Click here to listen to the radio version.
Click here to search the AOG archives.
Apples of Gold
Radio Script for November 8, 2010
“Pornography Numbs Your Conscience”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
“That my daughters would marry young men who will walk with God, who will love them very much, and who are not poisoned by pornography.”
That was my prayer request after reading Mark 11:24 where Jesus said, “Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”
Jesus said several things like that in the Bible, and when I come across them I usually stop and ask, “If I could have any prayer answered right now, what would it be?”
And when I read that today, this was my prayer: “that my daughters would marry young men who will walk with God, who will love them very much, and who are not poisoned by pornography.”
That last bit may strike you as odd, as if I should have more important things to ask for in future son-in-laws, such as a great education or a wealthy family.
But my eyes were really opened to the pervasiveness and the poisonousness of pornography as I reviewed two new books last week. As I read both the stories and the scientific studies I thought, “Wait a minute. What happens if one of my daughters marries a guy who has a problem with pornography?”
Yes, they are likely to marry Christian young men who are active in church, but according to these books, that is no guarantee that they aren’t using pornography.
Craig Gross, in his new book “Eyes of Integrity,” said pornography is a 57 billion dollar a year industry, which is more than professional football, baseball and basketball combined. Fifty-seven billion dollars – and that doesn’t include all the free pornography being passed around through websites, e-mails, cell phones and flash drives. The influence of pornography is so pervasive that Gross said we now live in a “pornified world.”
Then he went on to describe what he calls the “pornified church.” He cited several studies that show that even though Christians, especially pastors, tend to condemn pornography, they often end up using it themselves, even to the point of addiction and the destruction of their ministries.
He talked about the case of pastor Ted Haggard, and how it appeared that before his public downfall, he was using pornography. Gross said, “Ted Haggard is human and makes mistakes just like the rest of us. But I would guess that, long before his public fall, his conscience had been numbed through porn and this provided the perfect breeding ground for the chaos that ensued.”
One particular part of that quote stood out to me: “his conscience had been numbed through porn.” That’s the way pornography can work. The more you use it, the more it numbs your conscience.
A numb conscience is not a good thing to have, not for any Christian, and especially not for Christian leaders. And yet I believe what Gross said, that pornography can numb your conscience.
Do I want my daughters to marry young men with a numb conscience? Do I want a man with a numb conscience to raise my grandchildren? I certainly do not. And that’s why I’m making it a matter of prayer.
Now I’m thinking of the children’s song, “Oh be careful little eyes what you see.” That’s never been more relevant than today with such easy access to even the most despicable pornography.
One good thing is that our nation still considers child pornography a crime. It all used to be a crime, if you can imagine that. But now only what we call the worst, the porn involving children, will get you arrested.
Now that is the lowest of the low, right? We should arrest people who get their jollies from the exploitation and molestation of children.
They are arrested and publicly humiliated, but guess what? They do it anyway. It shows up in the paper all the time. Here in Tallahassee a local college baseball pitcher was just arrested on child porn charges. So even though it’s despicable, illegal and brings public shame, people do it anyway.
Why? I go back to what Craig Gross said, that pornography numbs the conscience. When your conscience is numb, it makes you capable of doing things you never thought you would do.
Today’s Boston Globe tells the story of a Catholic priest who is accused of stealing over 80 thousand dollars from his church. Why did he do it? He needed it to pay for his porn addiction.
Now I can’t precisely connect cause and effect because who knows why people do the things they do, but I can easily see a connection between using pornography, numbing your conscience, and stealing from your own church.
So if you are a Christian and you use pornography and you don’t think it’s that bad, consider this. Maybe you can’t feel what you should be feeling because your conscience has been anesthetized.
The Bible uses this phrase in First Timothy 4:2. It says your conscience can be “seared,” as with a hot iron.
The good news is that there is hope. God can forgive you and deliver you, and there are steps you can take to eliminate this poison from your life. You’ll find detailed information in these two books, “Eyes of Integrity” by Craig Gross, and “Closing the Window: Steps to Living Porn Free” by Tim Chester.
One trend Gross highlighted in his book is the growing use of pornography by women, and he said that a stumbling block for many people at the beginning is their own curiosity. It begins with curiosity, he said, but then there is a progression. It will take you further than you want to go, and it does so by numbing your conscience each step of the way.
If we live in a pornified world with a pornified church, then I’m very concerned about the young men my daughters will marry someday.
And that’s why this was my prayer for them today – that they will marry young men who will walk with God, who will love them very much, and who are not poisoned by pornography.
Comments?
E-mail me: dougapple@wave94.com.
May God bless you today! With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
***Here is one helpful website you should check out if you or someone you know may be tempted by pornography: http://www.covenanteyes.com/ “
© 2010 The Arrow’s Tip
To subscribe to your own daily “Apples of Gold” e-mail, write dougapple@wave94.com.
If you want to be removed from this e-mail list, simply click reply and type UNSUBSCRIBE on the subject line.
If you want to catch “Apples of Gold” in its original audio format, go to www.wave94.com
To search through the large archive of past articles, go here: http://www.wave94.com/modules.php?name=Stories_Archive
If you have trouble reaching me at my main e-mail address, try this one: douglas_apple@msn.com
(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)
Why “The Arrow’s Tip”? Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold. Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.” I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.
Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL 32315
(850) 926-8000
-vi-
No comments:
Post a Comment