How’d you find this article?
Statistically, there’s a 25% chance you were looking for porn. And even if you weren’t searching for porn now, there’s a 40% chance you looked for and viewed porn at some point this week. If you’re a man between the ages of 18 and 34, the biggest demographic I speak to, that jumps to 70%. Pastors, you’re not off the hook either: 33% of you admit to visiting pornographic websites.
And the problem isn’t just one for the guys either. According to a 2009 poll by Christianity Today, a full third of women admitted to intentionally accessing Internet porn and one in six women admit to “struggling with an addiction to pornography.”
The statistics tell the story: porn is a big problem. So much so that Dr. Jill C. Manning, an expert on pornography and sexual disorder, states, “Several years ago, I would have considered myself complacent if not downright indifferent about the issue of pornography. Today, I feel an urgency about this issue that often surprises me. As a North American woman and mother, I have a deep, foreboding sense of concern over the impact of pornography is having on women, men, and children.”
The cost of porn
It’s no secret that the Internet is the fuel for the raging fire of porn use. As Covenant Eyes reports, “There are at least 40,634 websites that distribute pornographic material on the internet. About 11% of all internet visits are to one of these sites. About 14% of the online population in America visits these sites (17 million Americans), spending an average of 6.5 minutes per visit. About 80% to 90% of these people only access free pornographic material.”
But while the majority of searches for porn are for “free porn,” it should come as no surprise that there is no such thing as free porn. Rather, the cost of porn addiction is high—both in terms of money spent and in the emotional, spiritual and relational costs.
In terms of money, porn is a $10 to $14 billion dollar industry. This makes is a bigger business than professional football, basketball and baseball—combined.
Even worse is the cost of pornography on our relationships and kids. According to the London School of Economics, 90 percent of children between the ages of 8 and 16 have viewed pornography on the Internet, in most cases unintentionally. Furthermore, according to an April 2006 report in Pediatrics, the average age of first Internet exposure to porn is 11 years old and the largest consumer of Internet porn is 12 to 17 year-old boys.
Perhaps the saddest stat of all is youth with significant exposure to sexuality in the media were shown to be significantly more likely to have had sex at ages 14 to 16.
Practically, I’ve consoled many men and women who are dealing with porn addiction. Some the saddest (and most enraging) stories of failed marriages and broken families have come from these situations where people are enslaved to sexual images.
Additionally, those addicted to pornography or who even view it casually are enslaved to the god of sex, exchanging “the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man,” as Paul indicates in Romans 1:23. In doing so, they are shipwrecking their faith and missing out on or destroying the healthy and beautiful gift of sex that God gave to be enjoyed in the context of a Jesus-centered and God-glorifying marriage.
So, again, there is no such thing as free porn. The cost to you and your family, even your future one, is extremely high.
The good news
The good news is that as Christians, we don’t have to be enslaved to sex and pornography. As Paul writes, “Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:18–20).
Are you struggling with porn? You can find freedom from porn through the work of Jesus on the cross and by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. But it takes admitting you have a problem, repenting and practically, getting some help from godly friends and family. If you are struggling, I encourage you to get real with yourself and your spouse for the good of your marriage and your soul. Do not continue to live with the stress that you may get caught. Instead of getting caught, just come clean.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
FEATURED GUEST: Mark Driscoll
Pastor Mark Driscoll is the founding pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington and is one of the world’s most-downloaded and quoted pastors. His audience—fans and critics alike—spans the theological and cultural left and right. He was also named one of the “25 Most Influential Pastors of the Past 25 Years” by Preaching magazine, and his sermons are consistently #1 on iTunes each week for Religion & Spirituality with over 10 million of downloads each year.
