According to a recent survey by the Barna Group, 21% of Christian men say they have thought they were “addicted” to porn or said they weren’t sure. This is more than two times what non-Christian men said (10%). Interestingly, 64% of Christian men say they view porn at least once a month, but a higher percentage (71%) of non-Christian report doing this.
Why are Christian men more likely to feel the term “porn addiction” applies to them?
Another recent study from Case Western Reserve University confirms this. Researchers concluded that there is a strong relationship between strong moral and religious convictions against porn and the perception that personal porn use is an “addiction.”
Definitions of Addiction
In my opinion, the chief sources of the discrepancy are the conflicting definitions of addiction. What does it mean to use porn “compulsively” or “regularly”? For some folks, “addictive” use of porn might be once a month, once a week, once a day, or many hours in a day. Others would measure addictive use by how much it disturbs their lives: has it cost them money or significant relationships? For the most part, surveys are not standardized around specific definitions or descriptions.
For instance, take the survey results published in the Porn University survey:
- 42% of men (7,065) said that they “regularly” visit sexually explicit websites or chat rooms, read sexually explicit magazines, or romance novels.
- Yet 64% of men (10,622) said that they spend at least some time each week online for sexual purposes. About one in five of these said they spend 5 or more hours every week.
- Furthermore, 19% of men (3,187) said they feel “controlled” by their sexual desires or fantasies of romance.
Clearly, what is considered “regular” use of pornography, or being “controlled” by it, are not the same across the board.
So what makes someone feel “out of control”? One contributing factor that psychologists give is religion. Pioneering sex therapist Michael Quadland has studied those who feel “out of control” with their sexual behavior. He found the patient’s and therapist’s beliefs about what is sexually “normal” the biggest controlling factor in whether the behavior is deemed compulsive or destructive.
So if a Christian’s value system leads him or her to believe that any sexual gratification outside of marital intimacy is wrong, then any amount of compulsion to look at porn could be deemed “out of control.”
Christians and Addiction Language
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders doesn’t use the word “addiction” for anything—not drugs, alcohol, nor any behavior. The language of addiction is largely shaped by culture—not medicine. Christian counselor Ed Welch explains:
“In popular use, addiction has become a very elastic and ambiguous category that contains everything from the frivolous (added to the six o’clock news) to the grave (addicted to alcohol). It also includes the unequally yoked categories of disease and sin. Given its ambiguities, there is a growing sentiment that we need a different word” (Addictions: A Banquet in the Grave, p.11).
On top of these cultural ambiguities, addiction language in Christian community is also shaped by sin language. A year ago I heard Ed Welch give a talk at a conference in Philadelphia entitled, “Addiction, Temptation, & Voluntary Slavery.” He spoke about how so often the “Big Book” used by AA members seems so much more alive to them than the words of the Bible. Why? One reason is the Big Book uses “addiction” language. The Bible does not.
The recovering alcoholic needs to understand the language of the Bible. The Bible doesn’t talk of “addiction,” but rather “slavery to sin.” The Bible doesn’t speak of the root of habitual sin as merely a “disease,” but as “idolatry.” Once these categories are understood, many portions of Scripture can and do come to life for the struggling addict.
Biblical language levels the playing field between the so-called addict and the non-addict. The Bible speaks of a slavery to sin that has affected the whole human race. For the addict, this slavery has impacted his or her life in a particular, more demonstrative way; in fact, the conference in Philadelphia was called “The Addict in Us All,” to highlight this very point: we are all addicted to self, addicted to sin, and as Christians we are all being redeemed from that life of sin-slavery.
Related: Do Christians Overhype Porn Addiction?
Do Christians and Pornography Mix? Are Christians More Prone to Porn Addiction?
Definitional differences aside, could it be that Christians actually have a more difficult time battling addictions? I am not aware of any studies or surveys that suggest this, but there are at least two “theological” factors at work in Christian communities that might serve to escalate addiction:
First, teaching higher standards makes rebellion more appealing.
