USA (MNN) — Pornography: it’s an uncomfortable topic, yet someone must address the tactics Satan uses to keep people enslaved to sin.
One in five mobile searches are for pornography, and less than a third of young people believe porn is bad for society. In 2019, 11 percent of men and 3 percent of women in the United States reported having porn addictions.
Based in northern Indiana, The Lighthouse deals with more than drug and alcohol addictions. Executive Director Brandon Bower says, “Close to 100 percent of these guys (in the program) struggle with pornography.”
Pornography can sometimes be a coping mechanism for child abuse survivors. Not all, but many of the men in a residential program at The Lighthouse can trace the roots of their addiction, whether porn or otherwise, to childhood trauma.
Approximately “80 to 90 percent of the men in our program with addictions have been sexually abused in their life,” Bower says.
Take Scott, for example. An alcohol addict for 40 years, Scott came to The Lighthouse after secular treatment programs failed to help. When asked a routine question about abuse, Scott answered, “No.”
“He came back about a week later and said, ‘You know, I wasn’t honest,” Bower says. “I was abused from the age of nine to 13 by one of my family members. That’s why I drink. But no other rehab centers ever talked about my sexual abuse.’”
After walking through Scripture with The Lighthouse staff, Scott found freedom in Christ.
“I remember the day when Scott came back and said, ‘I forgave this person, and do you know what? I don’t have to drink anymore,’” Bower says.
“By dealing with it one-on-one in counseling, he found freedom from alcohol, as well [as] from that burden he’d been carrying for many, many years.”
Help more guys like Scott by partnering with The Lighthouse here. Pray for the salvation of those battling addiction and for the Holy Spirit’s guidance through the recovery process.
Header image is a representative stock photo courtesy of Manu Del Moral/Unsplash.
