The Dangers of Pornography
Article by Lauri McNair, MS
"Hell and Destruction are never full; So the eyes of man are never satisfied."--Proverbs 27:20 (NKJV)
"Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content."--Ecclesiastes 1:8(NLT)
"For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world."-- I John 2:16(NLT)
Understanding the Dangers
Pornography perverts, corrupts, and creates separation between God and man ("...How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness?"--2 Corinthians 2:16). There are an estimated 420 million adult web pages on-line, thousands of adult book stores, and countless pornographic movies and magazines. Why a seemingly infinite amount of access to pornography that is so easy to access? DEMAND. The word of God tells us that a man's eyes are never satisfied. The eyes are a gateway to our soul. No matter what the eyes perceive, a memory is created and an internal response is being evoked--a thought, a feeling, a desire, a warning, etc.
However pornography poses a very distinct and specific danger and threat to the human soul (male or female) as well as how one relates to others. The brain is a sex organ; and pornography activates a part of the brain that is specifically organized to look for sexual cues. William M. Struthers states in his book, Wired for Intimacy: How Pornography Hijacks the Male Brain, "Whenever the sequence of arousal and response is activated, it forms a neurological memory that will influence future processing and response to sexual cues. As this pathway becomes activated and traveled, it becomes a preferred route--a mental journey that is regularly trod."
Pornography takes one on a mental journey that is routed in fantasy that becomes a stored memory. Further, pornography produces a physical response as specific pleasure hormones are released (testosterone, dopamine, opiates, norepinephrine). The danger of pornography is that the more one engages in it, the more difficult it becomes to achieve and maintain a level of satisfaction. Research in neuroscience suggests that the effects of viewing pornography is similar to the effect of drugs. Because of this, pornography is now referred to as the "new drug". This would serve to explain why one can easily move from one level to the next of more graphic and explicit material to get the same effect of the initial "hit". And this is the whole deception of the kingdom of darkness. As one is pursuing the "ultimate high", that can never come from the pages of a magazine or the images on a screen, the heart that was designed to pursue God and his righteousness becomes more depraved and further and further away from true intimacy as God originally intended.
Overcoming Pornography
1. Change your focus.
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne."--Hebrews 12:1-2(NLT)
2. Change your appetite.
One famous singer shared in an interview that one morning he viewed 300 pornographic images of women before he even got out of bed. He shared that with each image, he vowed it would be the last, but he continued his futile attempt to satiate an appetite. Lust and the desires of man can never be satisfied. Acquiring an appetite for the Word of God is the only way to soothe and satiate the longings of the human soul. Anything else is an illusion that is designed to destroy the soul and relationships.
3. Lay aside guilt and shame. Go to God with a desperate heart.
"Then I called on the name of the LORD: “Please, LORD, save me! How kind the LORD is! How good he is!
So merciful, this God of ours!"--Psalm 116:4-5(NLT)
Feelings of guilt and shame are used by the enemy of our soul to keep us bound and hiding from God. When we willfully decide to not let anything come between us and our Savior, we have positioned ourselves for victory. God never disappoints the desperate heart that pursues Him with reckless abandon, hope, and expectation of deliverance. He is the God who delivers, heals, and sets free.
4. Be prepared for the "pop-ups".
Our minds take mental pictures of what we see. They become memories. When a decision has been made to change your focus, change your appetite, lay aside guilt and shame, and to go to God with a desperate heart--be prepared for mental "pop-ups". Just as you see pop-ups for advertisements on your computer screen, our mind produces pop-ups from what we have seen. God tells us to pull down these pop-ups with the word of God. "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."--2 Corinthians 10:5(NLT)
5. Be accountable.
Talk to your pastor or another godly person whom you trust. Make them aware. Ask them for prayer and to help you stay accountable.
6. Retrain your brain.
It is possible to re-wire your brain. For more information on neuroplasticity, see the "Neuroplasticity and the Renewed Mind" article.
Prayer of Deliverance:
Father, in Jesus' name, I thank you that you are the great I Am. I thank you that there is nothing too hard for you. I thank you that you are able to heal, deliver, set free, and restore. I repent of my involvement in pornography. Forgive me now in Jesus' name. I renounce this desire that comes from the kingdom of darkness. I turn away from it and I turn to you. I pray that you would wash away all mental images. Change my view of women/men. Help me to see them as your creation, made in your image and likeness--not as objects to derive depraved pleasure. I commit to pursue you, your holiness, your purity, and your righteousness. Thank you for doing a new thing in my life and in my mind. Amen.
If you would like prayer or additional supportive counseling in this area with Min. Scott McNair or Lauri McNair, please complete the form below.
