Would you lose your family for fantasy?
Thursday, July 5th, 2007
Here’s part two in a series by Sara of Inhabited…
It was any normal gig day. We arrived at the venue, met the promoter, set up, did sound check, ate, talked about the set, prayed, and got ready to go on stage. This venue was a little different than the norm considering it had a rock climbing gym, skate park, an internet cafe, snack bar, and a really cool concert hall. Needless to say, there were a lot of things to compete with, so I decided to forgo getting paid that night and make it a free show. So we took the people already at the concert, created a street team, and went around the venue inviting everyone to come to the show!
I walked through the general “hang out” area, which was furnished with couches, a coffee bar, and a lot of computers. I spotted two young boys, about ten or eleven years old. So, I went over to invite them to the show. I started talking and as they turned around to see who it was, I got a glimpse of their computer screen. The whole screen was covered with pornography. I was totally caught off guard. It was definitely unexpected, but the boys seemed oblivious to the fact that I was even standing there and could see everything they were looking at…
I acted normal and just said, “Hey, our band’s about to play and we’d love for you to come to the show!” They said, “maybe so”, but their eyes barely broke away from the computer long enough to have a REAL conversation.
As I walked away reality slapped me in the face…I began thinking about this generation and the next…I started thinking about all the blurred lines of what is right and wrong… those boys didn’t even budge when I walked up…it was as if their conscience didn’t even trigger a faint signal of “hey! A chic just walked up…maybe you should turn that off…you shouldn’t be looking at that…” Nothing! It was totally normal to them!
At this point I was reminded of a few things…number one was how quickly the innocence of this generation has been sucked out of them…we have become numb to reality, numb to the outcome of our decisions, and seemingly oblivious to the consequences! America’s consumers want more porn…why? Because America is addicted, from the office to the church to campuses to the classrooms!
Even our most popular movies glamorize “porn” and “Christian” America sits back and eats popcorn watching the same things as everyone else! It has crept into our churches and in turn left a mess of the leadership! Leaders hide behind their mask and are consumed with the secrets that eat them alive, and in turn feel more far from God than ever before. Then this isolation keeps them in bondage!
It’s like we don’t even see or seem to care “what is right and what is wrong” anymore. We simply want to be entertained. Even the “everyday Christians” lines have become blurred. There are no standards anymore! STOP! think about it! WHAT ARE WE WATCHING ON TV? WHAT MOVIES HAVE WE WATCHED even THIS MONTH that are filled with trash!? What have we allowed to creep into our minds in the last week? What have we been listening to? What have we looked at on the computer?
Even on MYSPACE…the lines are blurred…be careful where you go. With one click of a mouse you can be catapulted into a world of deception and sucked into a lifestyle of addiction that will leave you empty. Call me an extremist if you want, but I have seen the damaging effects pornography has had on people’s entire lives. These seeds that society may label as “harmless”, will in time affect REAL life relationships. You see, compromise may subtly creep in by looking at pictures of beautiful women in super skimpy little outfits (maxim/stuff mags) which will in turn awaken an appetite for more. Lust then takes a violent grip and has the ability to create a vacuum that endless resources of images will NEVER have the power to satisfy. Sin is unmerciful.
It has destroyed marriages and the addict goes on living in fantasy land, when in reality the chics he’s looking at would never give him the time of day in real life. It’s deception at its best…to throw away a family for the sake of fantasy, but that’s how any sin works! Then the children suffer. They end up being the victims and are sexually abused, and robbed of their innocence.
It’s ruthless once you open the door, it begins to tighten its grip on your ENTIRE life. Here’s the deal…the porn industry knows if they use emotional marketing and appeal to the senses of young boys that they can hook them when they are young and have an addict who supplies them with money for the rest of their lives…That’s messed up and the innocent are stumbling head long into the merciless cycle that pornography creates…
Let me say this, we are human, and it is human nature to want the “forbidden”…like in the beginning, I’m not even sure it was that apple that was so appealing as it was the “forbidden”, the mystery, they wanted to know what it was like to “be like God”! So hear me! I believe that everyone has their own battles…while one fights lust, another fights jealousy, and another bitterness, etc.. , but I believe in a supernatural freedom that can only come from Jesus! It comes from “dying to self” and in that surrender comes a supernatural freedom! Yes, there are many battles to fight, but Victory will take our hand and lead us, if we simply surrender.
Yes, I feel sorry for those who are trapped, but the important thing is to realize that it’s wrong and begin to seek help! Maybe by going to a pastor, or youth leader, a counselor, or someone who you can trust! You may have to be extreme and GET OFF THE COMPUTER! Yes, it is a sacrifice, but sometimes you have to take extreme measures to get extreme results! We have to do things we’ve never done before. It’s just HOW BAD DO YOU WANT TO BE FREE? You can be who you want to be! You can be free again! You CAN BE VICTORIOUS!!!
My point is not just to state the problem! It’s like stating the obvious, but I want to encourage you all to PRAY! WE must pray for our nation! PRAY FOR OURSELVES! PRAY FOR REVIVAL! WE NEED CLEANSING that can ONLY COME FROM OUR CREATOR, OUR SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST!!!
Next email I send out will be about purity, and guarding our mind and how to walk in victory! I pray this was encouragement to you!
Sara Delight
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