Five Things I Want The Christian Woman To Know…

As mentioned in my introductory post, this blog is the partial answer to an earnest prayer one wintry morning of 2013. Likewise,  I began praying in January 2014 ‘God, give me a ministry effort to be involved in…’

Folks, be careful what you pray for! Because I am here to tell you… GOD WILL ANSWER. And in a very concrete way! This last Spring, out of the blue on a sunny Saturday afternoon, I received HIS answer and subsequently two weeks later attended the National Summit Against Sexual Exploitation in DC with virtually a complete stranger! (But that’s another story.) What I learned shook me to my core and now my mission is unrelenting… CHRISTIAN WOMEN must be the ones cracking the door wide open for Christians to start discussing the harmful effects of pornography and pornography addiction. I pray you are equally disturbed by my findings and will join me in my mission.

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1) The question is not IF your child has seen pornography. But ‘How much and what kind?’

The sad, sobering TRUTH is…

• 90% of teenagers have viewed porn.
• Nearly 80% of unwanted exposure to pornography is taking place in the home with the average age being 11.
• 37% of ALL internet content is pornographic.

In March of 2014, the World Wide Web turned twenty-five years old. Think about it? Since the birth of the web twenty-five years ago, a pornography consumer no longer has to suffer the humiliation of physically going to a brick-and-mortar establishment to make his or her purchase from a real-live human being. Due to the ‘Net,’ he or she now has access to pornography 24/7 in the privacy of their homes for FREE.

We are living in the midst of an unprecedented uptick of more shocking and hardcore pornographic material being produced and consumed than EVER before. And society is only beginning to experience the devastating repercussions of the porn addict’s ‘unchecked,’ decades’ old, free access to his or her drug of choice. Just like a six-pack can no longer satisfy a drunk, yesteryear’s pornography can no longer satisfy today’s porn addict.

“Pornography is getting more violent and more deviant. When a young child or teen finds pornography online, he/she will find images that are more disgusting, shocking, and hardcore than EVER before.” ~ Russ Warner of Content-Watch

Hardcore pornography includes gagging, hog-tying, choking, gang-rapes, etc.. This is NOT over-dramatizing. Whether exposure is accidental or intentional, with just the click of a mouse, our children are being exposed to this monstrous evil.

2) It is no longer the twenty-something-year-old-girl that pornography users are SEARCHING for, it is your pre-pubescent daughter.

It is no secret, sex trafficking is rampant, world-wide! Cultures lacking a basic ‘right-and-wrong,’ moral compass are experiencing sex trafficking at pandemic levels as evidenced in recent news! But western culture is showing signs of a pedophilic drift, as well. The most popular category of porn searches made online today by a very WIDE margin are youth related terms. Terms such as teen porn, jail bait, barely legal, etc..

Did you know…

• A landmark Free Speech case in 2002 defined child pornography as “only acts involving children” but not involving images made ‘to look’ like children.
• Facebook is a leading contributor to the trade of child pornography and sex trafficking.

My  intent is not to scare you. But I have been naive. We all have been naive. For our children’s sake, we can no longer keep our heads in the sand. The ANONYMITY of the internet has unleashed the beast of anti-social behavior on western society as never seen before in our lifetimes.

“We can no longer assume the only people who would stoop to prey on children are unemployed drifters.” James T. Hayes Jr. ~ Homeland Security

The porn industry educates and drives consumers to demand product. The addict’s increasingly insatiable appetite for more shocking images has created a DEMAND for the ‘real deal’ – our young children. We must take a stance and fight against the evil that is present and growing! Child pornography and sex trafficking is a REAL and growing problem.

3) Statistics don’t lie!!!! An overwhelming majority of CHRISTIAN men are accessing and using porn.

• 5 out of 10 men in church are struggling with pornography.
• 54% of pastors say they have viewed porn within the last year.
• 56% of divorce cases had one person who was hooked on porn.