Being raised in Christian community, I know that teaching a high moral standard didn’t make me want to sin less: rather, I wanted to sin more. The apostle Paul wrote, “[I]f it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, ‘You shall not covet.’ But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness” (Romans 7:7-8).
This is the hot stove principle: Tell a child not to touch the hot stove, and the forbidden act suddenly seems all the more attractive; the biblical motto of the harlot reiterates this conceit: “Stolen water is sweet and bread eaten in secret is pleasant” (Proverbs 9:17).
In a real sense, those who embrace Christian values can find pornography all the more appealing merely because it is demonstrably forbidden by their commitment to God.
Secondly, failing at higher standards makes sin all the more novel and intoxicating.
We are wired to love novelty—it is an essential part of our development. When we encounter a new experience, our bodies release an extra dose of pleasure-producing chemicals, a mechanism which encourages us to experience and explore new things.
For me, the draw of pornography was largely a draw to novelty. Pornography, especially Internet pornography, keeps us coming back for more because it promises a veritably endless source of sexual novelty. Each new picture or video clip promises a new sensation. This is why porn-addicted men don’t simply log on, quickly find one appealing image, and gratify themselves. We keep searching. We can spend hours online. Why? Because it’s not about the climax; it’s about the search, the options, and each one is a novel sexual escapade. This desire for novelty is also the reason why we move from less graphic to more graphic pornography over time: the downward spiral is fed by a desire for novelty.
For the Christian who engages in pornography, typically there are added dimensions of guilt and paranoia. These have a way of compounding the novelty of each experience. This leaves a deeper emotional rut in the mind, as it were. Over time, guilt can become chronic—even a way of life. The guilt can become an essential ingredient to the addiction. There came a time in my life when feeling guilty was the only way I could feel normal.
So, What Is the Answer?
At first glance it would seem the conservative standards are the problem: get rid of the rigid moral code and the rest goes away, right? But when we seek to rid ourselves of Christian morals for the sake of keeping addiction at bay, we are playing fast and lose with theology. Christian morality is not merely an idea about how to live; it is based on real history—the belief that the Creator of heaven and earth has actually revealed Himself in human history. We desire to follow biblical morals because we are convinced that Jesus is the Christ, the revelation of God.
No. Instead of discarding our morals, we need to embrace the One who gave them:
Teaching higher standards should point people towards their need for a new heart.
The goal of teaching Christian sexual ethics is not encouraging people to “try harder.” Merely highlighting the hotness of the stove is not the point. To know better is not necessarily to do better. Instead, recognizing our inward pull towards rebellion, we are to be driven to a place of utter neediness: I cannot change myself.
When I was entrenched in addiction, I knew that acknowledging my depravity was par for the Christian course, but something in me always wanted to “graduate” from that place of utter neediness. I sincerely believed that spiritual growth meant moving from spiritual poverty to self-sufficiency. I never would have said it that way, but that was my attitude.
But the great promise of Scripture is not that our “flesh” will get better, but that God can bring about great internal change despite our rebellious nature. He does so, not by enforcing an external code of conduct, but by implanting a new internal drive in His people, what the Bible calls a “new heart.”
Just as sure as pornography stirs up lustful cravings in us, the Holy Spirit is a source of new, holy cravings. Romans 8 tells us all true Christians have the Spirit of Christ within them (v.9). Galatians 5 says we are given the “desires of the Spirit” (v.17), and when we keep in step with these desires (v.16) the lusts of the flesh (leading to sexual immorality, impurity, and sensuality) will not have their way in us.
This is what the old Scottish minister Thomas Chalmers called “the expulsive power of a new affection.” Laws, rules, and regulations can only tell us what is bad and why it is bad, but they do not change our desire for sinful things. These sinful longings can only be conquered by implanting new “affections,” new cravings, that counter our sinful cravings. This is what the Spirit does in us: He shares His own desires with us, changing us from the inside out. (Your Brain on Porn)
Failing at higher standards should drive us to the cross.
