James 4:7 (NKJV)

Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

There are times when a temptation seems unusually strong. I mean by temptation something that you feel a desire to do which you know to be wrong. It is a battle between not wanting to succumb on the one hand and a strong desire to experience an illicit pleasure on the other hand. It tempting object could be food, sex or drugs. It could be things like skipping work, or school or any other obligation you would rather not do. Most of the time there is some sort of built-in restraint having to do with the fear of getting caught. The avoidance of shame is a strong motivation to resist temptation but it only goes so far. The human capacity to rationalize any behavior is astonishing. In our modern technological society there is a insidious temptation--Internet pornography. The fear of being caught almost not there. A savvy Internet user can any trace of his indulgence. That is, any trace except the indelible impression that is made upon the mind. Think about it, once an image is viewed, is it possible to forget it? No, that image will remain there until death. Continued callous viewing of pornography will eventually result in behavioral symptoms.

So what can heal this ugly plague? What is the defense against this temptation? Where is the deterrent? This verse gives the answer. A temptation is like a living being; in fact its source is a living being--the devil himself. You feed it and it grows stronger; starve it and it will weaken. The promise of this verse is to "resist the devil and he will flee." In other words, it will not be a constant battle. The battle will end and you will find victory, relief from the temptation. But where do you get the power to resist in the first place? That's the first part of the verse, "Submit to God." He will give you the power.

So there it is, the only solution to the problem of Internet pornography--a surrendering relationship with God.

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