It’s a hard read, but you need to hear it. I’ve put off posting this for over a week but feel that it’s incredibly important for all of us to hear:
Your child knows about porn.
If they don’t, they will. How will you handle that? We have to become a proactive society instead of a reactive one. Not talking about hard things does not make them go away. We can’t be surprised by the type of men our society is producing if we’re not equipping our sons with the truth to handle what our society will throw at them.
I sat in church two weeks ago next to my 11 year old 6th grader, listening to our pastor teaching on how to be Brave. While teaching, he was discussing temptations that we as humans come in contact with and how to guard yourself against them. One such temptation was porn. He didn’t go into detail, just mentioned it, and as he did, my sweet kindhearted, handsome young man, let out a sigh, rolled his eyes, and murmured “Oh my gosh” under his breath. This caught me off guard and I had no clue as to why this topic would elicit such disgust from him.
After we came home from church that day, when it was just he and I, I point blank asked him if he knew what porn was. His expression went totally somber, his eyes welled up, and his cheeks turned red. He reluctantly told me yes. I then asked if he had ever seen it and he adamantly told me no. He then went on to tell me how the older boys at school talk about it and have privacy screens on their phone so that their parents won’t see that they’ve watched it. I took the opportunity to explain that for starters: that is not real, healthy, or what love looks like, that those girls in the videos are someone’s sister, daughter, cousin, mom, friend. That they are not objects for men’s pleasure and that the majority of them are trapped in that industry against their will.
Up until then, we had discussed that Mom was fighting to help free those trapped in slavery. They know that the people’s basic human rights are violated, but that has been as far as we’ve gone. However, that day, I pointed to the A21 “BECAUSE” bracelet on his wrist and explained that the people in those videos that his friends are laughing, joking, & talking about are the same slaves that Mommy is fighting for.
He started sobbing, and after a while I was able to get him to use his words to tell me why he was upset. He told me that “He didn’t want his friends watching that, didn’t want people treating women that way, and never wanted YouTube if he ever did get a phone because kids watch bad things on it.”
We then prayed that when faced with the temptation of watching (because that day will come) that God can give him the strength to resist temptation. We prayed that he can be a witness to his friends and share with them how this is a vile epidemic in our country that is tearing people’s lives apart. We also prayed for his friends, that they would turn from the temptation as well. And then, we prayed for the slaves trapped in that industry, that we can help free them and bring an end to their misery.
My son will be exposed to Porn at some point. Whether intentionally or not. Whether by mistake, or out of weakness, he will be armed with the knowledge of how to handle it. Will yours? Have you talked to your children about this? Sticking our heads in the sand is only perpetuating the crisis. Have the tough talks. Back it up with scripture. Arm your children. I for one pledge that my children will be informed about the evils in the world, and they will not be exposed without knowledge. Not talking about the scary things doesn’t make them go away. Your children are talking about it. Wouldn’t you rather they have those discussions with you? At what point, do we stand up & say #notmyson ? At what point, do we #takebackourchildren ?
If you don’t understand the ties between the porn industry and human trafficking, here are some facts to help you become more aware: https://www.google.com/…/the-internet-can-be-a-very-un…/amp/
