When you\u2019ve failed again and again at something, as a way to cope with the pain your mind starts to rationalize that maybe success is an illusion. This is the trap that many people who have given up trying to overcome addiction fall into. The only way they can keep living with themselves is to alter how they think about the addiction. They start to believe, \u201cNo one is perfect. Everyone\u2019s struggling with something so I\u2019m not so bad.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The most devastating narrative you can buy into to cope with the feelings of shame and defeat, is that addiction to pornography and masturbation is not really a sin. That it\u2019s just a weakness or a bad habit. Here\u2019s why it\u2019s so devastating – if you keep treating it like a habit, you\u2019ll never fight it like sin. It\u2019s the difference between the person who works out to stay fit and the person who exercises every morning to manage their type2 diabetes. One is good to do, while the other is an urgent intervention. If you don\u2019t see this addiction as sin, you won\u2019t bring it to the cross. You won\u2019t cry out for the urgent help and grace you actually need to be set free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What your enemy, the devil really wants, is not to keep you bound in this cycle. His ultimate goal is actually to get you to stop believing that God can deliver you. Because if don\u2019t believe He can deliver you from pornography, one day you\u2019ll stop believing in the power of God to deliver, or in the existence of God, period. When a person starts thinking this way, they start to walk in unbelief. And unbelief is how people separate themselves from God, because those who will come to God must<\/em> believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.<\/em> We\u2019ll dig deeper into that in tomorrow\u2019s devotional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maybe right now you\u2019re still wondering if watching pornography and masturbating is a sin. Maybe you\u2019re not sure. Or maybe you\u2019re just looking for clarity. Here are three honest questions to ask yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. Do I lust when I do it?<\/strong> In Matthew 5:28 Jesus said if you even look at someone lustfully, you\u2019ve committed adultery in your heart. And let\u2019s be honest, most people don\u2019t masturbate without some form of lust. Whether it\u2019s a fantasy, a memory, or a video, lust is right there. That alone shows you that this is sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. Can I do this in the presence of people I love and respect?<\/strong> Could you sit down with your parents, your mentor, or your pastor and say, \u201cthis is something I regularly do,\u201d and feel no shame? Would they be okay with it? If it has to stay hidden, chances are it\u2019s wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. Can I stop right now if I wanted to?<\/strong> A lot of people who say it\u2019s not a sin also say they\u2019re not addicted. That it\u2019s just something they do occasionally for leisure. But here\u2019s how you know if it has no hold on you, try stopping. A week. A month. Two. If you can\u2019t, then it is clearly a master over you. And the Bible says you\u2019re not meant to become a slave to anything or anyone apart from Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Friend, this addiction is a sin and sin is serious. So serious that someone had to die for it. Read that again. Don\u2019t ever make sin a casual conversation. Call it what it is and treat it with the disdain that it deserves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Having said that I want you to know that you are not your sin. God has made provision through the blood of Jesus to separate you from that sin. So don\u2019t ever let sin keep you down in the mud with it. You have a way out, take it! Just like David the Psalmist prayed: \u201cSearch me, God\u2026 if there\u2019s anything in me that offends You, show me and lead me in the way everlasting.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n