I've been struggling with one of the biggest diseases that ever struck mankind, pornography! I was raised in a Catholic family and throughout almost my whole teenage life I thought my good works would make me acceptable to God.
I was addicted to pornography from age 13 to 18. I tried so hard to justify my addiction but a couple months after my 18th birthday, I surrendered my life over to Jesus and stopped looking it up. I kept at it for just under 3 years, but unfortunately about 2 and a half months ago, I started struggling with it again.
Each time I did it, I felt so guilty because my conscience was trying to pull me away but I kept letting the pornography control me. It's basically an off and on struggle for me. Most of the time I feel like I have the strength to avoid it, but usually during the night, whenever it gets stuck in my head while I'm alone with my computer, that's when I get tempted. I starting to avoid my computer more, now that I know what sets me off. The most common advice I get for this fight is "Set your mind on things that are above and not on things that are on the earth" as said in Colossians 3:2, which is beneficial for me.
The Apostle Paul's story about his struggles gives more hope than almost anything. It really sank in through this experience that even though we may be saved, that doesn't mean we are beyond defeat. There are gonna be times where we feel empowered, but then there are times we are gonna get beat up real bad. There were times I feared that I wasn't saved, but the pastors at my church know that I am because of my faith and my will to keep fighting it.
Is there anybody else fighting the same battle with me? Let's never lose hope and never give in to the lies of the devil! Let's fight the good fight until we finish the race!
—Mitchell - age 20