The addict often finds himself in a cycle of abstinence, temptation, sin, guilt, penance, and back to abstinence. How do we break the cycle?
As we have seen, guilt is a big part of the addiction cycle. Guilt is that feeling of self-reproach, the feeling that one is culpable for some offense. When we feel guilt we desire absolution and reconciliation. Out of this longing, just like the pagan religions of old, we invent modes of penance that sooth our consciences: rituals that we hope will make us feel right with the powers of the universe again. We try to “get clean” by doing something good, to “make up” for the moral lapse.
For some Christians, it is renewing a commitment to more prayer, more activity in the church, or donating more time or money to some worthy cause. For others, it is merely time: an extended track record of victory. For me, it was the emotion of worthlessness—a sort of mental flagellation; long hours of beating my heart to a bloody pulp. These are modes of penance that we hope will fuel greater obedience in the future.
This is where a proper understanding of the cross is critical. Yes, my sin means I deserve the lowest hell. But (in love) Christ experienced my hell on the cross. He experienced the agony of God-forsakenness, the curse of my sin. The Father channeled His just wrath for my sin into His Son. The cross is God’s altar to fully extinguish His anger, and, as a result, I am fully pardoned.
Furthermore, to prove Christ’s sacrifice was not in vain, God raised Jesus from the dead three days later. Weeks after this, His disciples saw Him ascend into the heavens, and there, we are told, He entered the holiest place of heaven. He poured out His Spirit on His people, and by His Spirit He can “purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God” (Hebrews 9:14).
Knowing this, we should denounce all systems of penance as shallow cross-replacements. Knowing that my condemnation has been taken away, this grace from God breaks the cycle. Instead of guilt moving me to penance, guilt can, rather, move me to confession and praise. Instead of penance moving me to hollow abstinence, I am, rather, moved by real worship to experience a higher pleasure of God’s friendship.
Please pray for me, I can’t seem to break free from pornography and cybersex. These activities are remnants from my old life and now I desire to live for the Lord. I am stuck in the repeated loop mentioned in this article. Also please pray for me regarding where I should stand on the issue of Salvation.. I’m stuck in the middle of LS salvation and free grace. I really want the Holy Spirit to lead me to all truth, but I humbly also ask for all your prayers so I can feel convicted in my soul of the truth. I also have OCD if that helps you pinpoint why I have doubts.. God bless you my brothers and sisters.
Hi, Mike – I’m so sorry that you’re struggling. If there are underlying issues like OCD (or more), then professional counseling is likely necessary. You can’t do this alone. Few can. What are you willing to try? That’s a key question. Counseling. Getting rid of the devices (“pluck out the eye if it causes you to sin”), get accountable, etc. Full-on offensive. Press on! God is for you (please read Romans 8 to remind you of who you are in Christ).
Regards, Chris
I am 83 years of age this year and have been married to my wife for 60 years have had our family celebration just a few days ago. We are Christians but do not believe in a lot of what is written in the bible, so to us there is no God as described in the bible.
And yes you can call me an atheist ,I don’t mind. The meaning of the word God is simply human Love. There is no heaven or hell or even eternal life all that stuff is superstitious nonsense of the primitive thinking of people 2000 years ago and continually preached about by deluded simple minded human beings. We do need laws to live by and if those laws are based on honesty, love, care and consideration then we have a good society to live in. There is nothing wrong in having sexual desires or even viewing sexual acts for self gratification, it is all part of being human. There is no need to have guilt feelings about for who we are by nature. But when I say that God is Love it also means that we should follow the rules that define that love .So rape or murder or stealing or telling lies are not acts of love and sometimes need to be punished.
Hi, Tony – can you clarify your last statement? “So rape or murder or stealing or telling lies are not acts of love and sometimes need to be punished.” So, are there acts of rape, murder, and telling lies that shouldn’t be punished?
