Pizza and Porn!

Greetings anonymous reader,

If you have arrived at this page thinking from the title you would be served some X-rated food fest. You are about to be wholly disappointed, but now I have your attention feel free to read and watch on...

Last night, we had a church men's night. Manishness was generally evident. We ate large amounts of carbs, protein, fat, and salt in the form of pizza. (Perfect Pizza did us proud and I heartily recommend them.) There was little washing up as we ate out of pizza boxes and there were no table decorations!! Get in!!

We then, full of pizza and soft drinks, watched this video about porn:



The more I live, the more I see that porn feeds a selfishness that exists in all our hearts and leads us to justifying a view of sex that is essentially masturbation - but with more options. A self serving exercise. The person you sleep with is simply a "glorified hand."

Simply put, there's nothing "adult" about porn, it's regressive, immature and destructive.

And before you think it's a men-only problem, 1 in 3 viewers of porn are women. The "fairer" sex is being pulled down by the man into this destructive sewer too. Lust is not a male disease, it's a human one.

Like all but the most sheltered in this generation, I have mental, emotional and spiritual scars from encounters with porn. All those scars are self-inflicted, I have no one else to blame.

There are still residual patterns of thinking that need to be broken and remolded. Even though I haven't viewed porn for a long time now, if I'm lazy or stupid, I will get mesmerized by the lure of what it pretends to offer. Removing me from engaging with the real world, with real people, and turning me into a shriveled, self-obsessed wreck of a man.

And there is so much more to lust than just watching porn. To my shame, I have found myself on occasions, watching things that give a similar kick to porn without being porn, and then pretending that because it wasn't porn and because I did no more than watch it, it's not that bad! I'm such a hypocrite at times.

I have my military defenses for guarding against temptation, my computer is in a public place in the house, and if you ever notice that I no longer have a smartphone, it's because I've now taken an oath that should I ever deliberately watch something inappropriate (not just "porn") I will get rid of it in favour of a basic brick of a mobile. I don't want to lose that functionality, but if my hand causes me to sin... Matt.5:30.

Yet these defenses are only defenses. They are only made for the heat of battle, the storm of temptation. They are means of damage limitation - like a padded cell for a psycho so that he cannot harm himself and others. These defenses can cage a lusting heart, they cannot grow a loving and life giving one.

For that we need Jesus, his transforming love, power and wisdom. Without looking at him and his selfless heart lots, we soon sink into the mire of depravity. When you brim over with the Holy Spirit, there isn't any room for other things to take up residence in your heart.

It's simply about a closer walk with Jesus.

One day, I want the idea of watching pornography to be as appetizing as the thought of eating my own dung. One day, I want to lay down my life for one woman to whom I have made vows - 100% No secrets. One day, I want to be able - if required - to walk into a sex shop, weep at what I see, and pray for the people who work there, telling them that Jesus loves them. Jesus could. I want to be like him.