The Day My Teen Son Confessed to Porn Addiction
DISCLAIMER: Because I was already asked….within 30 minutes of posting…. Yes, I have my sons permission, with his blessing, to write this story. While I write Transparently for Christ, I will NEVER do it at the expense of my family.That doesn’t Glorify Him at all.
I knew he’d had a problem.
What I didn’t know was how BIG the problem was.
He was the ‘good’ son.
The one that didn’t cause problems. Wasn’t rebellious.
He wanted to be a preacher.
We had gone to small group.
Our small group leader was also his mentor.
We had a meeting after everybody had left.
A up until 3am meeting.
I remember there were a lot of tears.
I hurt for him.
I wanted the little, dimple cheeked boy back.
He was ashamed.
There was a lot of conversation with us four adults, but the one thing I remember was the leaders wife saying:
“it’s boys like you that keep me from sending my girls to summer camp”
He loved their five daughters like they were his sisters!
He would never hurt them…..this wasn’t about pedophilia…..this was an addiction….addiction comparable to meth or alcohol.
My heart ached to for him.
To make it better.
To erase all that he had seen.
To make him pure again.
I felt like I had failed him.
Not being aware of what he was doing.
The few times I saw the computer history, I thought it was our other son. The rebellious one. The Prodigal.
In a survey conducted by Christianity Today, 5 reported that 20% of men 13% of women have admitted to accessing pornography at work. 7% of pastors surveyed said that pornography was the top sexual issue causing damage to their congregation. It has been suggested that 5 out of every 10 men in the Church are struggling with pornography. Mark O’Keefe found that 34% of churchgoing women admitted to having intentionally visited pornographic web sites.
Christians aren’t immune. Christian boys aren’t either.
Come back tomorrow to hear how my son is today.
Thank you for sharing this. My son, a teen of 18 now, had a similar addiction at the age of 16. We’ve gotten through it and he is thriving today. What people do not understand is that so many young boys (and men) struggle with pornography. It’s more common among Christians than we would care to admit. I hope that others are encouraged by you sharing. Thank you to your son for allowing you to share for the Glory of God!
I think people think Christians are immune to sin and we aren’t. Thank you for stopping by!
The shock is understandable but it would be hard for me to bite my tongue if someone said that to my son, no matter WHAT the circumstances. :o/
We aren’t friends with the couple anymore….
I had a discussion about porn with a friend last week. There are many socially acceptable things in daily life that I consider off limits. I don’t want to hear about what medication some men might need. That’s not my business. That belongs between a husband, wife and physician. I also don’t want to hear on television about similar medication for women. I was shocked to see that commercial on before 7 pm. I withdraw from modern society a little more each day in an effort to stay in touch with all that is worthy and necessary. Thank you for writing about such a difficult subject.