Years ago my weight was up to about 240 and I was horrified at my appearance. I have a large skeletal frame at 6’2″ so Incan carry an above average amount of weight and get away with it but this was ridiculous, so I began a regimen of Atkins low carb dieting. The first two weeks were the hardest. I had cut out sugar and high carb foods like potatoes. I remember gong to sleep one night and dreaming about cupcakes, ice cream and candy … vividly. I was changing my habits but my body was signaling back with cravings and desires even in my waking state. It was tough but with the Lords help the weight melted off of me and I lost 40lbs in 3 months.
I’m 52 years old now and this subject has been a struggle and study much of my life and it’s still an issue to a small degree but much better. I’m sure getting older has helped some but there are some fundamental observations that I’d like to share in hopes it might help someone. I’ve been walking with the Lord now 30yrs as a single straight man but my victories in this area are all to the credit of Jeshua and Gods mercy, blessed be He that sits on the throne !
Such a loving Father we have who is patient with us as we struggle to understand who we are, who He is, how to conduct ourselves and how to let grace do a work in us. The porn problem is more complex than the weight loss problem I opened with but I used that to illustrate just one factor. That we are creatures of habit and our bodies get used to our patterns and will fight us actively when we try to change those patterns. So there’s that, the physical body and our attachment to it, our intimacy with it and our identification with it as ‘us’. Let me ask you something. When you catch a cold, do you tell your friends ‘I have a cold’ or ‘My body has a cold’ or ‘I’m fighting off a cold’ or ‘My body is fighting a cold’ ? There is no right or wrong answer and not to get caught up in positive confession but just to point out that we think of our bodies as ‘us’. It’s understandable and while we don’t want to harm our bodies we want to learn techniques of perception and prayer that allow us to be in charge and not let our bodies rule us.
So there’s that, the physical inhabitation of spirit and soul interfacing and dwelling within a body and the body’s reaction to that.
Now let’s talk about the eyes. Much we could say here, right ? Some say the eyes are the window to the soul, but that’s looking inward. Let’s consider looking outward. In Genesis 6 we see that when men began to multiply on the earth that the sons of God looked upon them and saw that they were fair(attractive). Now there’s some discussion on whether these were fallen angels who began to mate with women and produce nephilim but that’s another discussion. The point here is that this voyeuristic looking is an ancient force, an ancient desire that might go beyond genetic seeking of a mate for procreation. So while a woman’s beauty is glorious and from God, we are warned not to look upon a woman lustfully, because that my friends is in the eye. Now we’re getting serious aren’t we and I don’t want to scare any of you but you have to look at this. Ask yourself what do you suppose was so attractive about women that perhaps fallen angels themselves would desire them ? Was it their curves or their flesh or their hair ? Maybe … but I suspect something else. I think it was because they were innocent and had life in them. In geometry you have givens, well this is a given, meaning your going to have to accept this at face value just because it’s true and can’t be broken down any further, so know this : There is an attraction to innocence that evil cannot resist, it’s true in the spirit and it’s true in the flesh. So God gave us his only begotten son to come live in us as an innocent but knowing indwelling spirit. (…and by the way this explains the attraction of pedophilia, the desire to unite with innocence in order to purify the self….you see it’s a good devine desire for God’s innocent son perverted by the flesh … twisted, if you will….recognize, forgive, heal ). So they say ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and so it is … and lust as well.
