Dear Brother,
You are hesitant to call it an addiction, aren’t you. You tell yourself that the word ‘addiction’ is reserved for druggies, and alcoholics, but not you. Yes you have struggled with pornography for years--perhaps getting by for brief periods in which you thought you were done with it only to find yourself eventually staring at another screen or magazine yet again. Not an addiction?
Brother, my fear is that you don’t see the danger for what it is. More than likely the stakes have not been raised high enough yet. There’s the chance to you have covered it up well-enough that no one knows. And you tell yourself that as long as no-one knows, it’s not really a problem. In your mind this is just the common-cold. Wait long enough, and it will disappear.
But dear brother, this is not a cold, nor flu, nor paper-cut, nor bruise that will merely disappear in a week or two. This is full-blown cancer of the soul. And unless you see it for what it is and treat it for what it is, it will destroy you.
It is not uncommon for an individual with a life-threatening illness to have denial. So it is with an addiction. Both are things that only happen to other people, not us. If we were told we had cancer, we might first be prone to tell ourselves that if just exercise a little more, or take a few more vitamins, or get some rest and that fix it all. Same thing with pornography—just by reading the scriptures a little more, praying a little longer, fasting with a little more intent will make it ‘all better.’ In both cases those things can help the healing process, but there comes a point when reality must be seen for what it is so that the problem may be treated properly. There are stronger treatments we will need if we are going to come out on top.
You need to understand the healing that begins when you start to see your struggles for what they are: an addiction. When you come to the realization that you have not and cannot beat this of your volition and ability, you will begin to look for help.
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