Topics: Addiction; Character; Double-mindedness; Faith and Works; Guilt; Hypocrisy; Lust; Pleasure; Pornography; Purity; Self-control; Self-indulgence; Vices
References: Job 31:1; Matthew 5:28; Romans 6:16; 1 Corinthians 6:18; Colossians 3:5; Hebrews 13:4; 1 Peter 2:11; 2 Peter 2:19
My friend looked like a good Christian. He was a faithful elder in the church and a devout husband and father. He had a reputation for honesty, courage, and integrity. But he also had an issue with pornography.
He said he wasn’t addicted to porn, and there was no reason not to believe him. He could go weeks without it, he said. Porn didn’t affect his relationship with his wife. It didn’t interfere with his church work or prayer life. It was just a little recreational pleasure that he indulged in now and then, especially after working long hours for his company or the church.
“I’ve justified it in my mind a thousand times,” he said, “and I could out-argue anyone who wants to give me all that bull about potential addiction and how it ruins your marriage. Well, it’s only made my marriage easier, since I don’t pester my wife as often, and yet I don’t do porn so much that I don’t have any ardor for her when she’s ready. Still,” he conceded, “I feel so unclean.”
At first he thought the guilt was just a leftover from his fundamentalist upbringing. But he noticed he didn’t feel bad about other post-fundamentalist behaviors, such as drinking wine or going to the movies. Just porn. I suggested that this feeling might be the prodding of the Spirit. “Why don’t you just give up porn?”
“I’ve thought about that,” he replied. “If God does want me to give it up, I know it’s because that’s ultimately good for me. Yet the thought of giving up porn cold turkey is one of the most frightening things I can imagine right now. And I don’t know why.”
—Mark Galli, Jesus Mean and Wild (Baker, 2006)