So let us look at the eye more closely. “If your right eye offend thee then pluck it out, and cast it from thee for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.” Mat 5:29 … now everybody says do you think he meant that literally? My that’s harsh….we’ll maybe he meant it literally but notice he didn’t use the example of your finger per se, did he ? No, he said your eye. Another verse says ‘if your eye be single, your whole body will be full of light’. It’s the eye that offends … the minds eye. One more verse and then we’ll go somewhere with it : “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” 1John 2:16
Now we have something, the lust of the eye is in ‘the world’ …that means it’s out there friends, flying around looking for a place to land. So there are spirits of old flying around looking to use your natural desire to find a mate, to defile your temple and stand before God and say, ‘see, I told you he was no good’. But let’s be practical…we need techniques of realization that the Holy Spirit can use to lead us out of bondage because we can’t do it ourselves, we can’t save our selves and that includes the saving of our souls, and that’s what I’m doing here is giving you bits and pieces that your not going to use on your own but will be quickened back to you later. So let’s be practical: You have a natural desire which is being used by spirits to steal your power, so slow down the process, look at it while it’s happening, break it into its components, body, excitement, fear, heartrate, imagination ….stop !, seperate the physical from the mental…you think your body’s excited ? shut off the monitor and see what happens…your temple is being defiled don’t be afraid, face it …get mad….you know how your gonna feel afterwards….you’ve been through this many times, the cycle spoken of above fear, sin, guilt, repentance, abstinence…but here’s where your missing it ….it’s not for you to conquer, it’s for you to stand not overcome…the battle is the Lords….you just stand where you are and do nothing ! Nothing ! Let grace slowly move about you, feel the fear but hold still, don’t fight it, but don’t give in, just look at it, face to face….see it again for the first time….wait, hold still, do not move.
Now if you fail, you take your chances with God right ? but He is merciful and just to forgive you but it’s not your right to count on that, to expect that, to demand that….so you will suffer with Him out of your awareness until you come back to that place. Talk to God, be honest with Him, tell Him everything you feel even if you can’t feel Him you know he’s there watching you with compassion and feeling everything you’re feeling. Use this problem in your life to bring you closer to relying on him for everything. You are not your own, you don’t belong to yourself. You can’t trust your mind, you can’t trust your heart(Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things. And desperately wicked; Who can know it ?) …you can’t trust your ability to discern when he is there or when he is not….those things can be learned to a degree but your fall back point is always dust and nothingness….it’s all by grace through faith lest any man should boast…so in the end your salvation and the saving of your living soul as you breath and walk the earth will be to His credit and His glory ….you will be totally His workmanship….and at the very end in heaven you will throw down your crown at the altar and cries Holy Holy Holy Lord God Almighty who was and is and is to come….knowing that you had nothing to do with your salvation….he did it all for you through the power of his Son Jeshua.
I hope that this was practical enough to help you pull back from what your eye is seeing when tempted, and to watch yourself, to look at yourself and not be mesmerized by seducing spirits who want to steal your virtue and defile your temple. The desire you seek for yourself is innocence and he has it for you but you must humble yourself and accept it as a loving gift with faith rather than trying to perceive it outside of yourself in some fake image. Sex will be used to increase intimacy with your spouse if you have one but it will never be used to ‘get’ something or steal something from someone. He will walk you through it, don’t hide from him, even this …God created man as a companion…share this with Him, be not afraid my precious child.
I don’t know what to do exactly. The Bible says if “you love God you obey His commandments” I can not claim to love the Lord with all my heart mind and strength if i am not willing to obey Him, that would be making God a liar. My problem is, I have an abundance of understanding from the Word, and I know what to do, but how to carry it out, I have not found how. I am in a place of realizing my need for a new heart, I do have desires for holiness, but they seem to be fading because i have fought this for so long. The only answer i keep coming back too, is to just keep praying and read my bible.
I have read so many articles, researched and researched and researched on freedom from this. But it all comes down to God, with out him nothing is possible. He is the only one who can bring lasting freedom. Romans 13-25 describes me perfectly. But then He thanks God through Jesus and goes on to describe freedom and no condemnation to those who walk according to the Spirit. But practically speaking how does one walk according to the Spirit???
I see my sinfulness, i see the righteous requirement of the law and why Christs death was necessary, i know not to be led by feelings but by faith, i know i know i know. But there is still this desire to do things completely opposite of Gods will. Often times, when i have gotten angry at God and just not even thought about holiness or the Lord, i have gone the longest with out “giving in”. Such a huge predicament, I want to live holy for God, but anytime i begin to spend time with Him my heart rebells almost instantly.
