So, the topic that I am discussing today is very personal and probably not one everyone wants to discuss. I am talking about an addiction that really causes a lot of rot in one’s life. It creates a barrier between you and God, and between you and any other relationship.

Yes, it is the topic of pornography.

Now, I know that I probably already lost a lot of you, but please try to stick with me.

This topic is not often spoken of because no one wants to admit that it has a hold in their lives or that they have been affected by it because of someone else. But it is something that as Christians we need to be aware of.

I am a Christian. I have been saved since I was 4 years old and well… I allowed myself to accept this rot into my life. For years, I justified it by saying that it filled a hole in my life that was left by my parents arguing and lack of love. But what I didn’t understand at the time was, with every minute that I allowed it into my life, it took a stronger hold of me and started to rot away my relationship with God and my friends.

When someone is looking at porn, they are literally allowing themselves to be consumed in a fantasy. A fantasy they can’t share with others, because they know down deep that it is wrong, but they like the feeling they get from it so much so that they can’t let it go. It slowly becomes a physical and mental need. That is why it is so hard for someone to stop.

When a railroad track starts to rot. It takes quite a bit of work to repair it. The most effective and long-lasting solution is to replace the rotting tie entirely as there is no true fix for significantly rotted wood, especially when it comes to structural elements like the ties. Attempting to repair them, instead of removing the bad, could compromise their integrity and safety.

It is the same with the rotting addiction of porn. People have tried to patch fix it by doing it less until they can finally let it go 100%, but reality shows that eventually it will only continue to rot away and affect every area of a life. The only effective and long-lasting solution is to replace it entirely, and that is with the love and completeness that is only found in God.

I am not proud of the rot I allowed into my life in my late teens and early 20s through porn, because it is something that continues to give me heartache many years after letting it go. That is something I need you all to understand. Even if someone has given this rot over to God, it can still try to creep back into their lives. One of the consequences of this type of rot, is that it is something we will have to battle with for the rest of our life. But because our desire has changed from wanting the images and videos we used to watch to wanting a relationship with God, He can give us the power to withstand the temptation.

1 Corinthians 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

So, if there is someone that you know, whether that is you or someone else, that has had this rot in their lives, don’t give up on them when they slip. This rot is devious in every way. They are probably in constant fear of giving back into it. Help them. Love them. Because the only way to not let it back into our lives, is through the love and support of God and his children. Help us to keep the rot from entering our lives again.