As a Christian community, you probably already know why it’s best to stay away from pornography. God tells us in Romans 6:12, “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.” Viewing pornography is not God’s best for your life! According to the nonprofit Fight the New Drug (FTND), viewing pornography regularly can damage relationships, families, mental and emotional wellbeing, lead to divorce, warp how you see women, change sex for the worse, and is directly linked to violence against women and sex trafficking.
Even viewing pornography occasionally can quickly escalate into addiction, according to sex addiction expert Dr. Victor Cline. And because of inevitable desensitization, your need to see more and more graphic scenes to reach the same level of arousal will increase over time. This heightens its negative effects, increases your dependency on it, and makes it even harder to stop.
Whatever your level of engagement with pornography is right now, it’s best to quit.
How can I overcome pornography?
The first thing you’ll need to do is admit that you need help, and then commit to change. There’s so much support and help out there if you’re willing to look for it! Full recovery programs, like Sex Addicts Anonymous and Reboot Nation, as well as counselors at Cornerstone Christian Counseling, offer a faith-based perspective to the therapeutic process. You may also find it helpful to go to a pastor or trusted mentor.
To achieve successful pornography recovery, honesty and exposure are vital (AAMFT). According to Dr. Kevin Skinner, licensed marriage and family therapist and pornography recovery expert, “Accountability is the difference between success and failure.”
There are a few apps that can help you stay away from pornography on electronic devices, including Ever Accountable. Rather than blocking sites and slowing down your devices, Ever Accountable uses the principles of freedom and accountability. When a person installs Ever Accountable, they enter the email address of an “accountability partner” who will receive weekly reports of the user’s website visits. Ever Accountable then trains the accountability partner on how best to support their friend or spouse.
This approach works very well – Ever Accountable is 89% successful at eliminating pornography for people who have it installed, and 86% of users say that they are happier. The app itself is Christian-run and all involved care deeply about helping people. It goes above and beyond to make sure it does what it’s supposed to do.
We’re all different, but we’re all capable of change
The same recovery method may not work for everyone, but if you are really committed to protecting yourself and your family from pornography, it’s very likely that you’ll find what need.
Pray for courage and strength, and have compassion for yourself: it’s easy to start, and hard to quit.
“Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will find life, righteousness, and honor.” (Proverbs 21:21).
Written by the writing team at Ever Accountable
On the founder:
Tyler Patterson started Ever Accountable to protect himself, personally. He realized that available internet blockers and apps didn’t work for him, as he wanted to be free but still be held accountable to his wife. As a computer programmer and engineer, he invented his own. Christian himself, his goal with Ever Accountable is to free people from pornography so that they can be capable of living to their full potential.
Tyler Patterson, Founder and President
Ever Accountable links:
http://www.everaccountable.com/
https://www.facebook.com/EverAccountable
Sources within the post:
– Fight the New Drug
– Dr. Victor B. Cline
– AAMFT (American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy)
– Sex Addicts Anonymous
– Reboot Nation
– Google Play page
**This post was edited for clarity and grammar January 2022.
