Porn isolates, there’s no way around it. At its core, it’s a relationship killer.
It isolates us from our families and those closest to us, and it encourages us to exchange a real connection with others for an inward focus and a desire to pursue solely what pleases us, despite what the costs may be.
But that’s not all.
Porn can also separate us from God. If you’ve struggled with a porn addiction, I’m sure you’re familiar with the deep feelings of loneliness which follow the temporary sexual release – intensified by also feeling about as far away from God as possible.
I’ve felt that way. I’ve felt like God was millions of miles away – like my prayers weren’t heard by anyone outside the room they were spoken in, much less by God.
But that’s a lie. And it’s a trap.
Yes, porn can separate us from God, but only if we allow it to by choosing to stay where we are. The thing about feeling isolated, alone, and distant from God, is that we often feel like our only recourse is to medicate those feelings with more porn.
What we have to realize is that no matter how much porn tries to convince us that we are the constant and the universe revolves around us – it doesn’t. God is the only constant. And if we feel distant from Him, it’s not because He turned His back on us or started slowly inching away from us when we started making decisions He wasn’t pleased with.
In fact, it’s just the opposite. If we feel far from Him, we’re the ones who’ve inched away until the chasm was formed.
God is still there. Right where He was. And He’s waiting for you to return to Him, with nothing but love, mercy, and grace in His eyes.
In the Bible – Luke 15 – we find the story of “The Lost Son.” Many are familiar with it. If you’re not, take just a minute to read it right now. It’s a great passage, but it’s poorly named. Instead of “The Lost Son,” it should be called “The Loving Father,” because the focus of the story is not on the son who felt distant and unlovable – the focus is the Father who was waiting in anticipation and hope each day for His son to return to Him.
Don’t accept the lie that tells you God thinks you’re a lost cause. That’s not what we see here. The picture of God that He Himself gives us is of a Father who is beyond joyful to embrace the son who comes to Him, despite where or how far away it is he’s coming from (1 John 1:9).