A NEW MIND
There were times when I reasoned that dealing with porn was worse than an addiction to alcohol or cocaine because everywhere I went, my thoughts went with me. I had a library of impure images filed away in my brain. How could I ever get rid of them? These obscene thoughts had invaded every corner of my mind. They were with me when I laid my head on my pillow at night and when I woke up in the morning. How could I avoid them? I felt like my brain was a haunted house inhabited by a million ghosts.
Imagine an empty glass. It’s not really empty, it’s full of air. Now imagine trying to get all of the air out of the glass. You might try using a vacuum cleaner, but that probably won’t work. The easiest way to get the air out of the drinking glass is to fill it with something else, like water. The water goes in and the air goes right out.
That’s what I had to do with my brain. How could I get rid of all of those obscene thoughts that hounded me day and night? I had to focus my mind on good things. As I learned to dwell on healthy thoughts, I began to win the battle against those lusty images that attempted to take control of my mind. The apostle Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit gave this advice to the Philippians:
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me-put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Philippians 4:8-9
Motivational speaker, Zig Ziglar urged people to get rid of “stinking thinking”. Well, there is nothing worse than a carnal mind using other people for its own selfish ends. The best way I know of to push all of those immoral images from my brain is to replace them with thoughts which are pure, true, noble, admirable, and excellent. Our primary battleground in the war against this plague (or any other undesirable practice), lies in what we decide to think about, what we allow to occupy the space between our ears.
In 1427 Thomas A. Kempis wrote the following in The Imitation of Christ:
“Above all, we must be especially alert against the beginnings of temptation, for the enemy is more easily conquered if he is refused admittance to the mind and is met beyond the threshold when he knocks. First, a mere thought comes to mind, then strong imagination, followed by pleasure, evil delight, and consent. Thus, because he is not resisted in the beginning, Satan gains full entry. And the longer a man delays in resisting, so much the weaker does he become each day, while the strength of the enemy grows against him.”
This has certainly been true in my life. When I resist temptations right off the bat, I do just fine. But if I give in just a hair, leave the door ajar just a fraction of an inch, it soon becomes almost impossible not to yield. My best strategy (really the only strategy that works) is to avoid every impure thought and to stay as far away from the slippery slope as possible.
In his book on prayer, Philip Yancey stated: “Prayer involves a ‘renewing of the mind’, a two-stage process of purging out what displeases God and damages me (the same thing, it turns out) and allowing God to fill my mind with what matters far more.” (pg.166) This is exactly what has to be done in order to fill my mind with pure and noble thoughts.
Filthy or impure thoughts cannot be toyed with. Only a fool tries to see how close he can get to the edge of the slippery slope before sliding down all the way to the bottom. The best way to head off feelings of lust is to nip them in the bud. Act quickly, vigorously, and decisively. Be radical. It is the only way to ever break free from the compulsive cycle of porn and lust.
