Teens and Pornography

Taken from the New Life Every Day devotional from September 11, 2013

For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man unclean . . .Matthew 15:19-20a  

The United States Advisory Board for Social Concerns reports that minors read over 70 percent of all pornographic magazines. Fur­ther estimates indicate that most hard-core porn viewers are under twenty years of age. To a large extent, then, our nation's young people are financing the pornography industry.  

Further still, adults who seek treatment for pornography addic­tion almost always attest to exposure during childhood. Whether these adults are involved in multiple affairs, self-gratification, or prostitution, they usually share the experience of getting started years earlier with what seemed to be harmless magazines contain­ing nude photographs.  

My point is this: if you have a teenager, he or she is a target for the pornography industry. Therefore, be observant of their behavior and prepared to take immediate action if pornography is discov­ered. If you discover evidence of porn usage-a phone bill, a book, a magazine, a video-don't simply take the child's word that it was a one-time experience. In most cases, it's the tip of the iceberg.  

Adolescents caught up in this problem are usually much too ashamed to ask for help and too emotionally immature to realize there may be a problem. So even if your child has a history of hon­esty, it's much wiser to at least consider that your child may be try­ing to hide a bigger problem. If you ignore the evidence, you may be ignoring you child's subconscious attempt to get help.  

"You can't afford to kid around with pornography. It'll take your life one image and thought at a time, until you have nothing but shadows." - CS Heinz