The Dangerous Path of Lust by Steve Watters on 10/02/2006 at 10:38 AM

Last week the small town of Bailey (just northwest of where we are in Colorado Springs) was traumatized by the sexual assault and murder that took place at Platte Canyon High School. People wondered what kind of monster could do what this 53-year-old man did before shooting himself in front of his stunned victims.

We have to realize that men like this don't come out of nowhere. Rob Jackson, a Christian sex addiction counselor blogged about this over the weekend and wrote "When our grief grants us a reprieve from this unthinkable moment ... we're going to have to start thinking differently...."

Rob is a good friend who gave me input for a book about Internet addiction a few years back. He has helped me understand just how dangerous the path of lust can be for a man (or woman) who thinks he can dabble without consequence.

Last year, Dr. Mohler pointed out that 70% of 18 to 24-year-old men visit pornographic sites in a typical month. 66% of men in their 20s and 30s also report being regular users of pornography. (First-person: the culture of pornography, R. Albert Mohler, Jr., Baptist Press, 28 December 2005). Additionally, the Man in the Mirror ministry estimates that half of men in the church are struggling with pornography (The Call to Biblical Manhood. Man in the Mirror, 6 July, 2004). 

Should we be surprised when that dabbling drives some down a path of destruction? I'm still processing the shock that one of my favorite relatives is in prison for a child pornography habit that contributed to his molesting a minor.

Rob has expressed in articles for Focus on the Family's Pure Intimacy, however, that there is hope for someone who is being pulled down the path of lust. I always hope when I hear traumatic stories like this that they will somehow cause other men to stop in their tracks and surrender to God's transforming work in their lives.

The Dangerous Path of Lust by Steve Watters on 10/02/2006 at 10:38 AM

Last week the small town of Bailey (just northwest of where we are in Colorado Springs) was traumatized by the sexual assault and murder that took place at Platte Canyon High School. People wondered what kind of monster could do what this 53-year-old man did before shooting himself in front of his stunned victims.

We have to realize that men like this don't come out of nowhere. Rob Jackson, a Christian sex addiction counselor blogged about this over the weekend and wrote "When our grief grants us a reprieve from this unthinkable moment ... we're going to have to start thinking differently...."

Rob is a good friend who gave me input for a book about Internet addiction a few years back. He has helped me understand just how dangerous the path of lust can be for a man (or woman) who thinks he can dabble without consequence.

Last year, Dr. Mohler pointed out that 70% of 18 to 24-year-old men visit pornographic sites in a typical month. 66% of men in their 20s and 30s also report being regular users of pornography. (First-person: the culture of pornography, R. Albert Mohler, Jr., Baptist Press, 28 December 2005). Additionally, the Man in the Mirror ministry estimates that half of men in the church are struggling with pornography (The Call to Biblical Manhood. Man in the Mirror, 6 July, 2004). 

Should we be surprised when that dabbling drives some down a path of destruction? I'm still processing the shock that one of my favorite relatives is in prison for a child pornography habit that contributed to his molesting a minor.

Rob has expressed in articles for Focus on the Family's Pure Intimacy, however, that there is hope for someone who is being pulled down the path of lust. I always hope when I hear traumatic stories like this that they will somehow cause other men to stop in their tracks and surrender to God's transforming work in their lives.