SUNDAY SERMON: Dealing with pornography addiction
What you need to know:
- If I had to give any special warning today, I would insist on this. Do not despair.
- But don’t be foolish either. Beware of false prophets who will suggest that there’s nothing wrong with pornography.
- It is addictive, and it will destroy you if you do nothing to escape the addiction.
- It’s not enough to trust that Jesus will cure you—cure you in the sense of forgiving your sins.
- You have to push pornography out of your life once and for all. Make whatever sacrifices you have to make and get it rid of completely.
Pornography is a plague for three reasons. First, because it is highly contagious. Second, because it seems to be everywhere. Third, because it leaves behind a trail of death and destruction.
If you have become infected with this plague, do not despair. Jesus has the power to overcome all evil. He has the power to overcome any kind of impurity.
Remember the leper who knelt before Jesus and said, “Lord, if you want, you can make me clean.”
Jesus was filled with compassion. He did not run away. He did not get angry. He did not push the man into the ditch. He did not turn around a give a lecture to everyone about the evils of leprosy. Perhaps, most important, Jesus showed no fear whatsoever. Stop and remember how fearful others were in those days. A leper had to carry a bell and ring it as he walked along so people could keep their distance. Far from keeping a distance, Jesus went up to the man and laid his hands on the leper—the one who was kneeling and pleading, “If you want, you can make me clean.”
Jesus uses his almighty power as Son of God to cleanse the leper. St Matthew, who witnessed the miracle, wrote: “And his leprosy was cured at once.”
SPECIAL WARNING
If I had to give any special warning today, I would insist on this. Do not despair. But don’t be foolish either. Beware of false prophets who will suggest that there’s nothing wrong with pornography.
It is addictive, and it will destroy you if you do nothing to escape the addiction. It’s not enough to trust that Jesus will cure you—cure you in the sense of forgiving your sins. You have to push pornography out of your life once and for all. Make whatever sacrifices you have to make and get it rid of completely.
This is what Jesus meant when he said, “I say this to you: if a man looks at a woman lustfully, he has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away; for it will do you less harm to lose one part of yourself than to have your whole body thrown into hell.”
Then remember the good part. Human sexuality is good. God created it. Precisely because sex within marriage is a good thing, ask Jesus to cleanse your heart. m You need purity so that you are ready for love within marriage. As Jesus promised: “Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God.” You and your spouse will have a sense that God can join you together as husband and wife in holy matrimony.