If I’m going to be completely frank and honest with you, I have to admit that I love sex, especially now that I’m in a covenant with the Lord and married to the woman that he created me to find! (Proverbs 18:22)  As a person who is of a more mature age, I understand that just because you love something doesn’t mean that you need to have the spirit of gluttony or disobedience when it comes to your actions. (Matthew 5:27 – 28)

Society as a whole (including but not limited to the media, social media, peer groups and unwritten truths/norms) has taken the pleasurable procreation process meant for husbands and wives, and turned it into something that is a cause for shame, ridicule and embarrassment. It is my honest belief that so many Christian marriages end in divorce (at a higher rate than those in the world), because the sex is boring and predictable.

What does any of this have to do with understanding the triggers of porn addiction? The answer is simple: to understand the fruit of a thing you must first examine the root of a thing.

Everywhere you turn, you see sex. If you flip on the TV, head to the gym for a workout, or even do something as innocent as standing in the checkout at all of your local grocery store, you’re bombarded with images of scantily clad people intimating sexuality. It’s getting to a point where you can even pick up your phone without some kind of sexual stimulant being thrust in your face (no pun intended).

This world really stacks the deck against someone who is a porn addict. The more I walk with Christ, the more I realize the world is not going to conform to meet our spiritual beliefs. What we must come to comprehend is that our spiritual walk must line up not only with our beliefs, but with our determination to destroy the enemy and all of his temptations (Matthew 4:1 – 11).

For some people, a trip to a professional sporting event, complete with scantily clad cheerleaders could be their porn trigger. For others, it could be the picture of a hot looking person on Instagram. The best thing the one could do for themselves if they are a struggling porn addict, is to do a serious (honest) self-assessment about what happens right before they choose to indulge in their addiction. Once you know what sets you off, you can take steps to remove it (or at least minimize your exposure to it). If it’s the internet, I strongly recommend our accountability software. If it’s something else, I suggest getting an accountability partner, who can help you ween your way off of your addiction triggers.

For those of you who are in the struggle with someone who is addicted to porn, you must understand that the main thing you can do is be supportive. You can’t try to turn the addict into a monk and isolate them from the real world. You can be a listening ear, shoulder to cry on, and a coach to help them get back into the game of life. Make sure that whatever you do, you consult the word of God, not only to help the addict, but to get clarity on your mission to aid in the recovery process.