This statement really doesn’t surprise me, simply because porn in and of itself is a risky situation. You can risk your romantic relationship, you can risk your mental health (by developing a sexual addiction), and most importantly, you’re risking your spirit by putting distance between you and the Creator.
I don’t want you to think that if you’re in a good marriage, that you shouldn’t have a healthy, active, vital sex life. Sex is one of the most important factors in having and maintaining a successful marriage. On the contrary, one of the worst things you could ever do in a marriage is let someone (or something) else get between you and your loving spouse. Porn is one of the enemy’s greatest weapons and destroying marriages.
Let’s take a look at the statistics:
According to a recent study, one out of four divorces in America had something to do with Internet pornography.
41% of women in America have searched out or download erotic materials. In addition 13% have watched or even taken part in a live sex webcam chat.
It’s not just affecting husbands and wives, but because the mainstream media treats porn as just some kind of “fun activity”, 65% of 16 and 17-year-old boys and 46% of 16 and 17-year-old girls admit that they have friends who regularly download pornography.
As far as I’m concerned, it doesn’t get much riskier than that.
In a lot of ways, porn and its addictive nature have become the proverbial toothpaste that can’t be put back into the tube. If porn stars are doing all kinds of aerobatic tricks that you can only see in the circus, how can someone’s spouse compete with that? If their bodies are virtually perfect, but your spouse gained a little weight, do they stand a chance of getting you as aroused as that pornography does? You already know the answer.
Having worked with plenty of addicts through my counseling ministry, I hear one reoccurring theme:
At first, it starts off with small views of regular porn, but after a while, that’s no longer satisfying. Before long, the addict moves into threesome porn. From there, it’s usually orgy-style porn, or worse yet, violent porn or S&M. The more you watch porn, the more of a tolerance you build for the shock or satisfaction that it gives you, which means that you have to always up the ante. This can lead to a breakdown in communication with your partner. This can also lead to clinical depression and even problems at work.
My best advice to you if you’re wrestling with a porn addiction is to talk to someone. It can be a pastor, a close friend, or your spouse, but you have to get a handle on this before you do irreparable damage to your life.
As I’m writing this for compelled to tell you that for many years, I was addicted to porn. As an entertainer, there’s not much that is off-limits to you. While I was in the entertainment community, I did just about any and everything I wanted, so life was like my playground. But once you’ve been on all the rides, and seen all the amusements, you get bored. You begin to feel unfulfilled. Porn was one of those things that I used as a coping mechanism to deal with the fact that I felt empty in my spirit. I’m not a big believer in people telling you what you shouldn’t do if they’ve never gone through any hardships. I understand porn addiction because I lived it. I also understand porn addiction because I beat it through hard work, determination and my relationship with Jesus Christ. I’m no better than you, so I know that if you’re going through porn addiction to possible for you to defeat it.
This website is an excellent resource to use in your battle against porn addiction. Look around read some more articles and feel free to leave a comment. We’re here for you and I’m honored to be able to share my testimony and experience with you. The only risk I want you to take, is the risk of being honest with yourself. You’ll find out that the reward is much greater than that small risk.
I wish you all the success in the world.