Soul Cancer

Last week, we went to lunch with some friends of ours after church.  As we were waiting on our food to arrive, an interesting conversation began to take place.  We began talking about raising our children in today’s society.  During this discussion, some interesting questions began to arise.  Questions like:

• Should you let your kids spend the night at someone else’s home? 
• Is there more danger today than when we were children? 
• Are children more at risk now than when we were growing up for being molested? 

Needless to say, the conversation took a dark turn which led to the ultimate question of the day:

• What is going on in today’s society where there seems to be more sexual predators than when we were growing up?

My answer was summed up in one word:  Pornography.

Years ago, pornography was something that you had to go looking for in a truck stop or adult book store.  You had to go out of your way to "see something naked."  With the growth in technology, Satan has seized the opportunity to bring sexual sin into our everyday lives at the push of a button.  Pornography is no longer in the back alley, it's in our homes and our churches.  It's soul cancer!

I did a little research and found some alarming statistics. As Christians, here is what we are up against:

• US Sex Industry $ breakdown for 2006:
  Video Sales and Rentals: 3.62 billion
  Internet: 2.84 billion
  Cable/PPV/In-room/Mobile phone sex: 2.19 billion
  Exotic Dance Clubs: 2 billion
  Novelties: 1.73 billion
  Magazines: .95 billion
  Total - 13.3 billion.

• In March of 2002 Rick Warren’s (author of the Purpose Driven life) Pastors.com website conducted a survey on porn use of 1351 pastors: 54% of the pastors had viewed Internet pornography within the last year, and 30% of these had visited within the last 30 days. 

• More than 70% of men from 18 to 34 visit a pornographic site in a typical month 

• 87% of university students have had sex over webcams, instant messenger or the telephone.

• The American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, when surveyed, said the Internet was a significant factor in 2 out of 3 divorces 

• More than 30% of 1,500 surveyed companies have terminated employees for inappropriate use of the Internet, while only 37.5% of companies use filtering software.

• A 1996 Promise Keepers survey at one of their stadium events revealed that over 50% of the men in attendance were involved with pornography within one week of attending the event. 

• 57% of pastors say that addiction to pornography is the most sexually damaging issue to their congregation.

The internet & our children:

• 1 in 7 children who use the internet have been sexually solicited

• 76% of victims in Net-initiated sexual exploitation cases were 13-15, 75% were girls. "Most cases progressed to sexual encounters" - 93% of the face-to-face meetings involved illegal sex (Journal of Adolescent Health, November 2004).

• 2 in 5 abductions of children ages 15-17 are due to Internet contact (San Diego Police Dept.).

Over a short period of time, people who become sucked into this sinful vortex have to keep “upping the ante.”  Eventually, looking at one thing no longer excites them.  They have to graduate to something more hardcore to “feed the beast.”  Some folks never make it back from this downhill spirial.  (Warning:  graphic content video)  Ask a pedophile where he got started, and 100% of the time he will say “with pornography.”

What does the Bible say?

In Romans, we see a snapshot of where we are today.  Paul speaks of God “handing over men” to their sinful desires.  He even describes it “as men inventing new ways to sin against God.”  (Romans 1:18-32)

As Christians, we also underestimate the enemy.  In Job, we see Satan licking his chops, wanting to see how far he can drag Job down.  God gives him boundaries as to what Satan can do to test Job.  Bottom line is this:  without Christ, there are no boundaries.  There is no bottom to how far Satan will drag a man down to destroy him.  (Job 1:6-12 & Job 2:4)

Almost every book in the Bible warns us against sexual sin.  If the past has been a sexual backyard pickup game, in today’s time we are living in the “Sexual Sin Super Bowl”.  How do we guard against it?

• First and foremost, confess it!  God promises that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  (1 John 1:9)

• Flush it out!  (Important note to women:  if you haven’t point-blank asked your husband if he is looking at pornography on the internet, then the time is now!  Confront them and ask them.  Be ready for their answer.  Approach them out of love and reassure them that you are asking them because you love them and want to help them out of this dark world.  Then support them with prayer.)  The bottom line is Satan grows this sin like mold in dark places.  Once it gets out in the open that is when God begins to heal.

• Accountability!  Every Monday and Thursday I speak with a really good friend of mine about this very subject.  I know that I have to answer the question “Did you look at porn this week?”  Pornography is a huge temptation for me.  I need this accountability in my life to help me stay on track.  Like an alcoholic or drug addict, I have to treat this as if my life depends on it.  (Because it does!)

• Change your surroundings!  If you struggle with pornography, don’t put yourself in a place that will allow you to be tempted.  Put filters on your internet, stay away from places that show suggestive material, run like the wind from it.  If you have to, throw away your computer!  Do whatever it takes.  (Matthew 5:29)
 

• Spend time in the word!  It’s impossible to grow in sin and grow in the Lord at the same time.  If you earnestly seek God through prayer and His word, you will (over time) be able to win this war.

Keep this in mind this week:  Satan will use this to completely ruin your life.  If you are struggling with this sin in your life, do not play around with this any longer.  Run to Jesus and run from sexual sin.