Porn

[willhutch]

I know we all feel really guilty, sad, depressed, and scared we are going to hell when we mess up and watch porn. I have some questions about this.

How much of these terrible emotions should be considered a good thing such as: a response of our conscience and the holy spirit telling us that what we did was wrong. How much should be considered a bad thing such as: discouragement from satan?

How much of these emotions are from God? How much are from satan or our own foolishness? How do we tell the difference?

On the one hand. Feeling guilty, ashamed, scared, depressed would seem like it is a good thing in this situation because it would show that we still care and motivate us to resist temptation.

On the other hand. How much of these terrible emotions could be attributed to satan trying to discourage us to give up and stealing our joy. Using these emotions to make this addiction even more devastating than it already is?

I ask this because I am so sad and depressed and scared every time I mess up and watch porn. I feel really good when I go for a long time without watching porn. I will go for a while without but I always mess up again.

I am wondering about this depression. Is it normal response of my conscious or is it too much? How bad should one feel and for how long?

How do you know if feeling bad is a productive motivation to help you want to quit ? .... or just a discouraging thorn the devil has placed in my side to make things worse?

It seems like this depressed, shameful, and scared feeling has in the past had both good and bad effects on me.

By this I mean that being depressed has discouraged me to the point that I give up and go ahead and watch porn because it makes me feel better for a brief few moments. In this case these feelings were harmful.

But these bad feelings have also served as motivation for me to resist temptation. In this situation, these feelings were helpful.

Thanks for your response.

 

[Angelina]

How much of these terrible emotions should be considered a good thing such as: a response of our conscience and the holy spirit telling us that what we did was wrong. How much should be considered a bad thing such as: discouragement from satan?

How much of these emotions are from God? How much are from satan or our own foolishness? How do we tell the difference?

You have said that you feel really good when you are not watching porn. So the struggle between soul and Spirit, is within you... Galatians 5:16-17 < the struggle, Galatians 5:19, 20, 21 < the works of the flesh
If you did not have a "God" conscience then you would not worry so much about it but God has placed his Holy Spirit within you so that you can clearly define right actions from wrong.

Galatians 5 < the fruit of the Spirit
2 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

Note: that one fruit of the Spirit is "self-control". Something that is not spoken about often but I believe it is one of the key aspects of living as a believer in a fallen world. An ex alcoholic will stay away from anything to do with alcohol because it's an addiction....porn is also an addiction and you must use "self-control." and stay away from it completely. To do this you may need an accountability buddy - someone who can touch base with you and seeing how things are going and also some prayer support. Like most things, it took practice to gain this habit...now it's gonna take practice of the opposite to get you out :)

Don't worry about failing...we all fail at times however, the person who wins through, is the one who gets back up and continues onward...

Bless ya!

 

[Brother Brian]

I know we all feel really guilty, sad, depressed, and scared we are going to hell when we mess up and watch porn. I have some questions about this.

How much of these terrible emotions should be considered a good thing such as: a response of our conscience and the holy spirit telling us that what we did was wrong. How much should be considered a bad thing such as: discouragement from satan?

How much of these emotions are from God? How much are from satan or our own foolishness? How do we tell the difference?

On the one hand. Feeling guilty, ashamed, scared, depressed would seem like it is a good thing in this situation because it would show that we still care and motivate us to resist temptation.

On the other hand. How much of these terrible emotions could be attributed to satan trying to discourage us to give up and stealing our joy. Using these emotions to make this addiction even more devastating than it already is?

I ask this because I am so sad and depressed and scared every time I mess up and watch porn. I feel really good when I go for a long time without watching porn. I will go for a while without but I always mess up again.

I am wondering about this depression. Is it normal response of my conscious or is it too much? How bad should one feel and for how long?

How do you know if feeling bad is a productive motivation to help you want to quit ? .... or just a discouraging thorn the devil has placed in my side to make things worse?

It seems like this depressed, shameful, and scared feeling has in the past had both good and bad effects on me.

By this I mean that being depressed has discouraged me to the point that I give up and go ahead and watch porn because it makes me feel better for a brief few moments. In this case these feelings were harmful.

But these bad feelings have also served as motivation for me to resist temptation. In this situation, these feelings were helpful.

Thanks for your response.


Hi will
having been there I know what your going through, the holy spirit is def pricking your conscience so please don't ignore and by this admission your on the right tracks, or should I say the H Spirit has put you on the right tracks
The lord will finish the work he has started in you and as paul taught, It don't matter what the world throws at you, if you stand firm you will be ok. you may just get to heaven by the skin on your teeth but at least you will be there.
My own belief is that satan can not read your mind but will hear your cries so try praying in your head (that may help)
I know its difficult but after praying give thanks and leave it with the lord,
how long do you mange to go without watching? is it by dvd or net. remove them both if you have to, at leat the net till you have enough time under your belt to trust yourself again, if you manage a few month you should manage to to this.
this will be messing up other areas of your life the lord has plans for.
keep us posted
love in Christ
B Brian

 

[Selene]

I know we all feel really guilty, sad, depressed, and scared we are going to hell when we mess up and watch porn. I have some questions about this.

