Have you ever thought about why you (or others) look at porn? I used to think there wasn’t much to porn; it was merely an instrument for sexual euphoria that horny teenagers curious about sex used for entertainment. However, the older I get the more I realize pornography is a panacea for all sorts of hurts, insecurities, and weaknesses. Pornography might be the acceptance you are denied by the real world; pornography might satisfy your need to control others; pornography might be the relief for all your stresses; pornography might be the anecdote to help you fall asleep; pornography might be the only place you see people who don’t seem to hate the world. Pornography is often the response to anger, inadequacy, boredom, rejection, stress, hunger, tiredness, self-righteousness, unhappiness, depression, etc.
When you think of it like that, it’s not surprising porn has a multibillion-dollar empire. You could live in the real world, where people hurt you, you might face rejection, your insecurities are highlighted, and you feel inadequate, OR you could dive into the virtual world of porn where you are in control. In this world you are accepted, you have power, and you get the illusion of satisfaction. The primary goal of this world is to please YOU. Men and women submit to your every command instituted by the click of a mouse.
It is easy to believe the lie that this is the best world available. This belief leads to a dependency on pornography and isolation from the real world. Why invest in real relationships that take real effort and involve real pain, when you could just escape to your computer that takes no effort and seems to involve no pain. Unfortunately, the virtual world does not satisfy long term, and the pain it causes is more than you could possibly anticipate.
Thankfully, there is an even better reality available, and that is theKingdomofGod. We won’t see the full fruition of this kingdom until we get to heaven, but until that day it should be our earnest prayer for God to give us foretaste of His kingdom here on earth. The crazy thing is, I believe this kingdom really does come to earth still. Somewhere over the years, the prayer “Thy Kingdom Come” has become some meaningless cliché, but seriously imagine thekingdomofGod: This world is perfect. You are perfectly accepted, not even because you did anything, but because the creator of this world is interested in your life and wants to know you intimately. He is stoked to see you face to face, without blemish, white as snow, holy like He is. Unlike the virtual world, this world satisfies for eternity. Every broken part of you is perfected. There is no rejection, no pain, no tiredness, no hunger, no stress, no boredom. I don’t know about you, but this world pumps me up! The Lord tells us to pray for His kingdom to come, and you read the Bible and see countless examples of miraculous instances where the kingdom does come to earth, yet it’s become so cliché to pray for the kingdom that we are okay living in brokenness. We are satisfied praying that, but not really wanting it or expecting it. I want the kingdom, and believe God is still in the business of bringing us that newEden. Pornography does not hold a candle to His kingdom.
In conclusion, pornography isolates its viewers from the real world. Rather than isolating you from the real world, bringing the kingdom to earth puts you in the heart of the world, and causes you to love those in it. Honestly, I think being in the world without God, and without trying to bring the kingdom sucks. It’s called lukewarm Christianity, and it is the position to be most pitied. Lukewarm Christians try to refrain from doing bad things of the world, like porn, which at least offer temporary satisfaction, without diving into the life to the fullest God has intended for you. You get the worst of everything. Please don’t isolate yourself with porn. God’s greatest commandments are to love Him and to love others, and those are both difficult to do isolated behind a computer screen.