An article in the local newspaper reported a public meeting about the growing problem of sex trafficking in our area. Social workers and law enforcement officials cited cases of fourteen and fifteen-year-old girls who had been lured into prostitution. The background of these girls is not surprising. A TBI official said ninety percent of them have been sexually abused before traffickers find them.
How could such a disgusting evil happen in the heart of the Bible Belt in Middle Tennessee? Ironically, another article on the next page of that newspaper gave part of the answer. That report was about the death of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner. He said he was most proud of helping millions not to feel guilty about having sex outside marriage. The article also said that Hefner’s publication inspired even “raunchier” pornographic magazines. The man who lived in sexual hedonism lifted up his eyes in torment a few days ago, but the moral corruption he encouraged continues to plague the lives of millions.
No sensible person can deny the connection between pornography and behavior. The Bible says, “As he thinketh in his heart, so is he” (Prov. 23:7). Is it any wonder that law enforcement officials always find pornography in the homes of sex offenders? The pattern is easy to see. A man looks at lewd images and keeps looking at them until he is addicted. Before long, he is like a drug addict who has to take something stronger to get high, so he turns to more shocking and more aberrant forms of pornography to get high. As his compulsion escalates, he looks for opportunities to act out what is inside him. He may begin with pre-marital sex or adultery and progress to prostitution, pedophilia, homosexuality, or rape, but regardless of how far he allows his lust to lead him, his journey into darkness started with putting vile images into his mind.
