Category: pornography

Guarding Our Gaze

Brent Pollard

“I made a covenant with my eyes not to look with lust at a young woman.” (Job 31:1 NLT)

Job declares in Job 31:1 that he made a solemn promise, akin to a covenant, not to look lustfully upon a woman. This action shows his dedication to moral purity. This declaration emphasizes the power of the eyes as conduits for sin, particularly lustful sin, to enter the heart and mind. By making this covenant, Job expresses his determination to maintain a righteous and honorable character. He recognizes the potential harm lustful thoughts can cause and takes preventative measures to avoid it. 

In many ways, our eyes are portals to our souls. Our souls can be sensitive to the images and scenes we expose them to, just as blue eyes are more sensitive to the sun’s bright rays due to their reduced melanin. I can attest to this because I have blue eyes and must wear sunglasses even when it’s cloudy.

In the same way that harmful UV rays can have long-term effects on sensitive eyes, certain visual stimuli, most notably pornography, can harm our minds and spirits if consumed excessively. The harm may not be immediately apparent, but just as UV exposure can cause eye problems, exposure to harmful visual content can affect our psyche and moral compass over time.

Consuming pornography can lead to negative consequences, including addiction, distorted perceptions of relationships, and desensitization to healthy sexual experiences. Awareness of our visual consumption and prioritizing content promoting positive mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being is critical.

Take, for example, Japan’s complex socio-cultural landscape. The country’s declining birth rates have been a source of concern, and many factors contribute to this trend, including economic challenges and shifting societal values. In this context, there has been a noticeable increase in the consumption of online pornography. While it is an oversimplification to blame declining birth rates solely on pornography, there is growing awareness of the mental and emotional consequences of excessive consumption. (See https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20230808/p2a/00m/0na/025000c)

Job recognized the close relationship between sight and desire. He hoped to avoid lustful thoughts and desires by not allowing himself to gaze wantonly at a woman. This statement by Job reflects a more spiritual understanding of sin, which holds that even considering sin is wrong. His sentiments are consistent with Jesus’ teachings, who later clarified that lustful thinking is equivalent to adultery (see Matthew 5.27–28).

It is more important than ever to remember this covenant in today’s age of instant access to a plethora of images, including explicit content. We should set protective boundaries for our viewing habits, guarding our hearts and minds against content that can distort our understanding of love, commitment, and respect, just as one might wear sunglasses to protect sensitive eyes from damaging sunlight.

Job 31:1 emphasizes the importance of a virtuous inner life by stressing the need to guard our hearts and minds. It encourages people to proactively filter out negative influences and develop a genuine sense of integrity and righteousness. This verse serves as a reminder that true righteousness extends beyond outward appearances, necessitating constant scrutiny of our thoughts and intentions.

God Will Bring Every Act To Judgment

Neal Pollard

72% of Americans, age 13-24, view pornography frequently (55% of men 25 and older). Those numbers only drop to 41% and 23% of those professing to be Christians (Barna, July-August 2015, Barna Study Here).  So, perhaps this was inevitable. A few years ago, potentially millions of people started receiving a disturbing email from an anonymous source claiming to have hacked into their email and installed malware to discover their pornographic consumption. Experts say these hackers have just enough facts and information to frighten many of the recipients. They attempt to blackmail the recipients, demanding hundreds or even thousands of dollars in bitcoin. Otherwise, they promise to email proof of their readers’ perverse, clandestine interests to everyone in their contact list.

These hackers are relying on people’s fear of being found out, thinking that if even a tiny percentage of fearful folks pay the ransom it will make their spam to millions pay off. This hoax has probably raised the heart rate of many who consume pornography but felt like they were getting away with it. But the FBI say it is just that–a hoax.

God created man with a built-in sensitivity to our accountability. Many have a “certain fearful looking for of judgment” (Heb. 10:27). Some day, the secrets of men will be judged by God through Christ (Rom. 2:16). Solomon said, “For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil” (Ecc. 12:14). But, “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he was done, whether good or bad” (2 Cor. 5:10).

The good news is that no one has to be afraid of the judgment or having everything which is hidden shared with the whole world. “God our Savior desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:3-4). Peter adds, “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9).

God wants our sins to be covered by the blood of His Son. Not just “big sins” (as we distinguish them), but every sin, great and small, that we struggle with! How great to face the judgment with those sins hidden from His perfect view.

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