Purity is Creepy???

 

“To see evil and not call it evil is evil.” John Hagee 

Imagine attacking a politician because he/she is too concerned about their own personal morality and more than that, the protection from pornography of their own underage child. Yet, that’s exactly what’s happened recently with the newly elected Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson. 

  What’s the “deviant” thing that he’s done that’s brought so much mockery from the national media? Johnson is taking flak for using an accountability software called Covenant Eyes to protect himself and his adolescent son from watching pornography. The program shares what sites you visit with an accountability partner. It red flags when you visit a porn site, using accountability as a means to protect those who subscribe to the service.

  Rolling Stone called his actions “creepy.” The New Republic suggested that Johnson has “unusual porn habits.” Los Angeles Times columnist, Robin Abcarain in criticizing Johnson said, “Porn is not, in and of itself, a problem” and even went so far as to say that “there is a wealth of research disputing the very concept of pornography addiction.”

  Wow! Porn isn’t an addiction??? Even Psychology Today defines an addict as: “A person with an addiction uses a substance, or engages in a behavior, for which the rewarding effects provide a compelling incentive to repeat the activity, despite detrimental consequences. Addiction may involve the use of substances such as alcohol, inhalants, opioids, cocaine, and nicotine, or behaviors such as gambling.” Work with someone with difficulty staying away from porn and they’ll admit it’s an addiction. Talk to a spouse whose mate is addicted and how it impacts their relationship, and they’ll have no problem labeling pornography as an addiction.  

  It’s noteworthy that in the same news cycle ridiculing Johnson, a U.S. judge approved JP Morgan Chase’s $290 million settlement for women who Jeffrey Epstein sexually abused and that the largest U.S. bank turned a blind eye to the late financier’s sex trafficking. Nearly every day there’s a report of someone, often a teacher or minister, being charged with a sex crime. Where do those mocking Johnson think sex crime begins? Trace it back, the abuser first began by viewing pornography, often something in today’s XXX world that’s fairly innocuous.

  Have we so quickly forgotten the MeToo movement? Again, where does sexual abuse begin? I seriously doubt that you’ll discover any sexual abuser who was not first a porn addict.  

  None of us are surprised when those on opposite ends of the political spectrum attack each other. There’s plenty of fodder from which to hurl bombs, but one’s personal morality? It’s as abhorrent as those who took cruel shots at President Obama’s then underage daughters. Ours is truly the day of which Isaiah the prophet wrote: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil” (Isaiah 5:28).

  Please understand. I’m not suggesting that anyone who looks at pornography will eventually commit sexual crimes. God’s Word repeatedly teaches that lust is a sin. Jesus said that “anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” He was saying that sins of the eye and mind are as wrong as sexual acts.

  All sin has a high price, but sexual sins have a higher price than many others. Pornography attacks Imago Dei, the dignity of men and women created in the image of God. It warps God’s precious gift of sex which should be shared only within the bounds of marriage (1 Corinthians 7:2-3).

  A biblical perspective of human sexuality must recognize that sexual intercourse is exclusively reserved for marriage for the following purposes. First, it establishes the one-flesh union (Genesis 2:24-25; Matthew 19:4-6). Second, it provides for sexual intimacy within the marriage bond. The use of the word “know” indicates a profound meaning of sexual intercourse (Genesis. 4:1). Third, sexual intercourse is for the mutual pleasure of husband and wife (Prov. 5:18-19), as well as procreation (Genesis 1:28).

  Pornography is damaging to both singles and marrieds, yet is especially crippling to marriages, as it damages the ability of its users to maintain an ongoing, committed union. If a Christian is single, he/she violates it by engaging in random sexual fantasies with the innumerable others that are viewed in pornography. It’s attempting to enjoy the ecstasy of sexual union without any of its commitments or responsibilities. Since a one-flesh union is both authentic and exclusive, it’s falling far short of the biblical standard and carries a high personal price to one’s own soul and mental health.

  When a married person uses porn, he/she steals from the sexual energy the couple has vowed before God that’s to be reserved for one’s spouse and is instead wasted in selfish, private fantasies. In essence, it’s embezzling from one’s spouse what is rightfully his/hers, and is instead spending it irresponsibly, much as a gambler steals funds from an employer to support an addiction. What properly belongs to one person is thus stolen, making the term “cheating” all the more applicable.

  Sexual perversion is not new. It goes back nearly to the Fall. Some well-meaning Christians believe that we must attack this perversity head-on in a Fallen world. The Bible never teaches that. God did not call Christ-followers to reform a dying world but instead to share the hope of the Cross in regeneration. The best way to make a difference in our morally insane world is to model a biblically healthy sexual ethic, as can be done in a Christ honoring marriage.

  No one dines at a great restaurant because they attack all of the other restaurants for foul food. They dine there because it’s so much better. Marriage needs to be presented not merely as a license for sex but as a living metaphor of Christ’s love for His Church.

  Do you want to be a beacon of hope to a hurting world? Honor the Lord through biblical purity. Honor Him by sacrificially loving your spouse in a way that pleases King Jesus. Let the fulfillment of your own committed marital love be a model of God’s grace!

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