How much of these terrible emotions should be considered a good thing such as: a response of our conscience and the holy spirit telling us that what we did was wrong. How much should be considered a bad thing such as: discouragement from satan?

How much of these emotions are from God? How much are from satan or our own foolishness? How do we tell the difference?

On the one hand. Feeling guilty, ashamed, scared, depressed would seem like it is a good thing in this situation because it would show that we still care and motivate us to resist temptation.

On the other hand. How much of these terrible emotions could be attributed to satan trying to discourage us to give up and stealing our joy. Using these emotions to make this addiction even more devastating than it already is?

I ask this because I am so sad and depressed and scared every time I mess up and watch porn. I feel really good when I go for a long time without watching porn. I will go for a while without but I always mess up again.

I am wondering about this depression. Is it normal response of my conscious or is it too much? How bad should one feel and for how long?

How do you know if feeling bad is a productive motivation to help you want to quit ? .... or just a discouraging thorn the devil has placed in my side to make things worse?

It seems like this depressed, shameful, and scared feeling has in the past had both good and bad effects on me.

By this I mean that being depressed has discouraged me to the point that I give up and go ahead and watch porn because it makes me feel better for a brief few moments. In this case these feelings were harmful.

But these bad feelings have also served as motivation for me to resist temptation. In this situation, these feelings were helpful.

Thanks for your response.

Sin is a struggle for all of us. When you feel this temptation to watch porn, try prayer instead. Pornography can be addicting, so it's best to stop now.

 

[aspen]

I rarely comment on topics like this, but I felt like adding a short response. Porn is like all sin - it's seduction is found in its forbidden nature and instant gratification; like other drugs, if you actually pictured it in the full light, it would show you the truth - filth, abuse, and emptiness. So every time you succumb to the forbidden seduction, make sure you also experience the full nature. A lot of times we actually use our guilty and shameful feelings to escape the inherent ugliness of the sin we are engaging in - as weird as this sounds, it is true. Even Adam and Eve did this - they were only concerned about their nakedness, not their actual sin, and thereby remained in it, and estranged from God. In modern terms, it is akin the psychopath,
feeling bad about feeling bad, not the crime they engaged in. Making the ugliness of porn about your guilty feelings and disobedience, for example, is actually a desperate attempt at control; allowing you forget that women are being abused and lives are being enslaved for your momentary pleasure. In its full light, sexual gratification in response to porn is the same thing as misdirecting it towards all other forms of violence.

Resist the urge to make the avoidance of the act based on your private feelings of guilt because in the future you will lie to yourself and pretend that you can control your own response and then you are at the mercy of the seduction. Instead, recognize what porn is; violence and an empty promise of fulfillment.

 

[brrrilliantsteve]

Hi Willhutch,

I will definitely pray for you. This I KNOW works. People praying for me has manifested in amazing events and I know the same will happen for you.

I wish I had some relevant scripture to help with your struggle, yes it is there but it is not coming to mind.

I can however witness to you about how some similarities in my life and how I have come through those tribulations. (I will keep it short).

I too have struggled with many evils including pornography. Part of my converting experience was a challenge, God telling me "so what are you going to do about it!". In the case of pornography I decided to fight like my life depended on it. I did everything possible to exclude pornography from my life. I threw out any magazines I had, (and this REALLY helped) and I got software that blocks pornography, and I made a really long random password that I could never remember. Doing this made it impossible for me to just turn on my computer for my porn fix whenever I was weak and hating myself for it. This one thing alone made a massive difference in the availability of pornography to me, and saved me from "doing what I hate" Many times (Romans 7:15). I have not overcome this by my own power but I have come toward Jesus and he comes to meet me.

I also have been "sad and depressed and scared" to the point of contemplating driving my car into a massive tree. In these times I needed something to "make me feel better for a brief few moments". During this time, for me, knowing what my problem was helped me realise that there was a solution which was a comfort, but I still needed to go through the process. And when I was down I really needed those times which helped me forget my pain even for a few brief moments. For me this was surfing. There is something about floating on my back, weightless, and gently rocking below an infinite blue sky that brought me peace. Of course the fun and adrenalin of catching waves helped take me away from my depression while surfing too. I pray that you also can find something that is pure and peaceful to give you those times which you need to make you feel better for a few brief moments.

There is more but for now I pray these things which helped me so much also help you.

 

[horsecamp]

PORN

no thanks ---
im to shy and no body in their right mind would want to see me naked

AND BESIDES I have mountains of other sins to be apologizing to God for with out adding that to the pile.



and HAVENT WE THE CHURCH BEEN UNFAITHFUL ENOUGH TO CHRIST OUR BRIDEGROOM?

