There are over 143 million orphans. And you know one of the biggest factors that keeps orphans from finding a home? Money. And you know how much the porn industry makes in one year? 14 BILLION dollars a year.
That is a lot of money.
Studies have proven that pornography is the cause or one of the reasons for 70% of marriages ending in divorce.
America wastes 14 billion dollars a year on something that kills marriages, ruins lives, and makes Satan smile. All the while, we could be using that money to end poverty, to help orphans find a home.
This whole thing is close to my heart. If you don’t know already, on December 27 of 2006 I found web sites in my computer’s history, from there I learned all of my husband’s secrets. I’m not alone. This happens so much it’s unbelievable, or is it? Sadly, it’s too believable now. Especially considering that 40 million U.S. adults visit pornography sites regularly.
It’s BIG. It’s there. It’s not going away.
Why?
Because we’re not doing anything about it.
Men, you’re hiding. You don’t tell your wives. You don’t tell anyone because you are afraid. Or maybe you’re “not ready” to give it up. Maybe you are justifying your actions. You don’t think you’re doing anything wrong. Those provocative commercials you watch, no big deal, right?
Women, you’re seeking revenge, you’re acting out in anger. I’ve been there. I know the process. I know how it feels to find out your husband has been looking at sexual images and videos for years and years, even while you were married. It’s easy to cheat, to do things to make him “feel the pain.” It’s easy to yell in his face, threaten to divorce him, curl up on the other side of the bed shoving his hand away. I know. But it’s not helping anything. It’s making it worse.
We need to do something. We need to step out and TALK about this stuff. We can’t keep hiding. We can’t expect people to think we’re perfect. We need to open up and make others aware of the devastation pornography causes. We need to stop being self-centered, step out of ourselves, and see this for what it really is. It’s not easy for me to put my emotions aside, but when I do, when I look at everything without my self-focused lense, I want to stop sitting around sulking or thinking about how much George’s sin hurt me, and DO something to help this business come to an end.
Maybe the biggest problem is that we don’t believe God can do it. We don’t believe the pornography industry can end, so we give up praying or helping or opening up about our own struggles with lust or healing.
Maybe another problem is our lack of love. We need to love porn stars and those who produce it. Not love what they are doing or what they contribute to, but love them. We need to stop spitting in their face, throwing stones at them, breaking them to pieces. They are already broken. That’s why they are there!
Women in the business are lacking lots of things — most of all, Jesus — and they fill the void with pornography. Then, years later when they try to get away because they are strangled by shame and guilt, they can’t. The images, the videos are forever in the world for anyone to see. No one wants to marry them or date them when they find out. They lose respect and it’s nearly impossible to gain it back.
We need to do something. This is serious. It KILLS marriages. Believe me, it’s not easy to get over it when it’s all out in the open. But it’s possible with Christ. I still wonder if my husband thinks about that stuff, I still have images pop up in my head, I still wonder if he compares me or if random images of women flash in his brain. But we’re here, we’re healing, we’re forgiven and forgiving and loving through Christ.
It is possible to break free from the snare of pornography. It is possible to be honest with your wife and to stop watching certain television channels or movies or things that spurn on your lustful thoughts. It’s possible. And it’s possible, as a wife, to get through it, to love your husband even more than you loved him before you found out. I’ve never loved George more than I do now.
It’s possible to stop letting pornography ruin marriages and lives. It’s possible to decrease the money spent on it and help a child find a home. IT IS POSSIBLE WITH CHRIST.
We need to reach out. We need to stop standing still. Or it will only get worse. Divorce rates will go up. Sex will sell more and more stuff. Modesty will go down the drain. More girls will be insecure and apt to get into the industry. More men will become addicted. More children will become addicted. But we can stop the cycle if we open up about our own stories.
We can start now. Open up. Do something about it.
Also, there’s an awesome ministry called XXXchurch and you can donate to the Esther Fund (click on the name to donate) to help them minister to people seeking or close to seeking an exit from the pornography industry.
