garychester.org blog 12/18/08
Here's a response from a close friend about how to get beyond the memories and images of torment that I talked about in my 12/4/08 blog (READ BLOG). A key is to redirect thoughts, just as you redirect TV channels.
Here is what my friend wrote to me:
I, myself, have overcome it to a great degree (maybe 98%) but still hellish, revolting, tormenting, and bad memories come back to me. Things so bad that I swore to God I would never tell another human being. I now have a clean, clear mind and sometimes the mind of Christ. For months at a time, I can be free; then from out of nowhere, memories blast in from the past. What I do when that happens is that I imagine the whipping scene from the Passion of the Christ movie. I try to imagine what it would have been like if I had been standing right there. I think of how humbling it is to know how much he suffered for my sin. Then within seconds, the wave of evil passes and may not return for months.
If I look at porn, it will stay in my mind for several days. It is impossible not to think about it. The male sexual urge is so strong. God made us that way on purpose, so the human race can survive. But when used for evil (porn), it becomes a curse and a torment. Trying to get rid of it is like trying to get rid of a bad scar on your face. Even if you cover it up with plastic surgery, you know that just under a thin layer of skin, it's still there.
My friend's experience just reminds me what a great threat porn is to the intimacy and happiness of our marriages. Guys, we cannot underestimate its power to destroy our relationships with our wives and our families. When you're tormented by it, please take this risk: Consider getting regularly with a trusted, mature brother in Christ to confess your struggle in order to get victory (James 5:16).
Comments