I have a question for you. If I told you, as a Christian man, that I had used pornography for its intended purpose, would you be more shocked that I had used it, or that I had admitted to it? I think we all know the answer to that one.

Pornography in America is big business. It’s everywhere. In fact, it’s invading, to the point of actually becoming part of, the very core of American culture, and it’s tearing this country apart. Many have come to think of it as so out of control, it’s beyond the realm of possibility to even think about reining it in. I disagree.

For years the teachings we’ve heard on pornography, what few sermons we’ve heard, and scientific studies that have come out on the subject, have focused on the harmful effect of it on the body, the marriage, the family, and the general degradation of morality in our society. While all these things may be true, the best efforts of the most well-meaning people out there have had very little, if no effect at all on the spread of it. The reason for this, in my humble opinion is two-fold.

First, it hasn’t been seen for what it truly is, and therefore, hasn’t been taken as seriously as it should have been. Secondly, good people have very simply remained silent; A lot of this having to do with our own shame in using it ourselves.

Pornography has long been painted as a “victimless crime”. Like alcohol consumption, its abuse was seen as the fault of the one who abused it. Anyone who fought against it was seen as just taking away someone’s right to do something they wanted to do. This is the narrative that got “stuck in the craw” of so many across this nation, but in truth, it’s so much more than that.

Pornography is the driving force behind sex trafficking (and therefore, the whole sex trafficking industry), abortion (and therefore the abortion industry), spousal and child abuse, drug abuse, self-hatred and depression to the point of suicide and/or homicide, the list goes on and on. The forced prostitution, forced abortions, and drug use that accompanies the porn industry should be enough on its own to show that this is far from a “victimless crime”.

Demographically, however, there are very few groups of people who are even willing to acknowledge it as a problem. The institutional church doesn’t want to offend its congregations to this level. Nor do they want to preach what would be deemed as R-rated sermons with children in attendance. Politicians fear ridicule on the level of the “Bill and Monica” scandal, as do many individuals who are offended by it. Too many ladies, Christian and non-Christian, are just too resentful of the people portrayed in these photos to consider their plight. And of course, most men are so enamored by it that they don’t stop to consider the person behind those “big blue eyes”. So what’s to be done? Who is left to do anything at all?

Christian men, I say it’s up to us. If not us, then who? We have been given a new life in Christ, and are expected by Him to cast off the old things, and put on the new. We can no longer allow the enemy of our souls to retain this one stronghold within us. We’ve allowed it for too long, and too many people have been hurt in the process. They’ve been hurt by our silence, and by our inaction, as well as by the actions of many who are still caught up in it, and are being negatively impacted by it.

It’s time we let our light shine, and allow ourselves to become the new creation that God created us to be. It’s time we shine that light on the pornography and sex trade industries, and show them for what they really are. This is going to mean different things to different people, but there are a few things that we will all share.

First, we have to be able to individually deal with whatever level of porn use is hindering us at the moment, and second, we have to be willing to step out, in public, and verbalize our opposition to it.

For most men, neither of these is going to be easy, but if anything at all is to be done, it will be necessary. This is where it gets personal guys, and where the Holy Spirit, and only the Holy Spirit will have to be our guide. Some guys will be able to “pull themselves up by their bootstraps” and get after it. Others may have to resort to things like support groups and Christian 12 step type programs to get the help they need.

Similarly, when it comes to verbalizing our opposition, some will be called to lead groups, others to “fight city hall” concerning sexually oriented businesses in their communities, while still others will be called to lobby congress or start petitions. Some may be called to go into the brothels and street corners and pull the victims out, and find them a good place to go, and others will be called to simply “rally the troops” as I’m attempting to do here.

Whatever the call, the one constant piece of advice that I can give everyone is pray, pray, pray. Consult the Holy Spirit at every turn, don’t back down, and don’t give up. Instead, courageously step out, and do your part to curb the damage that’s been done so far, and push back against the enemy that’s fighting so hard against us.

One more thing I must add. As you go, make it abundantly clear that pornography is not a victimless crime. At every opportunity, we need to tie it to human trafficking, forced prostitution, forced abortions, and rampant drug use. There is far too much information on these topics for me to elaborate on them in this one article, but the information is there for those who choose to seek it out.

I encourage everyone to do their homework on this, and see just how deep this rabbit hole goes. You may be surprised at how closely all these things, and more, are tied together. It’s said that every click directly supports a sex trafficker, but I say every look at the “softer” porn does too. Without “real porn” being as prevalent as it is, these “softer” forms wouldn’t be nearly so comfortable. As Christians, we must hold ourselves to the highest standard possible, because that’s how we will ultimately be judged by God. There are many victims to pornography, not the least of which are in our own homes, hoping we’ll get off the computer, and spend some time with them.

It’s easy to sit back and do nothing. It’s easy to “let someone else” take care of it. The problem is, very few are doing anything about it, and the ones that are doing something, are having very little effect; mainly because they are leaving God out of it altogether, and focusing on the wrong things. Christian men, it’s time something was done, and it’s up to us to do it.