Acceptable Pornography

If you walked into a room and found an unclothed couple whose "delicate" parts were obscured by their arms and legs, would you continue to walk into that room, or turn away? 

Would you think you had just violated their privacy and cover your eyes, or continue on with business as usual? "Hello, friends. How are you today?"

Well, I think without hearing your actual reply, I can guess that most of us would be embarrassed (or horrifed!), cover our eyes, turn away, and make a quick exit.

What if the images were on a movie screen, TV, or computer? 

Some will say, "That's different." I don't think so. A dramatized scene of human intimacy is still a scene of human intimacy. Does the actual relationship of those involved matter? Of course not.

Yet, so many of us have gazed upon a scene just like the one above - and, sometimes, those delicate parts are not obscured. 

So, what do you do? Are you indifferent? Do you grit your teeth and wait for the scene to pass? Cover your eyes, fast-forward, or stand up and leave?

I am afraid that too many of us aren't doing anything to object to this intrusion. We just accept it. "It's not like we're watching pornography, you know. We aren't one of those people."

You know what's worse than porn? That stuff we think isn't porn. Those images we take into our soul and spirit without recognizing their danger. Like second-hand smoke, or GMO corn. We see look at the rating on the outside of the DVD box, or on the screen. It's not X-rated, so it must be safe. 

Pornographic images have become so commonplace, we don't recognize them anymore. We've created a category of indecency that is really porn, but it's acceptable porn. Christians accept it, and engage in it regularly, without the slightest concern. They aren't weighing the costs, because they don't even think it's wrong. 

And, that's the real tragedy. Not counting the cost of those few minutes. 

A few minutes that can lead to death.

That was Satan's deception in the Garden. God said, "Don't consume this. It leads to death." No, not a drop-dead-in-your-tracks kind of death, but a spiritual death. A death of innocence, purity, and righteousness. A death of spiritual authority.

Instead of listening to the God who loves us, who sent His Son to give us life eternal, we bow to the lies of Satan. The very same lies he used to deceive Adam and Eve. Instead of turning away, or fleeing for our life, we are complacent, and gullible. We have become numb to the Holy Spirit. 

And, the perversion of our soul increases. 

My friends, this matters. What we consume with our eyes matters as much as the apple Adam & Eve consumed in the Garden. We cannot take these compromises lightly. They poison our spirit, and imprint themselves on our mind. They are seeds of destruction that lead to death.

Friends, we must be on guard. That particular show or movie or game or song or image may seems tame or mundane, but it is a gateway to the deepest depths of sin and depravity.

Be careful, little eyes, what you see.