I truly am a wretched man (not self condemnation but seeing, myself in the light of the bible).
The only positive i have seen from this is that it has brought to light so many other areas of sin such as pride, deceit envy etc…But again all heart issues that I am not fit to fight. I am reminded of the psalmist who said “if you, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?”
I used to think guilt and feeling condemned was the only way to feel and if i didnt then God gave me over to my desires, so i would force my self to feel bad (penance as you stated) However God in all His mercy has taken that away and i realize any self effort against it is useless. “Worldly sorrow brings death, Godly sorrow produces repentance”.
His Grace is most definitely sufficient, but we still have to be trained by it. I just ma having a hard time finding out how to DO gods word and become like it. Finding that balance between self reliance and diligence to seek first the kingdom, because there is effort that is needed on our part right?? God doesn’t seek himself for us, God doesn’t repent for us?
So the only conclusion I have come to is this: That God will have mercy on whom He will have mercy and harden whom He will harden. He chooses His children before the foundation of the world because He is above all knows all He created time so He is outside of time. So He can see who will truly come to Him and who won’t. All I can do is trust is that if God has chosen me, then God is capable of doing what He says and will bring me out of this.
Only God knows the hearts of men, and only He can soften mine and bring me to lasting repentance. He says “You did not choose me, but i chose you” He draws us in, He is the author and finisher of our faith. I can’t force myself on God, by going to church, reading the bible, and listening to only christian music. none of that keeps me from going astray in my heart.
If you have any advice Luke please let me know. Honestly I am just not sure what other conclusions to draw, but maybe through a reply, a correction i need or deception i have given into can be given or brought to the light.
Thankyou. I am the wife of someone addicted to porn. its hard for me to accept this and feel very hurt and rejected. this conversation has opened my eyes as to how hard this is for my husband, and how his addiction is because of a sinful world, not because I am not good enough. I feel now I can support him through this and realise he is not trying to hurt me. men struggle with sin just as much as anyone. I am not perfect either.
Hey there! It’s so important that you make sure YOU are getting support too. So many women will meet the criteria for PTSD in situations like this, yet receive no help as all the energy goes into supporting the husband. Find a counselor just for you who can help you process your emotions and build healthy boundaries. Look into the online resource, Bloom, which has forums and classes for women in recovery. Whatever he chooses, make sure you choose good health! Peace to you, Kay
I am die hard Christian i love God with all my soul before you judge me let me explain. You see as a child i was seen as weird the kid everyone thought was stupid . I suffred from a skin disease on my face i even prayed to God not to wake up i was angry and confused about why i was seen treated laughed at and judged the way i was. I am also a black youth who althohgh realizes this is not the civil rights movment am also very aware that no matter what the media protrays. I will never have the same oppertunity as others. God has been nothing but exceptional with me i became a very handsome young almost man ill be 21 soon. My intelligence is now widley regarded i was exposed to porn through my father very young and was amazed to say the least. When i found the dvd i remember thinking what on earth is that between her leggs? Anyway i have it all thanks to God i am adamant about telling people about christ. I share his love in the real world and virtual. I am often seen as a strong christian by family and friends. I dl smoke however. And will quit i feel enourmeous amounts of self guilt. From doing it. And the next morning i hype myself reminding myself God loves me and tell myself how i will go out and be a warrior for him which i do! But behind the scenes… that guilt that relization i have a girlfriend whom i love dearly but we are young and going through hard times all i know is she doesnt deserve this i ask God to help me i am deeply ashamed and embarrsed but i do confess my sins i have got better but i watch and masterbate ever 4 to 5 days at best ans its sickening. I am so blessed i am working towards everhthing i want and am faithful God will bless me with or without alot of money id be lying to you if i said im not slightly enjoying my strugle as a youth trying to seek comfortablity and a Godly life. I have had people i pray for feel the holy spirit but yet this darkness seeks to destroy not only my faith my relationship my peace of mind. Etc i know God is perfect and just and i am suffering the cost of my sins by it feeling like its harder to communciate with him. Yet he makes it apparently clear that although he is dissapointed and i will have to suffer for my immorality that this is not the case. I want help i know this will come to pass but i have many people that i need to share the word of jesus with and be a example for not just talk. And as i said before i do all except for this sin i have a strong influnce and am completley aware of it but it kills me inside for me to allow myself to keep doing this shit! Please help me i know that trials will never stop trying christians however i am SICK of this one i know this is a old thread but please help.!! If you dont reply or if anyone sees this do not give up keep your faith pray stay strong and determined please help it may be clear that i have a sound faith. However that is the problem i am not understanding how i could let such a vile sin bring me to this very gross low level please help me.
