“HOW TO OVERCOME PORNOGRAPHIC ADDICTION 1”
“He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and
forsaketh them shall have
mercy.”
Proverbs 28:13 (KJV)
Pornographic addiction just
like any other sin plaguing the human race can be overcome. However, overcoming
this magnetic addiction is only possible when the addict comes to terms with
the fact that he has a problem, needs a help
and the fact that the help can only come when he collaborate with God. Let Go
back and study King David attitude towards the sin of sexual impropriety he
finds himself in according to 2 Samuel 12:12 -13 (KJV) “For thou didst it
secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun. And
David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto
David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.”
You will
notice from the verse 13A of the
scripture when the Lord confronted King David sins through Prophet Nathan he
responded by saying “And David said unto
Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD” If you take a careful look at King
David’s confessions of his secret sins, his first regret and confession is the
fact that he has sinned against God – his confession showed that he deeply
loved God and hated his sins. That was the turning point of his victory against
that unfortunate sin- remember what the bible says in 1 John 1:9(KJV) “ If we confess our sins, he is faithful
and just to forgive us our
sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
The Lord almighty
forgave King David of this grievous sins when he confessed it. Intriguingly,
King Saul also committed a sin that was less damaging than of David, yet the
Lord rejected Him. Why? It was his attitude toward his sins when he was
confronted that make the difference. In the case of King Saul it was his
non-acceptance of his mistakes and shifting of blame that robbed him of God’s
acceptance and forgiveness.
It was recorded of King Saul 1st Samuel 15:19
-23 (KJV)” Wherefore then didst thou not
obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the
sight of the LORD? And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of
the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag
the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took
of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been
utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal. And Samuel
said, Hath the LORD as great
delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD?
Behold, to obey is better than
sacrifice, and to hearken than
the fat of rams. For rebellion is as
the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is
as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the
LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being
king.”
You will notice from the scriptures above when Prophet Samuel
confronted King Saul for not obeying God completely, he responded by saying “And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have
obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and
have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites”
1 Samuel 15:20 (KJV). Unlike King David Instead of accepting his fault he was
trying cover it and he even went to the extent of shifting blame on the people he
was leading according to 1st
Samuel 15:21(KJV) “But the people
took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have
been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal.”
This
attitude, among other ones, were King‘s Saul’s downfall. But the fascinating
truth in this narrative is that, Just like King David, he finally accepted that
he disobeyed and confessed his sins according to 1Samuel 15:24 (KJV) “And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned:
for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I
feared the people, and obeyed their voice.”, but the difference between
King David and King Saul was the fact that former quickly accepted his sins and
acknowledge that he had sinned against God himself, but the latter-King Saul
was trying to give excuses for his sins and shifting blames on his
followers-King Saul knew in his heart that he did not fully obey God, yet he was not accepting his shortcoming,
that was why he was totally rejected by God.
Remember what the scripture says
in Proverbs 28:13 (KJV) “He that
covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” Acceptance
of ones sins and mistakes is not a sign of weakness as some might want us to
believe, but it is a symbol of humility and the acknowledgement of the fact
that there is nothing good in the flesh and without the help of Spirit of God
man is useless. One of the major traits of pride is non acceptance of ones
faults and blaming to others. That was the difference between King David and
King Saul. Let’s look at some
of the steps in overcoming pornographic addiction:
·
Accept the fact that Pornography has far reaching Implication – From the previous articles in this series, I have sufficiently
narrated the negative impact of pornographic addiction and the fact that it can
destroy the very fiber of society. The case of King David is clear illustration
in scripture according to 2nd
Samuel 12:9 -15
·
Accepts the facts that you have a problem – Accepting the fact that you have a problem and you cannot overcome the
strong desire of your flesh, is tendon to overcoming pornographic addiction.
Having failed at his attempt to tame the sinful nature of the flesh Apostle
Paul drew this conclusion in Romans 7:18(KJV) “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing:
for to will is present with me; but how
to perform that which is good I find not.” And he subsequently submitted
his wretchedness to the Lordship of Christ in Romans 7:24 -25(KJV) “O wretched man that I am! who shall
deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our
Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh
the law of sin.”
·
Humble Yourself – someone once said that “He who know how to wash his hands will eat
with kings not mere men” and this how I understand this saying relative to
our relationship with God “He who humbly
forsake his sins will draw near to divinity”. Remember the fact that
God resist the proud and gives more grace to the humble and what the scriptures
says in Psalm_51:17(KJV) “The sacrifices
of God are a broken spirit: a
broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” If one is genuinely
sorry from the heart as regards the sin of sexual impropriety, God will not despised
that person- one will surely find grace to overcome sexual addiction.
Repentance from sin should not be predicated on grounds of avoiding punishment,
but on the grounds of abhorrence for sin
·
Seek the face and Grace of God – The bible said that “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to
you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.” James 4:8 (KJV) - If we seek God in prayer
we will find him and acquire grace in him to say no to pornographic addiction.
It takes the grace of God to say no to the alluring tendencies of pornography,
the scriptures say that Titus 2:11(KJV) “For the grace of God that bringeth
salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and
worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present
world” Titus 2:11 (KJV). Without relying on the grace of God, you can never
overcome pornographic addiction.
We must come to terms
with the fact that without an effort on our part we can never overcome the
pornographic addiction, we must will and be determined to overcome this nagging
addiction. The bible says in Philippians 2:12 (KJV) “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence
only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear
and trembling.” Next week will be
rounding up on this long series with a sub title
“How to Overcome Pornographic
Addiction 2”
Please if you have any comments or
questions kindly leave it below, thank you.
You can also get in touch with me via
wisafawubo@gmail.com
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