this only impacts men, but statistics show that 18% of the viewers of porn are women. Just like sex trafficking, porn is not a respecter of persons. It impacts every race, every socioeconomic group, and both genders. Because porn thrives on secrecy, many Christians are trapped in the cycle of shame and guilt, feeling like they’re the only one’s facing this issue.
God wired men to be responsive visually, but He did so to bless the marriage bed, not to send them down paths of destruction. In 1 Corinthians 10:13, God says,
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”
I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl.”
Philippians 4:8 says,
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable– if anything is excellent or praiseworthy– think about such things.
These are ways to keep the gate closed to protect you and those you love from the dangers of pornography. For those who have slipped through the gate and have found themselves in unfamiliar places and can’t find their way back home, there’s hope. Talk to someone you know and trust, a pastor or friend. Once sin is verbalized and repented of, it loses it’s power. There are Christian organizations out there, support groups, that will help you fight your way back to safety and close the gate for good. Covenant Eyes is one of those sights. Click here to learn more about them.
I know this isn’t a topic you thought you’d find on my blog, but we’ve got to talk about these things. If Christians cannot discuss the dangers of pornography and other related issues, then there’s no hope of winning the battle against human sex trafficking in our nation.
One young man I talked with said there are three kinds of men in the world, “Those who are looking at porn, those who have looked at porn, and those who will look at porn.” That’s not okay with me. If this is an issue that hasn’t touched you or a loved one of yours, take a moment and pray for those it has impacted. Pornographic viewing is growing at epidemic proportions in our nation. We’ve got to fight back. We’ve got to keep the gate closed.
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