1 out of 3 visits to adult sites is from a woman

Did you know...

"America has become the world's largest producer and consumer of pornography, over $12 Billion annually."[1] and “More revenue is generated through porn than through all professional sports combined.”[2] 

“90% of 8-16 year olds have viewed it online.” [3]

Nearly half of young adult women today believe viewing pornography is acceptable behavior.

Nearly a third of young adult women intentionally use pornography from time to time, and about 1 in 5 women do it habitually—every week.

According to a survey of more than 11,000 college-age women, more than half said they were exposed to sexually explicit material by the age of 14. For some girls, these exposures to pornography are not just brief brushes with sexually explicit pictures—a pop up here, a link there. On at least one occasion, about 1 in 4 girls sit down to watch Internet pornography for at least a half-hour straight.

One in 13 girls aged 14-to-20, who participated in a recent study from Boston University’s School of Public Health said they have engaged in “Multi-Person Sex”.  And porn use makes teen girls five times more likely to have group sex.

“This has led, not only to personal shame, but it has also led to massive sexual addiction. This means that, try though they may, victims simply can't stop. Many addicts follow the addiction cycle of pain buildup which leads to acting out followed by shame, guilt and deeper loneliness, isolation and more pain which then starts the cycle all over again.”[4]

So what’s the problem? Besides robbing us of intimacy with God, is there other effects?

There are a ton of psychological, neurological, social and spiritual effects of porn. Neurologically speaking when there is an overuse of dopamine it causes addiction and causes less and less amounts of dopamine are available and the cells start to atrophy. This causes the person to feel like they have to view porn in order just to feel normal, in order to have a normal amount of dopamine. This also creates the neurological feeling of need to increase the amount of pornography and have more shocking images in order to have the same level of dopamine. It is a downward spiral than never says stop.

"A frequent side effect is that it also dramatically reduces their capacity to love (e.g., it results in a marked dissociation of sex from friendship, affection, caring, and other normal healthy emotions and traits which help marital relationships). Their sexual side becomes in a sense dehumanized. Many of them develop an “alien ego state” (or dark side), whose core is antisocial lust devoid of most values.

In time, the “high” obtained from masturbating to pornography becomes more important than real life relationships. . . .

The process of masturbatory conditioning is inexorable and does not spontaneously remiss. The course of this illness may be slow and is nearly always hidden from view. It is usually a secret part of a person’s life, and like a cancer, it keeps growing and spreading. It rarely ever reverses itself, and it is also very difficult to treat and heal. Denial on the part of the addict and refusal to confront the problem are typical and predictable, and this almost always leads to marital or couple disharmony, divorce and sometimes the breaking up of other intimate relationships." 
Dr. Victor Cline, in his essay, “Pornography’s Effects on Adult and Child,” 

So what do we do?
If you don't struggle with porn:
Recognize there are people close to you that probably do and they need someone they can trust and help them walk through it. They need a safe friend that will offer grace and truth. A friend that will pray with and for them. A friend that will love and accept them no matter what yet will help them take the next step.

If you do struggle with porn:
* If you have submit your life to Christ and let Him forgive you (because you've recognized you can't live up to the standard of perfection He requires. But understood that Jesus did and made a way for you to stand right before the Father) then you are forgiven, everything past, everything present and everything future. The Father sees you through the perfection of Jesus. He loves you. He accepts you and nothing you can do can change His mind about you. Having a firm grasp of your identity if Christ will draw you closer to Him allowing for Him to continue to make you more and more like Him from the inside out. 

* Bring it into the light. Unhealthy things grow in the dark. Realize you are not alone and there are people in your life who want to help you through this. “Confess your sin to one another that you may be healed.” When we are honest about who we are and what we are struggling with other believers and tell them, we see they love and accept us no matter what and it brings healing. It brings healing because it allows for someone to come along side you and put their arm around you and help you through it. It is satan’s lie that people will hate you if they knew. The truth is that their are people in your life who want to love, accept and help you. And statistically, many many others are right there with you. 

* Don't believe lies. Here's a couple common ones. 
"It's not hurting anyone". It's hurting you, it's hurting your relationships and it's hurting other people all over the world since your contributing to the biggest export in this country. 

"No one knows or will find out." But Jesus warned His disciples and us “there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.” Luke 12:2-3 Satan wants you to think no one will know because things decay in darkness and he wants to destroy your life.

* Think of what's to come in heaven. John Piper says, “The fire of lust’s pleasures must be fought with the fire of God’s pleasures. If we try to fight the fire of lust with prohibitions and threats alone-even the terrible warnings of Jesus we will fail. We must fight it with a massive promise of superior happiness. We must swallow up the little flicker of lust’s pleasure in the conflagration of holy satisfaction.”

*Check out some of these resources:
CovenantEyes.com 
Bravehearts.net
DirtyGirlsMinistries.com
X3pure.com
Beggarsdaughter.com

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[1] Leahy, author of Porn Nation
[2] Don Williams
[3] Meghan Daum, in her recent L.A. Times op-ed column, "Porn's Lost Sex Appeal,"(Sat., Oct 20, 2007)
[4] Don Williams

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