I just found this thread today and it’s a blessing from God. You’re not alone, just remember that. I’m trying to take ownership of my problem and also kill my pride. Loneliness and depression are my Achilles heels that lead to porn and masturbation sessions (and the subsequent feeling of being pathetic, disgusting, unwanted by God). You did the right thing by confessing yourself. I’ve been in tears today because this addiction constantly trips me up. The devil loves to exploit my poor self-image and fear of rejection, but I feel stronger after reading all of the comments today and reflecting upon what Christ truly offers us. Hang in there, keep fighting, and keep praying. I will pray for you, too.
God loves you I do too! :) I know this is a really tough trial to be in. it is for I am currently still in it :( but I smile and stay still to the fact that Even though I make this mistake again and again time after time. God’s love for me and his grace has grown more than I could ever imagine and deserve. one thing I want to emphasize is we are sinners but God loves us soooo much that he wants us to see his love even when we are sinning. even after you looked at porn or masturbated. I learned that focusing on his grace and letting go of controlling my thoughts and feelings of how angry I was and how I would over come this
freed me :) God was leading me :) I let him be in control in his hands were my feet and on his shoulders was my body I pray for you :) I pray for all of you! But know this that God loves you I can feel it! it is the.holy spirit telling me that all of you will be victorious!!! and will find true love :) and true love is his love! God Bless you have all helped me ;) more than you can imagine! We are all messengers, Warriors, and Lovers.of God we are jesus’s brother, we are the holy spirits mouth piece and we are God’s Children :) much love
Hello……MY name is sanjay
I’m 13 and I struggle with porn I look at sites and I still have the temotion I wonder why is temotion stronger thanot god bringing us on the right path I live with my nan for abouthe 5-6 years now my mom went to jail and my dad acts like he doesn’t care I just Wath porn for the enjoyment like how God said we should enjoy the feeling or sexy but I keep getting sucked into the xxx plz reply what I should do
Hello Sanjay, I’m so sorry that you’re struggling. It is so, so hard to stop. It really won’t be easy to quit, especially on your own. Do you want to stop this addiction? It sounds like you do, and so I want to help. Can you find an adult you trust that you can talk to about this? Also – what are you using to watch the porn? If you tell me, I can maybe help you with steps to protect the device. I want to help!
Peace, Chris
That’s the reason I installed on my kid computer PCWebControl software…Now I can protect him!
Every time I want to walk toward God, the temptation comes with a raging force to bring me down. Help me.
Can you tell me more of your story?
i had a Christian heart, but not anymore. The abomination homosexual porn sin has corrupted my soul and I’m lusting after change to this abomination,
An amazing article. It’s so important for Christians to realise that they are not alone in their struggles. I would describe myself as an addict though, praise God, in recovery. The number of people you meet, once you start talking about this, who have struggled and are struggling in the church is amazing and terrifying. I really feel that if everyone who struggled stood up and worked together to end this plague on the church, we could see a true revival from God. Porn is one of the major things holding people back in their faith and it’s time for us to start being honest and turn away from what’s separating us from God. Thank you for a fascinating post.