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Sexual Addiction: The Problem |
Getting free from the lies and bondage
Rev. Dr. Jerry Schmoyer
Suppose you were traveling in another country and walking around some evening. As you walked you came to a building where people were lined up to enter so you got in line. They seemed excited as they seated themselves facing a stage. Everyone applauded and cheered as a man walked out with a large tray covered with a towel. Wild music started to play and lights flashed on and off. Slowly the man would lift one corner of the towel and then another, allowing the audience to catch a glimpse of what was under it. The people cheered louder and louder. Suddenly the towel was totally removed and everyone went wild as the lights dimmed. What you saw before all went dark was a nice, fresh pork shop! What would you think? Was their something wrong with their appetite? Suppose as you left you noticed a magazine stand with pictures of pork chops on the cover and inside. Pork chops were used to sell cars, mufflers, clothing -- anything and everything. TV programs and movies were rated as to how much pork chop was shown. Jokes and general conversation often focused on pork chops. People carry them around to entice the opposite sex. What would you think of a culture like that? Have you caught my analogy yet? That is the way our country is about sex!
“It’s different,” you say. “Pork chop lust is weird, but sexual preoccupation is just a normal and natural thing.” Unfortunately that’s true of the time and place we live. Seeing it as normal is the result of growing up in 20th century western civilization. Sexual addiction is becoming more and more common and studies show that 70% of Christian men struggle with sexual sin of one kind or another. Something must be done.
The purpose of these articles is to expose the lies of the ‘pork-chop’ culture we live in. Only the truth leads to freedom from bondage to addiction. Since our actions are determined by our beliefs, it is essential that our beliefs be based on truth.
Our culture today is based on lies about sex: “Pleasure and fun are the highest goals of life, and sex is the ultimate achievement of fun and pleasure.” But it always seems to take more and greater experiences to attain the pleasure. Another lie is that “variety is necessary to sustain sexual pleasure,” but then sex becomes an end in itself and is separated from intimate emotional relationships. The focus becomes on self and receiving pleasure, not giving pleasure. Another lie is that ‘sexual freedom means doing what I want when I want it.” But this makes us no more than self-centered sex animals.
The truth is that real pleasure that sustains and grows is only found in a committed monogamous relationship of a married couple.
We’ll look at various lies and see how they stand when exposed to the truth. The first lie is that “It’s not a problem!” Is sexual addiction a problem or not? What is the truth?
Next:
IV. The Solution
