Overcoming A Porn Addiction

I’m writing this post to share my personal experience with pornography. Jesus says to the Samaritan woman in John 4: 13

“Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again.”

Pornography was the substance I constantly consumed and needed more of each time. It was an idol available to me at all times which I could go to when I was stressed out or just needed a boost in my day. I had no way of knowing that it would turn my world upside down.

For my whole existence I have struggled with searching for satisfaction in my life. I looked to drugs, alcohol, and lawlessness to fill this. All of these seemed to have detrimental effects on my life except for pornography.

I was first exposed to pornographic material while I was in elementary school. I remember coming across a few Playboy magazines and saw hundreds of beautiful women with bodies that seemed out of this world. This encounter shaped how I would view females for the next decade of my life. I was constantly seeking porn online during my free time and fantasizing about it during the day. Sex was on my mind 24/7.

My life was changed the summer after freshman year of college. My porn habit had escalated to an area of no return. I had downloaded every hookup app and was even starting to search on craigslist, meeting random women to fuel my hunger for sexual promiscuity. I had been engaging in sexual activities via webcam as well and I was viewing the most explicit pornography content available. I knew this was very destructive and tried countless times to stop, but this addiction had taken over my life.

Be sure your sin will find you out- Numbers 32:23

I was participating in an “inappropriate” activity online with a person I thought was a woman that I had met online. I soon came to realize after a few minutes, that this person was not whom they said they were. This person had recorded what I was doing, and played it back to me so I could see it. They threatened to upload that video online and send it to everyone I knew unless I sent them $500. I was so embarrassed and quickly went to get my wallet but soon realized, what would stop them from coming back and demanding more money?

At that point, I immediately knew I was trapped. I sat in the darkness of my room, reflecting on my life and how every action I had sowed led me to this moment. I thought about how this would be the last day of my life, and how this addiction had dictated the way I had lived for most of my life. I had never believed in a God, but in that moment I just so badly needed a higher being to watch over and protect me. I said countless prayers to a God that I hoped was listening to save me from ending my life, and that I would dedicate the rest of my life to him if he could get me out of that dark place. I now know that’s really not how Christianity works but I knew that I needed help to turn my life around.

Fast forward a month later; I never heard from the person again and I ended up joining a wonderful Christian organization at my school called Intervarsity. For so much of my life, I felt so sorry for Christians. I always thought about how terrible it is to worship a God who limits you in so many areas of your life and tells you stuff you’re not allowed to do. I was so wrong. God sets us free from the chains that we are bound to and releases us from being slaves to the wicked masters that we are serving.

Ways to conquer your porn addiction:

Acknowledgement – Confess your addiction to the lord.

“He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion.” – Proverbs 28:13

Social Circle- Have a few good friends who you can talk to about your struggles with porn and who will encourage you to destroy this addiction. It’ll be so much tougher to overcome your addiction if you only have friends who watch and joke about their porn habit.

“Bad company corrupts good character.” – 1 Corinthians 15:33

Constantly surround yourself with people – It is nearly impossible to watch porn with other people around. The biggest temptations to watch porn arise when you’re in your room by yourself. Find some fun activities to do with friends.

“It is not good for man to be alone.” – Genesis 2:18

Study the word of God- God doesn’t hate sex; He loves it! He is the one who created it after all. God hates seeing the abuse of sex. Sex is meant to be under the confines of a marriage and is the act of two people joining together as one flesh under God.