When I was 18, barely out of high school, with my head barely attached to my shoulders, I went on my first Summer Missions Team around the Central Territory. Of course, we spent the entire summer working with young kids and after I came home I would often joke that the LORD had revealed to me that I was in fact, NOT called to work with kids. I just felt like I had a hard time relating to them, a hard time understanding them, a hard time putting up with their… everything they do!
Flash forward a few years; a huge part of my job with The Salvation Army is working with elementary school kids. God has a great sense of humor! I spend close to 20 hours a week surrounded by the little guys and girls. Some are polite and respectful, some are complete jerks. Some are hilarious, some constantly annoying. I’ve learned though, over the past few years, what an incredible opportunity and blessing it is to work with young children. They are hungry for the Word, for truth, for purpose and meaning!
Last week I got an email from The Salvation Army’s Initiative Against Sexual Trafficking (IAST) that broke my heart. It was a link to an article, the headline which read, “NJ teen sold stepsister, 7, for party sex.” The details are highly disturbing. But even more disturbing is the fact that this is not an isolated, uncommon incident. Atrocities like this are committed daily against children, men and women around the globe—God’s sons and daughters, created in His image and imprinted with His Spirit.
I pray most of you reading this have at least been made somewhat aware of the scourge on our world that is Human Trafficking; men and women bought and sold in slavery, most often for sexual purposes. This is perhaps the most vulgar and clear cut example of the evil spreading through our world, but it is also represented by prostitution, by widespread rape in the Third World, and by instances like the one described in the article mentioned above. This evil happens because there is a demand for it! And that demand is born, nurtured, and matured in the evil of pornography. It is well documented that men and women who sexually abuse children, visit prostitutes or commit rape and other sexual crimes almost always have a history of regular pornography use.
We as the Body of Christ will be hard pressed to turn the tide against rape-as-a-weapon in war zones, human trafficking, prostitution and abuse until we heed the call and admit that there is a connection between those injustices and our world’s pornography consumption. Pornography is a base cause of and a gateway to some of the most horrible injustice that the church is called to fight, yet we are largely ignoring it. We don’t talk about it, we’re not accountable for it and we pretend like it’s not a problem.
The world has a problem with pornography:
- 40 million U.S. adults regularly visit Internet pornography websites.
- Breakdown of male/female visitors to pornography sites: 72% male & 28% female.
- 20% of Men admit to having accessed pornography while at work.
- 17% of all women struggle with pornography addiction.
- Two-thirds of the divorce lawyers attending a 2002 meeting of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers said excessive interest in online porn contributed to more than half of the divorces they handled that year.
- 1 in 7 youths received sexual solicitation online.
Average age of first Internet exposure to pornography is 11 years old.
90% of 8-16 year olds have viewed porn online.
The Church has a problem with pornography:
- 47% of Christians said pornography is a major problem in the home.
- 53% of Christian men consume pornography.
- 37% of pastors say it’s currently a struggle.
- An internet survey conducted by Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in 2002 found 30 percent of 6,000 pastors had viewed internet porn in the last 30 days.
Pornography is a multi-billion dollar industry. Whether or not you realize it, it is engaged in a war with our culture and our world, and our very brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers are the casualties—both those whose lives are torn apart by the sin of others and those committing these atrocious acts. So my question is why are we not fighting back?
The fight starts with taking action towards purity. That means first opening a dialogue about our struggles and taking away the power of the Enemy’s lies. At Re:Generation this past winter, young adults from all over the Central Territory stood up and admitted that they struggled with an addiction to pornography. You are not the only one! Honesty and accountability mean freedom. And we were created for freedom! So the first thing we need to do is strip away the shame and guilt and admit to someone we trust that we have a problem. Speak with your Corps Officer, youth pastor, or someone else at your Corps of the same sex to help you.
The second thing we need is protection. For years I struggled to resist the temptation of internet pornography, and I failed often. Then I wised up and bought an internet filter. They are extremely affordable (around $40 a year!) and very effective. Will they sometimes be annoying? Yes. Is it worth it? Undoubtedly! Again, speak with your youth pastor or CO if you can’t afford a filter or want to explore the option.
We also need to be praying for our world, and especially our generation. We need to decide that it’s not okay for the enemy to kill, steal, or destroy us any longer. We need to pray against his schemes, and throughout the fight, to know that the battle is the LORD’s and to rely on His strength alone.
RESPOND
Get educated, get help:
http://www.xxxchurch.com
The Salvation Army’s Initiative Against Sex Trafficking:
http://www.iast.net/
Get a filter:
http://www.internetsafety.com
Don’t have a youth pastor or Corps Officer of the same sex at your Corps? Need help, advice, or someone to talk to? The Youth Department staff is here for you! Get in touch.
- Major Marc Johnson (Divisional Youth Secretary) – [email protected]
- Major Karen Johnson (Divisional Youth Secretary) – [email protected]
- Nate Irvine (Director of Youth Evangelism and Discipleship) – [email protected]
Youth Department