The devil is so crafty in how he tempts each one of us. The reason sexual sin is so prevalent among Christians is because it is regarded as so shameful. The devil knows this and uses guilt and the fear of exposure to keep Christians with pornography addictions from coming forward; enslaving many to a lifetime of bondage and secrecy including many of our loved ones!

Scientists agree the human brain doesn’t fully develop until around the age of 25. As a result, young people develop addictions at a much higher rate and since MOST addictions begin before the brain is fully developed, the porn industry targets our children in an attempt to develop life-long consumers. Our churches are filled with men, and women, suffering in silence from sexual issues they possibly developed or had very little control over as children.

The worst thing we can do is assume this couldn’t happen to us: our spouses, our children, etc.. An attitude of dismissal is costing us our families, our communities, and most importantly; our children’s precious innocence

4) It is no longer just a ‘Guy’ problem, GIRLS are equally exposed to it and developing addictions at an alarming rate.

• Nearly half of young adult women today believe viewing pornography is acceptable behavior.
• More than 11,000 college-age women surveyed said they were exposed to sexually explicit material by the age of 14.
• 34% of church going women said they have intentionally visited porn sites online.

The lines between pornography and pop-culture have become amazingly blurred. Our daughters have grown up in the ‘wardrobe malfunction,’ Fifty Shades of Grey, Kardashian/Hilton (by way of sex-tape) fame world. The word, ‘porn,’ itself has become so dangerously prevalent as a harmless catch-phrase, Pinterest boards are callously being named shoe porn, decor porn, etc.. Even if a girl has been lucky enough to have escaped such innocuous influence, the FACT still remains: Seventy percent of 18-24 year old men visit porn sites in a typical month. And we think this isn’t influencing our girls!?

The Greek translation for the word pornography is ‘sexually immoral.’ A typical pornography problem often starts with an innocent curiosity about something seen or heard. When we understand pornography includes ALL depictions meant to invite a sexual interpretation and incite sexual feelings, then we see ‘mainstream’ media choices as actually working as ‘gateway’ drugs to more secret, addictive forms of pornography.

Pornography objectifies people! Do we want our children regarding pornography as the gold standard for relationships, sex, or intimacy?

“Lurking behind every screen in your home is a portal of devastating potential.” ~ Craig Gross.

We must be vigilant in our homes. NOTHING good can come from pornography. What the EYE SEES, eventually leads to what the mind wants! Further, the more pornography becomes NORMALIZED in our society, the more young women will be targeted as objects to be despised, violated, or even killed as evidenced by this recent news story:

theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/may/24/elliot-rodgers-california-shooting-mental-health-misogyny.

5) The ENEMY is not your spouse, your parents, your religious leader, political leaders, or anyone else who has ever hurt or disappointed you.

Believe it or not, it’s not even the pornographer. It is the devil! And ‘the thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy.’ (John 10:10) He wants us to fight amongst ourselves so that we are distracted. If we want to fight this enemy, we MUST unite in purpose!

As Christ followers, we have to START by extending God’s amazing grace to others (as well as ourselves) in order to ignite such life-giving change. ‘For ALL have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.’ (Rom. 3:23) Further, we must remove the ‘taboo’ from talking about pornography and the stigma attached to those affected. Courage multiplies. Healing multiplies. CHANGE multiplies. Awareness is the doorway to action. For me, it is the CALL to action.

“Redeemed WOMEN OF GOD have tender, merciful hearts; backbones of steel; And hands that have been trained for battle.” ~ Stasi Eldridge 

Listed below are just a few really great organizations already in the trenches…

PornHarms.com
Join1MillionMen.org
FightTheNewDrug.org
CovenantEyes.com
PurityWorks.com
PornProofKids.com
WomenForDecency.org
Enough.org
XXXChurch.com
DirtyGirlsMinistries.com
ShesSomebodysDaughter.org

For the reader’s ease, I’ve eliminated footnotes. If you would like to receive an unabridged copy of this post, please email at contact@ameaningfuljourney.com

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