Porn In My Pocket

So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that they had, and the rings that were in their ears. Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree that was near Shechem. Genesis 35:4

I don’t struggle with opioid cravings today. There was a time though when I desired them constantly. What changed? How’d I get here? I once begged God to instantly remove my appetite for opioids, but I didn’t get the immediate miracle. I first had to go to treatment, leaving the environment where I got my drugs. I had to abandon certain friendships with those who drank alcohol and consumed tobacco. Daily, I had to learn to point my life at God instead of myself. Basically, I had to change everything, pursuing a life devoid of drugs or alcohol. Even now though, when a patient plops down a bottle of opioids in front of me, asking how to get rid of them, I have fleeting dark thoughts. Imagine then, if I carried around a bottle of pain pills in my pocket. What kind of terrible temptation would that be? I might hold out for a while, but eventually, I’d have a bad day and I’d give in. I like my new life though. So, I’d be an absolute fool to carry around a bottle of pills in my pocket.

You can see where I’m going with this. Honestly, I grieve for those struggling with pornography. When I was a kid, I simply didn’t have regular access to pornographic magazines. If I had one, carrying it around in my backpack, I’d have viewed it regularly. I just couldn’t have avoided the temptation that was right there – all the time. So how are men who struggle supposed to maintain abstinence from pornography when they carry unlimited access to pornographic images on their phones, right in their pocket? If I were the devil, I can’t imagine a better way to paralyze men’s spiritual lives and to undermine their marriages, than to put porn in their pockets.

In today’s passage, Jacob and his family confronted and eliminated their foreign gods and idols. It’s curious that they had them at all. Jacob claimed to follow God, but apparently, up to this point, he tolerated foreign gods. Under some duress though, Jacob desperately sought God, who changed his name to Israel, promising Jacob blessings if he followed God. So, Jacob cast out all foreign idols, burying them deep in the ground. Jacob couldn’t follow God while keeping idols in his pocket.

The lesson is painfully obvious. If we struggle with porn, we can’t carry it in our pockets. If we desire to follow Christ, it’s our daily responsibility to do whatever it takes to abandon our sin, casting it out of our lives. How? How do we live without a smart phone? I know those who’ve gone to an old dumb phone. I also know those who’ve found success in using applications (Covenant Eyes) that track pornographic content, keeping their user accountable. We simply cannot follow God while keeping porn in our pockets. Daily, we must pick one or the other. Faith isn’t easy, but if we want to experience the life, joy, and peace for which we were created, then we must daily abandon self to follow Christ – no matter how difficult that may be.