I know we all feel really guilty, sad, depressed, and scared we are going to hell when we mess up and watch porn. I have some questions about this.

How much of these terrible emotions should be considered a good thing such as: a response of our conscience and the holy spirit telling us that what we did was wrong. How much should be considered a bad thing such as: discouragement from satan?

How much of these emotions are from God? How much are from satan or our own foolishness? How do we tell the difference?

On the one hand. Feeling guilty, ashamed, scared, depressed would seem like it is a good thing in this situation because it would show that we still care and motivate us to resist temptation.

On the other hand. How much of these terrible emotions could be attributed to satan trying to discourage us to give up and stealing our joy. Using these emotions to make this addiction even more devastating than it already is?

I ask this because I am so sad and depressed and scared every time I mess up and watch porn. I feel really good when I go for a long time without watching porn. I will go for a while without but I always mess up again.

I am wondering about this depression. Is it normal response of my conscious or is it too much? How bad should one feel and for how long?

How do you know if feeling bad is a productive motivation to help you want to quit ? .... or just a discouraging thorn the devil has placed in my side to make things worse?

It seems like this depressed, shameful, and scared feeling has in the past had both good and bad effects on me.

By this I mean that being depressed has discouraged me to the point that I give up and go ahead and watch porn because it makes me feel better for a brief few moments. In this case these feelings were harmful.

But these bad feelings have also served as motivation for me to resist temptation. In this situation, these feelings were helpful.

Thanks for your response.

The problem with ANY KEPT sin is .. IS that KEPT WANTON SIN can eventualy destroy SAVING faith in Jesus that he had to die for that sin TO WIN FROM GOD The Father OUR FORGIVNESS FOR IT..


the old christian song about if you think of your sin but lightly you need to look to the cross and see what it cost Jesus.. comes to mind.. he is suppose to be the love of your life .. take a good hard look at him on the cross in your place for that sin.

thinking about you going to hell because of sin is just selfish..
sin cant seperate YOU from Heaven..

ONLY destroyed faith in Jesus leaves the person no other option but hell ..


THAT REAL PLACE far away from the Jesus they no longer trust or believe in OR want top be with in his heaven.

you should be thinking about Jesus suffering hell for you that day his Father could not even look at him OR HAVE ANY THING TO DO WITH HIM---because of your sin .

AND THEN YOU SHOULD BE THINKING ABOUT THE TOTAL FORGIVENESS JESUS WON FOR YOU THAT DAY .. TRUST HIS DYING WORK FOR YOU TRUST THAT HE LIVED PERFECTLY FOR YOU WINNING YOU HEAVEN..
Gods blessing for you can be found in

Isaiah chapter 53. VERSE 5 here God tells you because of Jesus God IS NO LONGER ANGRY at you because of your sin he has made peace with you

 

[day]

I too will pray for you. Angelina #2, and Brrilliantsteve #8 above have very good answers. I have only a couple minor points to add.

In response to how do you know where the feelings come from, I have found this a helpful test. If you are sad because you know you hurt someone (God) who loves you and wants better things for you, the feelings are good and probably from God. Also, the feelings should dissolve away after you have had a heart to heart reconciliation with God. If the feelings persist beyond this, they are probably being stirred up by the devil to make you doubt God's forgiveness.

However, if you are sad because you have failed to live up to the expectations you have for yourself, then the feelings are your own and not from God. It is this kind of disappointment in self that the devil can stir up into hopelessness and despair leading to self injury (suicide).

One great point brrilliantsteve shared is to have a prepared plan to prevent easy access, and another plan in place to reroute your attention. Otherwise, how do you know you are really serious in following Jesus, and have not put your hand to the plow only to be constantly looking back?

 

[justaname]

I rarely comment on topics like this, but I felt like adding a short response. Porn is like all sin - it's seduction is found in its forbidden nature and instant gratification; like other drugs, if you actually pictured it in the full light, it would show you the truth - filth, abuse, and emptiness. So every time you succumb to the forbidden seduction, make sure you also experience the full nature. A lot of times we actually use our guilty and shameful feelings to escape the inherent ugliness of the sin we are engaging in - as weird as this sounds, it is true. Even Adam and Eve did this - they were only concerned about their nakedness, not their actual sin, and thereby remained in it, and estranged from God. In modern terms, it is akin the psychopath,
feeling bad about feeling bad, not the crime they engaged in. Making the ugliness of porn about your guilty feelings and disobedience, for example, is actually a desperate attempt at control; allowing you forget that women are being abused and lives are being enslaved for your momentary pleasure. In its full light, sexual gratification in response to porn is the same thing as misdirecting it towards all other forms of violence.

Resist the urge to make the avoidance of the act based on your private feelings of guilt because in the future you will lie to yourself and pretend that you can control your own response and then you are at the mercy of the seduction. Instead, recognize what porn is; violence and an empty promise of fulfillment.

Very insightful. That is a good response.