Once, porn was mainly relegated to magazines stuffed behind drug store counters or to the big screen drive-in theaters, but not anymore.
I grew up in the years before the internet—a time when people still did research at the library and most people paid for subscriptions to magazines and newspapers. Porn was no different. Hustler and Playboy were the two major competitors, but proprietors stuffed those magazines behind counters with the covers concealed so customers purchasing other items couldn’t see the scantily clad women. And while a sizable number snuck in or legally attended the XXX drive-in’s, those movies weren’t advertised as the respectable movies were.
The internet—along with changing cultural mores—has altered my innocent world of yesteryear. Surveys by Josh McDowell Ministry found that half of all teenagers and almost three-fourths of young adults encounter porn monthly. More disturbing is that both groups consider viewing pornography as less immoral than not recycling. The numbers of young women who view porn are also on the rise. After all, sex addicts are plying their trade right into their bedrooms through their smart phones.
While we can’t end the spread of porn, we can take some measures to ensure our eyes—the lamps of my body—allow in only what is pure and good.
Investigating who we befriend on social media platforms is wise. When we receive a friend request, we should take a gander at their page. If the posts are questionable, we should ignore or decline the request.
However, porn is bound to pop up even when we take safeguards. If we’ve friended someone who later reveals themselves as a bad influence, we can unfriend them or quickly ignore the questionable post.
If we find ourselves pulled by porn, we can take steps to guard ourselves against its presence. A preacher friend who struggled with this temptation chose to stay off the internet and to allow his wife to filter his email messages.
Vision is powerful. What we see takes root in our minds, which in turn plays out in our actions. Being familiar with God’s guidelines for relationships—and understanding how porn distorts those principles—goes a long way in helping us resist the pull of porn.
If porn pulls you, turn off the source.
Father, draw my eyes only to what is pure in your sight and beneficial for my spiritual growth.
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