Craig Clouston

Make Me Pure Again, Lord

Create in me a pure heart, O God.
Psalm 51:10

Russell turned off the computer, feeling defeated. It had been six weeks since he’d given into the temptation, and now he felt horrible. He didn’t understand how he could love his wife and still do this.
He tried to control his impulses, yet he couldn’t seem to help himself. He always seemed to end up at a porn site, committing adultery with women he would never meet. And when it was over, guilt and shame replaced denial and desire; he hated not being able to resist the temptation.
The next morning, he called a friend who happened to be a Christian counselor. “I don’t understand this, Paul. I get this urge that won’t be satisfied until I give in. I love Barb. Why can’t I stop?”
“It’s a complex problem, Russ,” Paul began. “Men are visually stimulated. They catalogue every image they see. If the image stimulates sufficiently, it is retained. Pornographic images cause a hormonal flood in the brain, which creates heightened desire because it alerts the procreation instinct, which feels the need to respond immediately. It’s the same as being addicted to heroine. The only way to stop the process is to delete the images from your memory, and that’s not humanly possible. Only God can recreate your mind and remove those images from your memory. Let’s set an appointment to talk further.”

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Pornographic images stimulate and trigger the release of adrenaline, testosterone, endorphins, and oxytocin, a stimulus package sufficient to cause tremendous euphoria. Pleasure receptors override common sense. Once viewed, you cannot stop uncensored recall of the images. Only blocking the ability to remember can inhibit recall.
Had David taken the images of Bathsheba to God when he saw her bathing (2 Samuel 11:2), he may not have given in to his sexual desire. Instead he chose to entertain them, and he and many others paid the price. In his sorrow, David asked God to renew his heart.
As with David, God would set us free if we would ask. For those who fight this battle, Christian counseling is a good place to begin.

Prayer

“Make me pure again, Lord. Lead me in the steps necessary to bring about true freedom. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”