The Other Side of Pornography

Not long ago I was working out at the gym and a gentleman came over and asked me a surprising question. He asked if it was ok for him and his wife to watch pornography. Having spent many years involved in that lifestyle before finding freedom, you can guess my answer to him. NO, its not ok nor is it healthy. Since he was not a Christian, I had to taper my response to him since he most likely would not share my beliefs. I explained to this dear person that by viewing pornography he was setting himself and his wife up for some major disappointment and heartache. I explained to him that pornography does nothing but causes unreal expectations to be formed when it comes to intimacy between a husband and wife. I also quoted some statistics to him that show practicing such things will only lead to additional problems, mainly the disappointment that comes along when one or both spouses cannot perform up to the level of what is being viewed, or worse, that one of the spouses doesn't compare to the nice looking people being paid on the screen. My conversation with this young man wasn't what broke my heart though. It was what I found in my research of pornography and its effect on our nation and within our churches. 1 out of 3 men in our churches have viewed online pornography. 1 in 5 people in our churches have viewed online pornography. 40% of pastors in America have viewed online pornography. Rick Warren, author of the Purpose Driven Life, did a survey in 2002 of 1300 pastors, and found 54% had viewed internet pornography within the last year, and 30% had vistited witin the last 30 days. Playboy said one time that 15% of its readers where Christian, personally I believe it is much higher, those were the ones brave enough to confess to it. Whenever there is a Promise Keepers crusade, or other event within a city, pornography rentals in hotels spike during that week. This isn't just a little issue within the fringe of the church, its a major issue that Pastors need to deal with. In 2004 it was reported that over 40 million people in the United States was sexually involved with the internet. It is most definitely the devils newest and most potent toy. I challenge Pastors everywhere to quit ignoring the problem and start dealing with it from the pulpit. I can walk into any church in America, pull out three men randomly, and guarantee that one of them has viewed porn on the internet, and most likely continues to do so. Whether you believe in God or not, or whether you are a Christian or not, pornography has another side, one that seeks to destroy the very fabric of an individual, their moral compass, and the only direction that you will go, is down! Those in the pornography business, and I speak from experience, those in the business will tell you, that what stimulated you in the past, won't always stimulate you. Like a drug, pornogaphy continues to pull a person deeper into its diabolical web, requiring more and more to give you the same high that just a little viewing was able to do before. Its time to recognize that pornography is evil in all its perverseness and must be resisted and exposed!