Last night in Recovery group a brother posed a great question, "Assuming that behind every sin there is a lie, what is the lie behind the sin of pornography?"
As we discussed it, I realized that the lie behind pornography (at least in my experience) is the lie of control in the realm of manufacturing counterfeit intimacy. The lie is that I refuse to accept (or wait for) the love of God to satisfy my deepest soul, so I create my own experience of intimacy. Further, I accept the lie about myself in thinking that such an encounter can truly satisfy my heart, and that I am unworthy of any real love, and thus I must accept this as my best option ("no one will ever really love the real me; this counterfeit is all I have"). There is also the lie about the goodness of God that doesn't think it worth waiting for or seeking after.
So it is a lie (or better, a complex set of lies) about God and myself.
I should also note that there is also a wound behind the sin, the wounded heart that did not receive sufficient love from others (esp. in childhood, e.g., parental love) to gain a solid sense of self.
For God to bring freedom from pornography, his love must heal our wounded hearts and his truth must confront the lies we believe about him and about ourselves, and we with deepening patterns of repentance and faith, embrace our new identities in Christ.
As we discussed it, I realized that the lie behind pornography (at least in my experience) is the lie of control in the realm of manufacturing counterfeit intimacy. The lie is that I refuse to accept (or wait for) the love of God to satisfy my deepest soul, so I create my own experience of intimacy. Further, I accept the lie about myself in thinking that such an encounter can truly satisfy my heart, and that I am unworthy of any real love, and thus I must accept this as my best option ("no one will ever really love the real me; this counterfeit is all I have"). There is also the lie about the goodness of God that doesn't think it worth waiting for or seeking after.
So it is a lie (or better, a complex set of lies) about God and myself.
I should also note that there is also a wound behind the sin, the wounded heart that did not receive sufficient love from others (esp. in childhood, e.g., parental love) to gain a solid sense of self.
For God to bring freedom from pornography, his love must heal our wounded hearts and his truth must confront the lies we believe about him and about ourselves, and we with deepening patterns of repentance and faith, embrace our new identities in Christ.
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