America's Worst Nightmare

Years ago, I remember watching one of our punt returners try to return punts while he was suffering from pink-eye. Our team lost a lot of field position that day because he couldn’t even see the ball. At some point he had to step out of his role until the pink-eye was healed.

Recently a young ministry leader who was a former college soccer player shared with me that an astounding 23 of the 25 guys on his team had been addicted to internet pornography— himself included. And, oh, by the way, he’d attended a Christian college.

Just like the football player who couldn’t return punts while battling pink-eye, athletes like those soccer players can’t even come close to maximizing their God-given potential until they get healing from their struggle with pornography. And that’s true for us as Christians in every aspect of life.

Pink-eye is one thing; pornography is another. It is one of the secret sins we don’t like to talk about, yet it is single-handedly corrupting our society and destroying marriages, families, careers and churches. A startling survey* recently revealed that 50 percent of Christian men and 20 percent of Christian women admitted being addicted to pornography. Not just struggling with it; addicted to it!

Did you know that the sex industry is larger than all of the sports franchises put together? It’s also bigger than ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX combined. In 2006, worldwide porn revenues equaled more than $97 billion.

Perhaps even more alarming, however, are the stats regarding Christian leadership. Seven out of 10 lay-leaders in the church admitted visiting adult websites at least once a week. Four out of 10 pastors said they did the same. One other statistic which is of particular interest to FCA, stated that 12- to 17-yearolds were the largest consumers of internet pornography.

A punt returner’s worst nightmare could be something like pink-eye, but for Christians in America, one of our biggest issues is clearly pornography. Not only do we not know what to do with it as a whole, but it also seems that our church leaders are trapped without a handle on the situation.

I’ve heard pastors over the years address pornography in a much lighter fashion than physical adultery. While it is clear that premarital and extramarital affairs between consenting people are in violation of God’s Word and must be dealt with firmly, pornography is at least as dangerous.

In Ezekiel 23, we read about the spiritual climate of God’s people in Israel and Judah. God spoke about this to Ezekiel the prophet by using sexual metaphors—something He did numerous times in the Old Testament—referring to the people’s sin as spiritual adultery.

In this chapter, God makes a very subtle, interesting statement. After describing Israel as a daughter named Oholah and Judah as her sister named Oholibah and addressing their unfaithfulness to Him, verse 23:14 (ESV) says, “But [Oholibah] carried her whoring further. She saw men portrayed on the wall, the images of the Chaldeans (Israel’s enemies) portrayed in vermilion…” (parentheses added).

According to the full chapter, Israel was committing adultery with its enemies by adopting their customs, worshipping their idols and breaking fellowship with God. But God spoke through Ezekiel to describe Judah’s adultery as even “further” depraved in light of their lusting technique: portraying images of enemy men on walls, which is very similar to today’s pornography.

Pornography isn’t physical. You don’t have to be relational. And, if you engage in pornography, you always feel like the hero; it can’t go wrong because it’s all about you.

But for those reasons, it is all wrong. I think pornography may just be the most selfcentered activity in the world, and, through increased technology, it is also one of the most accessible.

Studies are starting to reveal that the addiction to pornography is as powerful as the chemical dependency on cocaine. Addicts of both have shown black spots on the brain that reveal severe damage. And—get this— more studies are also revealing that Christians may have a higher susceptibility to porn addiction than non-Christians because they know it’s wrong and get an even greater high.

Oh, my brothers and sisters in Christ, this isn’t just pink-eye for a punt returner. It’s the chain of sin and slavery, and Satan is having a field day by using it to tie us down.

I’m more convinced than ever that pornography is a spiritual epidemic among Christians and that, consequently, we don’t “advance the ball” with much power or courage. We need to advance God’s ball—the gospel of Jesus Christ—with all of His power. Yes, pornography may try to strip that power, but there is a solution found in Ephesians 5:11: “Don’t participate in the fruitless works of darkness, but instead, expose them.”

If you are trapped in pornography addiction, expose your problem to God and to fellow believers who are strong and capable in that area. Confess, repent and get help now! God loves you and wants to heal you. If you doubt that, just read Psalm 32. “Then I acknowledged my sin to You and did not conceal my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,’ and You took away the guilt of my sin.” (v. 5).

Originally Published: November 2011