Can someone actually be addicted to porn?

There are a lot of people, particularly Christians, who would say that "claiming to be addicted to any sexual sin is merely an excuse".  However, I would beg to differ...

Now, that being said, let me be clear.  It does not excuse the sin by any means.  However, I think looking at the addictive aspects of this problem helps us to better understand what is going on.

Certainly any type of sexual sin is rooted, at its base, in disobedience to God.  There is never an excuse for that.  In fact, that is the whole reason Jesus did what He did on the cross.  Anyway, there is also a side to this sin that is, or at least can become for some, an addiction.  By that, I mean a chemical addiction, just like drugs or alcohol.

When we look at the psychological processes that take place in a persons mind and the physiological processes that take place in a person's body when they engage in sexual sin, in this case pornography, we see the same processes as a person who takes a drug to get high.  Let me explain...

When we become sexually aroused, our brain begins to endogenously produce and release a myriad of chemicals into the system.  These chemicals are mainly natural dopamines, which is why there is the euphoric feelings experienced, including epinephrine, adrenaline, ACTH, norepinephrine, and the list goes on and on.  Really, the only difference between this chemical release into the body and a person taking drugs is that it comes from within the body itself, via different glands, and not from an outside source.  However, there is still a chemical high that is experienced.  Because it is a chemical process, if one's body gets used to this happening often, it begins to crave it.  When the cravings are fed, in the wrong way of course, those cravings become dependencies.  Our brain can become dependent on the release of these chemicals in the same way it becomes dependent on drugs or alcohol.  Its just simple chemistry.

However, God created our bodies to produce these chemicals did He not?  He also created us as sexual beings, did He not?  So, what is wrong with experiencing these processes if it is natural and God gave them to us.  In and of themselves, nothing.  However, it is the means by which we access, or stimulate these processes that becomes the problem.  When we do this in a self-gratifying and sinful way is when we cross into the issue of morality.  God gave us these abilities and feelings, so that we can experience them through the gift of sexual experience within the covenant of marriage.  That means that there is a Godly way of experiencing everything I just wrote about above.  That is between a man and woman in marriage.  That is why scripture says that "the marriage bed is undefiled".  God wants us to experience sexual pleasure and high with our spouse, co-experiencing it together in marriage.

Satan has taken this God-given gift and presented it to us in a way that is ungodly and sinful.  It is by these sinful, self-gratifying methods, such as looking at pornography and masturbating, that we become addicted to the chemical high experienced when doing such things and become ensnared in our own sin.

However, there is hope.  God gives us the ability and resource to resist and defeat any temptation and any sin that the world can through our way.

Stop keeping secrets.

"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."  James 5:16


Part of the problem with the sin of pornography in particular is its nature of secrecy.  It is a very private sin, something one can partake in the solitude of their own privacy.  I think this is one of the biggest reasons why a Christ follower is even able to suffer from this sin for any amount of time.  Unlike most other sins, even most other sexual sins, the issue of lust and porn addiction is something we can keep a total secret from everyone else we know, especially other Christians.  However, this secrecy is what keeps us from being healed.  


It causes us to lie, mislead, and withhold the truth about our struggle.  However, I would propose that the FIRST step toward any type of recovery from this sin, including true repentance, is to share this struggle with someone else.  If you are married, I think your spouse ought to know.  Not only are you coming clean, but they can then support you in your decision to repent of this problem.  If you think your spouse might be too hurt by hearing the news, go to your pastor or a Christian counselor first.  They can then become a catalyst in the healing process.  


There are a lot of things that need to be done to conquer a sexual addiction, but first and foremost is confession.  Confess to God first, if you haven't already, then to the others I mentioned above.  This is why James 5:16 says to confess your sins one to another, so that we can help each other heal.  I don't think God ever intended for us to deal with sin on our own.  

Why is viewing Pornography bad?

  That is a very good question.  In fact, within our culture today, it is easy to think about pornography as being innocent, or "not a big deal".  In reality, this is the way most people view pornography.  "Its just pictures of naked people" "don't be such a legalist" they might say.  However, when you look at the issue of pornography in its entirety, especially from a moral sense, you can begin to see just how evil it really is.

  The fact of the matter is, pornography, on all levels, negatively affects everyone involved in it.  For the intents and purposes of this blog, however, I am only going to focus on one aspect of it.  That is, how it affects the believing (Christian) participant.  For it is Christ who is our master, and it is He who has given us the ability to be free from ALL sin.  Being a slave to a sin, even though Jesus has freed us from it, severely inhibits our relationship with Him, and as a result inhibits our relationships with others also.

So why is porn bad?  Why ought not a Christian look at pornography?  It is the intent of this entire blog to explore that and deal with those questions.  But simply put, pornography is bad because God says so.  Where? you might say.  Pornography, on any level, even just looking at it (because looking at it is being involved in it) is sexual immorality.  It is a sexual sin.
                       Now, I want to be clear about sin.  Sin is sin in God's eyes.  There is no sin that is any    
                       worse or better than any other sin in the eyes of God.  All sin bares the eternal
                       consequences of death and hell.  However, there are certain mortal consequences that
                       pertain to different sins in a particular manner which makes any particular sin carry more
                       or less gravity with regard to our lives.   Sexual sin is one sin that has a lot of
                       consequences.  As such, God deals very strictly with sexual sin.  He does that because He
                       loves us and knows whats best for us.
Jesus said that if you even look at a woman (who is not your wife) with lust in your heart, you have done the same as committing adultery with her.  Think about that for a second.  That is serious.  Certainly, the same thing applies to women with their thoughts about men, however, since I'm a man, I am going to speak from a mans perspective.  How many times have you looked at a woman and lusted after her?  How many times have you undressed a woman in your mind?  How many times have you fantasized about sexual acts with such a woman?  I know I have too many times to count!  However, I think most of us would draw a clear line between lusting after and thinking about such things, and actually doing them.  "Acting upon those thoughts would be committing adultery" you might say.  Jesus says no, thinking them and doing them is the same.  Wow, that is tough, no?

Matthew 6:22-23 NIV:  "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!"


I think this verse really gets to the heart of the problem.  I can talk all day about why porn is wrong, but that verse gets to the heart of why a believer in Christ should avoid porn at all costs.  


Please stay posted as I delve deeper into this issue and what can be done about it.


In Him,


Ian