Article By Debra Foster
“Are you going to see Fifty Shades of Grey when it comes out?” asked my friend Jenifer.
I told her I read the book back in 2011, but I don’t plan to see the film in February. I got convicted.
The day my reading habits changed was on First Sunday.
My pastor preached a sermon called “What Are You Thinking?” based on Philippians 4:8. It says, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.”
The “whatever is pure” part of that verse hit me hard, because I knew my book stash at home on my closet shelf did not reflect purity. I had just finished reading E.L. James’ book.
My pastor said, “If Jesus physically came to your house, sat down and read the books you have on your shelf, what would he think about it?’
I thought, "He would not be impressed with '50 Shades' at all, no matter how popular it was!"
I never read one of those twisted novels with the plot driven by sex again.
I got rid of my collection.
I recommend that other women do the same thing—whether single like me, or married. We need to be thinking pure thoughts.
E.L. James' hugely popular erotica trilogy, which topped sales of 100 million copies worldwide, is clearly popular.
Lots of people I know have read it.
Yet, just because it seems like “everyone” is indulging something, doesn’t mean I, as a Christian woman, should hurry and jump on the bandwagon.
You shouldn’t either.
E.L. James’ work, called "mommy porn,” has been banned by some local libraries for the nature of its explicit sexual content.
I believe people of God seeking to uphold biblical standards of intimacy would do well to ban such things from our lives as well.
Colossians 3:5 NIV tells Believers to “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.”
So then, because pornographic material, whether in movies, books, magazines, or online, awakens impure thoughts and desires, it should be “put to death,” or at the very least, off our reading list.
Filling our brains with thoughts of sexual activity leads us down a road to lust that ends, very often, in a cycle of premarital sex.
For singles striving to please God and not be ruled by fleshly desires and sexual temptations, porn makes this nearly impossible. It pulls us into a secret world of arousal that can only be gratified by sexual activity with another person, sex toys, or masturbation rooted in fantasy.
I have spoken to honest married women too, who admit X-rated books, videos and images sully the purity and sanctity of the sexual act. It virtually invites others into the bedroom through fantasies, thus creating mental struggles, and barriers to focusing exclusively on their spouse.
Christian college professor, Dr. Julia Stronks of Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington told ThinkChristian.net, “Sex, like everything else in our world, was created by God as a gift, but then was subject to the Fall.”
When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, they introduced sin into the world. Now we all struggle.
Still, Dr. Stronks said, “Through Christ’s sacrifice, though, we live in the knowledge that our sexuality has been redeemed and we are free to explore it within the bounds of what God intends for human creatures.”
Erotica fiction, by its very nature, arouses, teases, and sweeps the reader away on a sexual adventure beyond the borders of what is right and healthy.
Refuse to take the ride.
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To learn how to better value yourself, uphold your standards and resist sexual compromise, get your copy of Dianna Hobbs' best-selling book The New A-list: Abstinence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder, now available on Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, and Booksamllion.com.
Thanks!although I'm not challenged in that area this is a good testimony. We need to also look at some of the leady magazines that come into our homes and our lives.They also send subtle messages of sex.
Posted by: Truth Speaks | 01/12/2015 at 07:42 PM
Thanks! this is a good testimony thanks for sharing. Although I'm not challenged in this area it informative. I can say that over the years I've had to be mindful of what I rea especially some of the leading magazines that are for and about women however they send subtle messages about sex through pictures.Thanks again....Truth Speaks.
Posted by: Truth Speaks | 01/12/2015 at 07:49 PM