Just one more about marriage. God has given people a number of frameworks to help us live successfully. He gave Adam a partner, because He realised that the man won’t make it alone. He put this relationship within marriage and this forms the basis of society.

When the relationship is broken, the results are catastrophic. We see this happening all around us.

There are continuous, devastating attacks on marriages. One of the biggest enemies is the relentless knocking of pornography. It starts quite innocently with a message on the WhatsApp group.

Someone clicks unintentionally on a link and the first page may be innocent soft porn, but people are curious and feels forced to look further, and before you know it, we’re drooling at the heat on screen. And no, it’s not men only. They say a third of those watching are women.

Did you know that about 35% of stuff downloaded from the internet is pornographic in nature? That 34% of internet users experience unwanted exposure to pornographic content through ads, pop up ads, misdirected links or emails?

It is war and many people don’t realise it. You don’t realise the impact of pornography on people. Studies have shown that unwanted pregnancies increase, sexual development is hindered, and the risk of depression increases – to name a few.

Almost 50% of people have indicated that pornography is a problem in their marriage. The chance of marital infidelity increases by up to 300%! The cause of 56% of divorces is due to an obsessive interest in pornography. And there are many more shocking statistics from the research.

The impact of pornography and other sexual sins is huge and the major cause of a broken society. We laugh naively at the scantily clad person. We’re curious about the website our friends are talking about and we have a look, slowly being drawn into a vicious cycle. It’s strange, it’s enjoyable, it’s exciting.

The net effect is that we go to our bedroom and expect our partner to do abnormal things. Eventually everything becomes boring and my partner is not good enough anymore, and the problem in the bedroom becomes the cause of the breakup.

Men and women do not realise the impact of their wandering eyes and ears on screens. Research results show it is one big mess.

That’s why God is serious about this: ⁴… God draws a firm line against casual and illicit s*x.

When you switch on your screen again and want to click, think again. Realise that the pleasure does not last long, while the impact can be devastating.

Maybe you should send this one to your spouse so that they can send it to all their friends and family. Maybe you’ll save a marriage …

Scripture
Hebrews 13:1-8

Reflection
Are you struggling?
Do you know someone who’s struggling?
Make a plan!

Prayer
Father, I realise how important marriage is. Help me to live within the framework You have given us. In Jesus’ Name, amen.