Porn & Mrs. P

Last week I told the story of my own introduction to pornography and made the case for a strategy to deal with it in your own life. I left off with the question, “So what do we do about lust, porn, and illicit relationships? How do we successfully guide our sexual desires and develop control of lust?” In this post we’re gonna take a look at an often overlooked passage in scripture that can clue us in to a key bit of wisdom in answering those questions.

That bit of wisdom lies in the story of Joseph and Potiphars’s wife. After Joseph’s brother’s sell him into slavery, he finds himself working in the house of a man named Potiphar. Despite this upgrade from being dragged around the desert by Ishmaelite slave traders, Joseph soon discovered his new job was fraught with just as much peril as his previous condition. His main threat came in the shapely form of Mrs. Potiphar. Mrs. P was a first class some-kinda-freaky nymphomaniac.

Everyday she would proposition Joseph. So how did Joseph handle this constant temptation? Most of us will remember that part where Joseph literally sprinted out of the house when she tried to jump his bones. Let’s go back a little bit though to his daily strategy. Read 39:10 of Genesis, “The woman talked to Joseph every day, but he refused to have sexual relations with her or even spend time with her.”

It’s that last line I want to key in on. Most of us focus on that bold red line of sexual sin. When we cross that line, we know we’ve done wrong. We’re often oblivious, however, to the steps we take towards that line. Joseph wasn’t. He realized that even being physically near this woman was bad for his moral health. So what did he do?

He didn’t chat with her. He didn’t hang around her. He may not have had any intention of having sex with Mrs. P., but he didn’t let that give him an excuse to spend time with her. He knew, ultimately, she was bad news, and he didn’t trust her or himself to just keep things “innocent”.

What does that mean for us today? It means:

• We don’t entertain even the slightest urges to stare a little bit at the girl or guy on the cover of the magazine.
• We don’t let our curiosity about an actress lead us to google her or him.
• We don’t create the opportunity for sex when we are with a person that we are attracted to.
• We change the channel and switch our focus when we know that temptation is flirting with us.

By not talking with Mrs. P, Joseph was not allowing temptation to whisper sweet little “nothings” in his ear. In doing so, he stopped the problem before it ever began. How bout you? What instances can you point out in our day to day life in which your own Mrs. P is whispering sweet little nothings in your ear?

In today’s world, Mrs. Potiphars are calling out to you from everywhere, so this is a challenge. That’s why my next post is going to be about practical steps you can take to cultivate purity in your own life. Because we both know that when you flirt with temptation, you’re flirting with disaster.

I’d like to hear some of your strategies. Feel free to post them here or email them to me so I can include them in my next post.
Category: LeadYou

Pornography 101

I was introduced to porn at nine years old. I still remember the day. My best friend, Jake, and I were pretending to be Billy and Jimmy Lee from Double Dragon. We ran around the house kicking and punching stuff and looking for more guns (boys never have enough guns) so we could save our sensei. That’s when Jake led me up to his driver’s room and said, “I wanna show you something cool.” He walked up to the closet doors, grabbed the handles and threw them open with the flourish of a practiced magician. And viola! Playboy bunny after Playboy bunny magically appeared posted on the inside of the doors. Expecting a display of armaments to make Rambo jealous, I was disappointed. On top of that, it was gross.

Nevertheless, that first exposure sparked my fascination with women and sex. A fascination that would lead me down paths good and bad over the next decade and a half. On one hand, it instilled in me an awe with the mystery and beauty of a woman and sexuality. On the other, it embroiled me in a battle with pornography and lust that can never be won on the grand scale.

Most every guy has a story like this. Statistics put the average age of first exposure to porn at 11 years old. It’s a 97 billion dollar industry with 28,258 people viewing porn sites every second. 70% of Christians admit to battling pornography daily. Reuters in Ontario, Canada reported that 87% of university students are having sexual encounters over the internet or telephone. As you can clearly see, this is a problem that a majority of the population of this planet deals with. So what do we do about lust, porn, and illicit relationships? How do we successfully guide our sexual desires and develop control of lust?

I don’t want to rush through this topic. It’s important enough to take our time through it. Let’s make this a discussion. Share your thoughts on the matter; things you do that are helpful in cultivating purity. I’ll be putting up the continuation of this post on Wednesday. I hope these questions stay with you until then and that you take the time to pray and meditate on them. Looking forward to hearing what you come back with!