When he found that his teenage son had been viewing pornography, he was upset. The young man got defensive when he was confronted and said that all his friends watched pornography on their phones. A couple of guys that put pressure on him to watch had sent the links to him. The dad realized that getting angry was not going to help. He simply took his son’s phone and said they would talk later that evening.
The dad called a friend for advice. He was alerted to the fact that pornography was rampant in middle- and high-school, and that the average age for first-time exposure to porn was 9-years old. So, this was probably not the boy’s first exposure. His buddy woke him up from the slumbers that the pornographic industry was still limited to magazines. The industry is using social media to extend its reach younger minds.
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. – 2 Corinthians 10:5. Paul’s charge to the early church in Corinth was to not live by the standards of this world. While ‘in’ the world, they were not to be ‘of’ the world. The same is true today. If pornography establishes itself as a standard of this world for young people, sex is relegated to an act void of relational intimacy. A fatal attraction to pornography is indeed fatal to relational intimacy. The argument that sex is okay outside of marriage and the pretension that relational intimacy is not sacrificed as a result are contrary to the knowledge of God. Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and the sexually immoral. – Hebrews 13:4. Marriage is the primary means to experience the relational intimacy our Father desires for us. The world offers other choices, fatal attractions that fall short of God’s desire for man.
The father sat down with his son to discuss God’s desire for relational intimacy. He started off affirming his son, acknowledging the young man’s natural attraction to physical intimacy. Then he shared some facts about the porn industry, specifically the sexual abuse of women during the film production process. The dad explained how the visual stimulation distracts from the reality of the situation by design. The devil’s scheme is to destroy marriage and any level of relational intimacy that points to the Father. The father and son agreed to be vulnerable and accountable to each other in rebuking the devil’s temptation toward fatal attractions.
Prayer guide: Lord, I thank You for Your Word and Your desire for relational intimacy. I confess that I was passive as technology opened the door to temptations teenagers are particularly vulnerable to. Forgive me. Help me stay alert to fatal attractions the various media present to my children and provide the grounding in our home that is needed to recognize the devil’s schemes for what they are. Keep our home a safe place for discussing any topic, anytime. May our marriage relationship reflect the relational intimacy You call us to. That is the dad You call me to be and that’s the dad the next generation needs. Amen.
A faithful father coaches his children through fatal attractions.
When he found that his teenage son had been viewing pornography, he was upset. The young man got defensive when he was confronted and said that all his friends watched pornography on their phones. A couple of guys that put pressure on him to watch had sent the links to him. The dad realized that getting angry was not going to help. He simply took his son’s phone and said they would talk later that evening.
