IS SIN IRRESISTABLE?
How did I allow my addiction to pornography to continue for so many years? I felt out of control. Like so many guys I’ve met, I remained entrapped in the addictive cycle because I convinced myself I was doing my best to get out, but when the urge hit, it was far too strong for me to resist. Having given in to my urges hundreds of times I felt like I was doomed to fail.
One day it was like a light bulb went off in my head. I was taking the free course on Recovery Nation, and discovered something Jon Marsh wrote. He said if I were in the middle of looking at porn on my computer and heard someone approaching the room, I would quickly close out that page and navigate to another site. I had no trouble taking control of the situation under those circumstances. Why then, when I was all alone and imagined nobody would find out, did I believe it was impossible to resist the craving to go take a peek?
The same thing is true regarding anger. I had trouble controlling my temper as a child. I thought that as I grew and matured I was getting better. But after I got married and had kids, I would explode at our children for their misbehavior or defiance. I could feel my blood starting to boil and my tongue would take over from there. When my wife confronted me regarding my behavior, I just made excuses. “Sure, I don’t want to get mad and shout at our kids. It’s not like I planned to lash out at them.” She challenged me to plan ahead and think about how I should react in those kinds of situations and work out a strategy of how to handle things better next time.
Another example I think all of us can identify with is when two people are in the middle of a heated argument, and then company arrives. Most likely they will act as if everything is normal and nothing is wrong.
If I do actually have the capacity to control my actions in these situations, the truth is that I am always in charge. I am responsible for my actions. I wasn’t forced to yell at the kids and nobody held a gun to my head and compelled me to search for pornography on the Internet. I decided to do it. Today I can choose not to do it.
As a person who believes in the God who created the world and made each one of us, I believe what the Bible says – “with Him all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26). I believe nothing is impossible for God (Luke 1:37). If I’ve been making all sorts of mistakes, who’s to blame? I have no one to blame but myself. If a bird made a nest on top of my head, at a minimum I allowed it to happen. I could have chased it away.
And this is good news. Today I can choose to walk in the light. One of God’s promises that fills my soul with hope is found in 1 Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”
No temptation, no urge, no craving will ever be so intense or strong that I cannot resist it. God is always with me. He is faithful. And everytime I am tempted the Lord is there to offer me a way out, a way of escape. What a blessing!
There is hope for you and me! Today we can live a new life and walk in the light. Today we can turn our backs on sin and do what is right and true and good and holy. We can, with the Lord’s help obviously, live a day with no regrets!
Would you like to learn more about this new life? Take a look at my book: Jesus Is Better Than Porn
