Last week I began a series of posts on the Internet beginning with my first time surfing the net. I suggest reading that first post here before moving with this one.

It wasn’t until the turn of the century that I finally got full time Internet access at home. A year earlier I was baptized in Jesus name and filled with the Holy Spirit so as a new Christian convert I immediately felt the call to begin writing devotionals much like you are reading right now and do my part to fulfill Matthew 28:19 and spread the gospel to the ends of the earth. I eventually had over 600 readers via email and even started my own Web forum and chat for discussion with my readers. While all that was great, there was a closet struggle I was dealing with for a part of that time.

Mr. Page in his quote above may seem a bit terrifying to set aside an “island” to perform unregulated experiments related to technology but at least it would be in a safe, secure setting as opposed to using the general public as technology’s “guinea pig”. As I said in my previous post, advancements in technology rarely come with built-in safety limits.

Our desire for an “easier life” often leaves our morals defined as limitations to invention and as a result are left behind.

While at the science centre in 1995, experiencing the net the first time there were no filters placed on the computers. A friend sitting next to me decided to take advantage of this and head straight for the porn sites. Think about that for moment. A place like the science centre where children are encouraged to attend had unfiltered access to pornography.

The Internet won’t protect you or your loved ones from its vices by itself because in its nature it is an innovative evolving experiment that places scientific breakthroughs ahead of safety. This is the sole reason why it took celebrities getting their nude photos stolen for tech companies to wake up and change their security systems and policies. Furthermore, the business side of the Internet is designed to keep you on it to literally make money off of your web browsing habits which does not help those who are addicted to porn. The lack of safeguards or regulation of morals being put behind invention in that setting is what got me in trouble.

$300 is spent on pornography every second

Once the Internet found its way into my home, I found myself carving out time spent watching porn. It sounds crazy that I could be writing devotionals and watching that stuff in the same space but that’s exactly what sin does best. It takes what is meant to be righteous and finds a way to pervert it. You might wonder why I did not just approach the ministers or the pastor of my church for help. Personally, I found the preaching from the pulpit to be so hardcore that I felt like if I even mentioned I was struggling I’d get crucified with judgment and condemnation.

That is why I say to run from sex sin. No other sin affects the body as this one does. When you sin this sin it is against your own body.

1 Cor. 6:18

There’s a major reason why the Bible says to run from fornication ( The video below while science-based explains this further)

Essentially the more of this stuff you watch, the more it re-wires your brain and changes your thinking and becomes just as powerful as an illegal drug. The following is what makes “Internet” porn specifically unique:

(1) Internet porn offers extreme novelty; (2) Unlike food and drugs, there are almost no physical limitations to Internet porn consumption; (3) With Internet porn one can escalate both with more novel “partners” and by viewing new and unusual genres; (4) Unlike drugs and food, Internet porn doesn’t eventually activate the brain’s natural aversion system; and (5) The age users start watching porn. A teen’s brain is at its peak of dopamine production and neuroplasticity, making it highly vulnerable to addiction and rewiring.

This is the major reason why the Bible has such a strong warning against that behaviour. Even if you are not watching full-blown porn but are staring at half naked women, double tapping on Instagram, in a way you are practicing similar behaviour and even divorce. Remember that the root problem here is lust. So when “Mrs. Right” comes along you may very well not be able to love her the way you were meant to. If you’re wondering why the Internet allows porn to have such free reign, it goes back to what I said earlier about innovation being more important than morals. Innovation and invention cost money and what better way to supply that money in part via advertising a $4 billion dollar industry like pornography.

The solution to this problem is found at the end of the video and actually the confirms the scripture I quoted earlier. To break free from porn addiction you need to get as far away from it as possible. While I do encourage men who struggle with this to seek help as I did, at the end of the day it comes down to the same choice that Joseph made when faced with the decision to commit adultery with Potiphar’s wife.

7 One day at about this time Potiphar’s wife began making eyes at Joseph, and suggested that he come and sleep with her. 8 Joseph refused. “Look,” he told her, “my master trusts me with everything in the entire household; 9 he himself has no more authority here than I have! He has held back nothing from me except you yourself because you are his wife. How can I do such a wicked thing as this? It would be a great sin against God.”10 But she kept on with her suggestions day after day, even though he refused to listen, and kept out of her way as much as possible. 11 Then one day as he was in the house going about his work — as it happened, no one else was around at the time — 12 she came and grabbed him by the sleeve demanding, “Sleep with me.” He tore himself away, but as he did, his jacket slipped off and she was left holding it as he fled from the house.

Gen. 39: 7–12

While I was able to find someone who I could not only confide my struggles in but was able to help encouraging words, prayer and made me accountable for my actions, those things alone were are not what allowed me to overcome. It was the simple choice that I could no longer do this sin in the sight of God anymore and had to get as far away from it as possible, much like Joseph eventually fled.

You need to get yourself to a place where you can say “NO” when nobody is watching you.

It wasn’t about pleasing my Pastor, friends or anyone else because I could easily fool them. It was all about pleasing God who saw everything I was doing when I was by myself. At that moment, in being obedient to God he drew closer to me and gave me the strength that I did not have to overcome (James 4:8). The encouragement, prayers and fasting did help but at end of the day, the choice was always mine alone to stop. If you are expecting a quick 10 day fast solution to overcome it won’t necessarily work that way in of itself. You need to get yourself to a place where you can say “NO” when nobody is watching you.

Once that decision was made, practical measures had to be put in place to prevent me from falling back into addiction. I realized that in no longer watching porn I had to find things to do in place of that time I or else I would find myself back into the same mess. In response to this I did two things that were crucial.

1. I started experimenting with video production for my church which ate up that time I used to spend watching porn. In other words, I found time to do “Kingdom business” for the Lord instead of spending time in sin. The key here is to fill up your free time.

2. I began to limit my time on the computer, not being on it too late into the night to curb the temptation. I had to be honest with myself and not let pride make me think I was invincible to temptation (James 1:14).

Back in the day, a practical solution was to keep home computers in a central place in the home for everyone to see and not in private bedrooms but that doesn’t even matter anymore as the Internet can easily be accessed from smartphones and tablets. With the proliferation of apps like Instagram, Snapchat and Tinder, almost anyone can put their own immoral sexual content on display making temptation infinitely worse. No, it may not neessarily be porn but that’s often the initial doorway into porn addiction and the vices that come with it as seen in the video below:

I encourage churches to wake up! People who struggle with these things are trapped and and often won’t speak up on their own due to guilt and shame. I certainly found myself in that situation several times where I wanted to go to an altar during a church service for help but was too afraid and felt too much shame. I eventually was able to get help because a friend created an environment where I could be honest about my issues without the fear of condemnation.

Telling people to “confess at the altar is NOT enough”

I encourage churches to offer the same environment to get people to a place where they can freely confess their problems and eventually choose for themselves to take the strength from God that is available to them, overcome and assist in creating healthy habits to prevent relapses into addiction. This means that churches and parents alike need to have a basic understanding of how the Internet works. You cannot be lazy and ignorant as to how the Internet works and hope to keep people safe on it. To tell people to avoid it also makes no sense as the gospel is meant to be preached there. Which is why Satan utilizes web porn to keep people trapped who are meant to spread the truth and love of Christ online.

I implore parents who allow their children to spend time online, please take the time to understand what security measures are available to protect your children from what’s out there. That choice to protect yourself and your loved ones is yours alone.

For more resources on some of the things discussed in this post check out:

http://www.fightthenewdrug.org/

9 Things You Should Know About Pornography And The Brain