I’m on my way to Washington next week to speak at the End Exploitation Summit, and here’s why:
I hate pornography.
I hate how our kids are being informed by images that they can’t avoid in advertising, in games, in commercials, in music videos … and growing up to think THAT’s what sex is all about. I hate that. I hate that marriages are wrecked because of contamination and addictions. I hate, hate, hate that there are so many broken victims.
But although my hatred of porn seems justified, it often extends to the people involved. The pornographers. The men who view it. The women who make it.
And that makes me as impure as the porn I hate.
There is nothing to excuse an industry that feeds on arousal that destroys men, women, children, marriages … none. But there’s also no excuse for a lack of compassion for those who are so deluded as to believe that somehow they’re offering a helpful service, or that women aren’t really affected by making those movies, or that money is more important than goodness. As long as I have no compassion for those individuals, I am just as guilty as they.
Pornography is a pandemic and a deadly drug that can result in devastating addiction. It leads to more harms than we want to imagine. Those objectified by porn lose their sense of personhood. Those trafficked because of the inflamed desires porn feeds are cranked through a system that reduces them to ground meat.
But I don’t want to similarly “grind” the producers, the advertisers, the victims, any of them. I want them to be free. I want them to enjoy their families and the myriad joys of life along with vibrant sexual integrity and practice. I am not, in my heart of hearts, a hater.
But recovery is hard. These deep-seated delusions are difficult to overcome, and society has ignored them for a long time, getting comfortable like the frog in the pot. And there are good organizations working on that part. Which is why I fight from the other end of the problem … and so can you.
We must raise kids who steer clear of porn, starting by teaching them about good care of the heart. Using the Planned Purity® concept of the Five Doors, we can teach them how to guard their heart via their five senses. Starting simply, guarding their innocence, staying engaged and talking and teaching them how to handle the material they are exposed to will raise good kids; kids who love people, and hate porn.
It’s important that they can do both. My mom always said you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. As we learn true compassion, we can both guard ourselves from ugliness and lead others to seek goodness.And that’s what it’s about for me. I want to love people. I really do. And I want to fight evil. I want to do something about it. Now.
So that’s our challenge. We start from scratch and raise ‘em from the ground up. And when we’re beyond that point, we start with what we have and thank God for redemption. There is hope for every single one of us, no matter where we start.
Hate porn. Love people. A mantra for the day. :)
I hate pornography.
I hate how our kids are being informed by images that they can’t avoid in advertising, in games, in commercials, in music videos … and growing up to think THAT’s what sex is all about. I hate that. I hate that marriages are wrecked because of contamination and addictions. I hate, hate, hate that there are so many broken victims.
But although my hatred of porn seems justified, it often extends to the people involved. The pornographers. The men who view it. The women who make it.
And that makes me as impure as the porn I hate.
There is nothing to excuse an industry that feeds on arousal that destroys men, women, children, marriages … none. But there’s also no excuse for a lack of compassion for those who are so deluded as to believe that somehow they’re offering a helpful service, or that women aren’t really affected by making those movies, or that money is more important than goodness. As long as I have no compassion for those individuals, I am just as guilty as they.
Pornography is a pandemic and a deadly drug that can result in devastating addiction. It leads to more harms than we want to imagine. Those objectified by porn lose their sense of personhood. Those trafficked because of the inflamed desires porn feeds are cranked through a system that reduces them to ground meat.
But I don’t want to similarly “grind” the producers, the advertisers, the victims, any of them. I want them to be free. I want them to enjoy their families and the myriad joys of life along with vibrant sexual integrity and practice. I am not, in my heart of hearts, a hater.
But recovery is hard. These deep-seated delusions are difficult to overcome, and society has ignored them for a long time, getting comfortable like the frog in the pot. And there are good organizations working on that part. Which is why I fight from the other end of the problem … and so can you.
We must raise kids who steer clear of porn, starting by teaching them about good care of the heart. Using the Planned Purity® concept of the Five Doors, we can teach them how to guard their heart via their five senses. Starting simply, guarding their innocence, staying engaged and talking and teaching them how to handle the material they are exposed to will raise good kids; kids who love people, and hate porn.
It’s important that they can do both. My mom always said you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. As we learn true compassion, we can both guard ourselves from ugliness and lead others to seek goodness.And that’s what it’s about for me. I want to love people. I really do. And I want to fight evil. I want to do something about it. Now.
So that’s our challenge. We start from scratch and raise ‘em from the ground up. And when we’re beyond that point, we start with what we have and thank God for redemption. There is hope for every single one of us, no matter where we start.
Hate porn. Love people. A mantra for the day. :)
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