Face it, how many of us can say that we have never come across pornography sites before? If you’re in a public place, probably like me, you’ll quickly close the sites out of embarrassment. But will the situation be different if it was in the confines of your room?
Maybe what began out of sheer curiosity has now become something that we’ve tried to give up time and again, but failed. We don’t talk about it in our Christian circle for fear of how they would label us, especially if we are leaders.
We want your take on this issue.
What are some of our struggles?
How we can help each other?
Do feel free to write anonymously
7 comments:
how can we help each other?
"confess your sins to one another"
and accept our bros / sis with love especially AFTER they decide to be transparent, honest, and accountable. instead of judging, which we often do subconsciously / consciously / non-consciously...
:)
btw i am guilty of it too :(
-not afraid to admit that i'm human-
...akmj...
I don't have any solutions as yet. I still struggle with this. I know it's wrong. I have told my CG leader and other prayer friends and they sometimes keep me accountable. But still I keep giving in to the temptation. I memorize scripture, I have tried everything I can think of.
My walk with Jesus is generally good, I have daily quiet time, am active in church and CF, yet I keep giving in to this temptation.
Honestly, in this area, the promise that there will ALWAYS be a way of escape seem to not be true for me!
Here's my 5 cents. One of the things that freed me from habitual lust was a video I watched about the Columbine School Massacre in the US. The video was a part-tribute, part-sermon by one of the Columbine victims' dad. His daughter, Rachel Scott, was shot in the head for professing belief in God. In her diary she wrote something like, “You want to know what I think about everyday? I think about God!” That really got me thinking about how this 16 year old martyr for Christ was consumed by thoughts of God and I asked, “Why on earth am I thinking lustful thoughts?”
Galatians 5:16 says to “live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the sinful nature”. The word ‘live’ (according to e-sword anyway) means ‘to be occupied with’. Rachel Scott was occupied with the Spirit (God) and apparently could think of nothing else but God. I guess she sort of proved she wasn't lying when she was martyred.
Also, compare Joseph and King David. Joseph ran from Potiphar's wife (Gen 39). David stood with mouth agape at the sight of Bathsheba (2 Sam 11). So if ever we are confronted with the temptation that is porn, run! Run like you've never run before.
Do I still fall into lust from time to time? I don't want to but yes. But I don't have to live in bondage to it anymore.
First & foremost, I feel that there is the need to break the mindset of believers.
Like you've said, "we don't talk about it in our Christian circle for fear of how they would label us".
I personally feel that there is a DESPERATE NEED for us Christians, to understand that most of us, if not all, struggle in this area of sexual temptation.
I've been struggling with it for a really long time and all this while I dare not mention anything to anyone for that exact same fear - fear of being judged and looked upon.
But at some point in my life, I realized that we all struggle in it. In fact, I've friends who come up to me and we actually talked about issues like these.
I remember once in church, the speaker spoke on sexual temptation and for some funny reason, there's always this dead icy cold silence when topic like this is being expounded on.
As I looked around, I thought to myself, "The person next to me could be struggling as much as I am in this".
Don't get me wrong, I'm not judging him or her.
It burdened me.
It burdened me because I know we Christian suffer and struggle, yet pride and shame keeps us from opening ourselves up.
Pride & Shame.
So to me, I feel that as Christians, we have to break that mentality of being "the only one in this sin" and also to not let pride and shame withhold us from what God is offering to us - Freedom in Him.
I feel it's important for us to talk about this issue, amongst small group of friends or even in CF sermons and to emphasize that we are all suffering from this Sin and that it doesn't go away over night.
Time and time again we fall, but the beauty of it all is that God never gives up on us.
Many of us, I feel, hold back what we can do for God and for people around us because of this shame we see in ourselves.
Jesus has taken away our shame.
i supposed porn itself is quite a deadly attraction... but it would help to break the addiction by diving into some underlying hidden issues... for exm, some head to it as a form of escaping, some b'coz of feelings of unworthiness, or some for the sake of it...(it helps to trace the pattern of occurance - like what situation drives me there? how am feeling at that point of time? angry, frustrated, insecure..?) i agree with fellow struggler that proclaiming/ reciting the 'answer' (God's promises)over the root issue would break the addiction...it's breaking the 'thought pattern' and 'habit' of turning into porn everytime i face so and so situation... and also when we turn to his word, we also alow the holy spirit to work in us.
i found reading this books - useful and inspiring
EVERY MAN'S STRUGGLE OR EVERY YONG MAN'S STRUGGLE.
READ AND BE BLESSED
ASD
Am working thru' an online course called The Way of Purity by an organisation called Setting Captives Free. It helps a lot.
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