"Hell and Destruction are never full; So the eyes of man are never satisfied."--Proverbs 27:20 (NKJV)
"Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content."--Ecclesiastes 1:8(NLT)
"For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world."-- I John 2:16(NLT)
Understanding the Dangers
Pornography perverts, corrupts, and creates separation between God and man ("...How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness?"--2 Corinthians 2:16). There are an estimated 420 million adult web pages on-line, thousands of adult book stores, and countless pornographic movies and magazines. Why a seemingly infinite amount of access to pornography that is so easy to access? DEMAND. The word of God tells us that a man's eyes are never satisfied. The eyes are a gateway to our soul. No matter what the eyes perceive, a memory is created and an internal response is being evoked--a thought, a feeling, a desire, a warning, etc.
However pornography poses a very distinct and specific danger and threat to the human soul (male or female) as well as how one relates to others. The brain is a sex organ; and pornography activates a part of the brain that is specifically organized to look for sexual cues. William M. Struthers states in his book, Wired for Intimacy: How Pornography Hijacks the Male Brain, "Whenever the sequence of arousal and response is activated, it forms a neurological memory that will influence future processing and response to sexual cues. As this pathway becomes activated and traveled, it becomes a preferred route--a mental journey that is regularly trod."
Pornography takes one on a mental journey that is routed in fantasy that becomes a stored memory. Further, pornography produces a physical response as specific pleasure hormones are released (testosterone, dopamine, opiates, norepinephrine). The danger of pornography is that the more one engages in it, the more difficult it becomes to achieve and maintain a level of satisfaction. Research in neuroscience suggests that the effects of viewing pornography is similar to the effect of drugs. Because of this, pornography is now referred to as the "new drug". This would serve to explain why one can easily move from one level to the next of more graphic and explicit material to get the same effect of the initial "hit". And this is the whole deception of the kingdom of darkness. As one is pursuing the "ultimate high", that can never come from the pages of a magazine or the images on a screen, the heart that was designed to pursue God and his righteousness becomes more depraved and further and further away from true intimacy as God originally intended.
Overcoming Pornography
1. Change your focus.
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne."--Hebrews 12:1-2(NLT)
2. Change your appetite.
One famous singer shared in an interview that one morning he viewed 300 pornographic images of women before he even got out of bed. He shared that with each image, he vowed it would be the last, but he continued his futile attempt to satiate an appetite. Lust and the desires of man can never be satisfied. Acquiring an appetite for the Word of God is the only way to soothe and satiate the longings of the human soul. Anything else is an illusion that is designed to destroy the soul and relationships.
3. Lay aside guilt and shame. Go to God with a desperate heart.
"Then I called on the name of the LORD: “Please, LORD, save me! How kind the LORD is! How good he is!
So merciful, this God of ours!"--Psalm 116:4-5(NLT)
Feelings of guilt and shame are used by the enemy of our soul to keep us bound and hiding from God. When we willfully decide to not let anything come between us and our Savior, we have positioned ourselves for victory. God never disappoints the desperate heart that pursues Him with reckless abandon, hope, and expectation of deliverance. He is the God who delivers, heals, and sets free.
4. Be prepared for the "pop-ups".
Our minds take mental pictures of what we see. They become memories. When a decision has been made to change your focus, change your appetite, lay aside guilt and shame, and to go to God with a desperate heart--be prepared for mental "pop-ups". Just as you see pop-ups for advertisements on your computer screen, our mind produces pop-ups from what we have seen. God tells us to pull down these pop-ups with the word of God. "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."--2 Corinthians 10:5(NLT)
5. Be accountable.
Talk to your pastor or another godly person whom you trust. Make them aware. Ask them for prayer and to help you stay accountable.
6. Retrain your brain.
It is possible to re-wire your brain. For more information on neuroplasticity, see the "Neuroplasticity and the Renewed Mind" article.
Prayer of Deliverance:
Father, in Jesus' name, I thank you that you are the great I Am. I thank you that there is nothing too hard for you. I thank you that you are able to heal, deliver, set free, and restore. I repent of my involvement in pornography. Forgive me now in Jesus' name. I renounce this desire that comes from the kingdom of darkness. I turn away from it and I turn to you. I pray that you would wash away all mental images. Change my view of women/men. Help me to see them as your creation, made in your image and likeness--not as objects to derive depraved pleasure. I commit to pursue you, your holiness, your purity, and your righteousness. Thank you for doing a new thing in my life and in my mind. Amen.
If you would like prayer or additional supportive counseling in this area with Min. Scott McNair or Lauri McNair, please complete the form below.
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