Daniel Seabaugh

I recently posted part 1 of “9 Things You Need To Know When Porn Tempts You.” In that post, I provided the first four things I believe will help you in your battle against porn. I’d now like to provide the rest of the nine by starting with number five.

5. You are trying to satisfy a desire that can only be satisfied in Christ.

Saint Augustine famously said, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” You probably don’t realize it, but the desire you are trying to satisfy with pornography will only be satisfied in Christ. No amount of nudity will give your soul what it aches for. You were not made for porn, you were made for God.

We do all kinds of crazy things in our restlessness. We watch porn. We over eat. We leave our spouses. We drink ourselves into oblivion. Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Do you want rest from your porn binges? Come to Christ. He is the all-sufficient Savior.

6. Guilt and shame will ruin the days ahead.

You likely know the feeling. It burdens you and gives you the sensation that a dark cloud is hovering overhead. During these moments, everything seems foggy, even your reasoning. You begin to think less of yourself and forget the forgiveness that is yours in Christ. Even when you try to recall the truths of the gospel, you don’t believe them and think you have somehow sinned your way out of the kingdom. The feeling you are experiencing comes from knowing you blew it again by watching porn. It is the age old foe, guilt and shame.

In part 1, I mentioned how your guilt and shame hurts those around you, but as you know all to well, it also hurts you. The good news is, you don’t have to go where temptation leads you. When you are tempted by porn, remind yourself of how awful you will feel as a result of giving in to your temptation. Furthermore, ask yourself the question: are the mere minutes of gratifying my flesh worth the hours and, perhaps, days of feeling worthless? You’ve probably traveled this road enough to know the answer is a resounding “No!”

Another thing to consider during these moments is the vast amount of satisfaction you will experience if you don’t give in to temptation. Simply walk away. You can do it. Be free and experience joy. The Bible tells us that, among other things, the fruit of the Spirit consists of self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). Don’t forget that truth. The Spirit of God gives you the ability to control yourself.

7. When you watch porn, you are supporting sex-trafficking.

Pornography is often captured with women who are being held against their will and sold for sex. Click here for one non-Christian organization that makes the point well. I could cite so many others. Sex-trafficking is a modern-day form of slavery. When you watch porn, you are supporting sex-trafficking. One statistic in the article says that “in 9 countries, 49% of sexually exploited women said that pornography was made of them while they were being sold for sex.”

There is literally no way to know which porn uses consenting adults and which does not. Based on the fact that much of it is not consensual, the article ends with some convicting questions:

Would you buy from a company if you knew that some, but not all, of their products were made with child labor? Would you support a store that abused some, but not all, of their female employees?

How can it be okay to say that “porn is okay because participants give their consent,” when we know for a fact that some—probably much more than you think—do not?

8. Christians are called to take no part in darkness.

In Ephesians 5:11, Paul warned the church in Ephesus to “have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness.” During the time of Paul’s letter, Ephesus was the most populace city in Asia. Because of it’s access to the Aegean Sea, it was the largest trading center in western Asia Minor. Many people passed through, resulting in a cultural hub of diversity and activity. It is perhaps best remembered as the city that housed the temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Like the church in Ephesus, Christians today need to be instructed that their culture should not dictate their behavior. Just because the world around you is engulfed in sexual immorality and greed does not give you a free pass to sin. Paul says the same thing shortly before his instructions in verse 11: “But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people” (Galatians 5:3). When you watch porn, you invite darkness into your heart and mind.

9. When you watch porn, you are engaging with demons.

Everyday, Satan and his demons are working in opposition to God’s purposes of redemption. Sadly, far too many people scoff at the idea of a real devil and his demonic minions. The truth is, a spiritual war is happening around us daily whether we want to acknowledge it or not. The reality of spiritual warfare is why Paul told the church in Ephesus to put on the armor of God. Paul knew that our “struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12). When you watch porn, you are surrendering to the powers of this dark world and engaging with the demonic.

I wanted to share these 9 things with you not to condemn you or place heavy burdens on you. I truly believe you can break free from the hellish cycle of pornography. After all I have said, remember that the blood of Christ is your hope for victory. Period.

Contact me if you need prayer. I’d love to send a personal prayer your way.