Looking Deeper: Why Porn Calls to Us, and How Christ Leads Us to Freedom
"Sometimes Death, puffing at the door,
Blows all the dust about the floor:
But while he thinks to spoil the room, he sweeps."
— The Church-Floore, George Herbert, 1633
Psalm 139:23–24: “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
In a world bursting with new temptations, Christ’s timeless teaching on lust shines even more piercingly today. He considered lust not just a matter of behavior, but of the heart—the inner being. His call to us has not changed, but our world has. Over time, humanity has developed tools for channeling sexuality in ways the original audience of the Sermon on the Mount could never have imagined. Today, with a device in our pockets, we can access a virtually endless ocean of pornography. Estimates based on public data suggest it would take more than 500 years to watch what is currently available online--and that’s without sleep and without breaks. The sheer immensity underscores how overwhelming this temptation can feel.
And this temptation does not remain “out there” in the secular world; it weaves its way painfully into the church. Recent surveys reveal that more than 67% of pastors report a history of pornography use, with about 18% still using regularly. Among Christian men, the number rises to a sobering 75%.
Pornography calls so insistently to us because it engages more than just our physical desire; it also acts as a kind of emotional medication. When someone turns to pornography, the brain is flooded with a powerful cocktail of neurochemicals: dopamine spikes, driving craving and excitement; endorphins and opioids soothing like balm; oxytocin and serotonin bringing a fleeting sense of comfort and contentment; and stress hormones fading into the background. The result is not merely indulgence in pleasure, but a complex form of emotional relief—a way the mind seeks to calm pain, escape loneliness, or quiet inner turmoil. Our minds quickly learn that instead of solving our problems, or even feeling our problems at all, we can simply search up pornography and find a temporary balm for our internal pains. We prefer the quick pill to the real solution.
This explains why pornography use often surges during moments of anger, loneliness, or deep distress. It does not only gratify; it seems to medicate. Its endless variety allows it to mirror and soothe countless different wounds—whether the ache of invisibility or the sting of powerlessness.
Understanding that emotional voids often fuel sexual desires reshapes our responses to our desire to view pornography. It gives us another tool in addition to self-control. If we are using pornography to medicate and mask deeper needs, then God has given us another virtue to meet it: curiosity. What would it look like to bring God into the desires that often make us feel ashamed or distant from Him? What is the ‘good’ we are seeking from the wrong source? Connection? A feeling of agency or control? An outlet for our stress?
It begins with honest acknowledgment: naming the urge, the thought, or the longing without pretending it isn’t there. Then, we pause and turn toward God, asking Him “What am I really looking for here?”, using the temptation as a guide towards God and what we may need from Him or others. This kind of guided curiosity allows us to explore our inner life without judgment—what triggers these desires? What emotional or relational voids do they point to? How might God be inviting us to deeper healing, connection, and self-understanding? And what could I do right now to begin to meet these needs instead of watching pornography?
When Jesus asks, “What are you seeking?” (John 1:38), He is not scolding but inviting. Even our most troubling desires can become signposts, pointing us toward the healing, connection, and deeper wholeness that only Christ can offer.
References
Herbert, George. The Church-Floore, 1633.
Barna Group. Beyond the Porn Phenomenon, 2024. https://churchleaders.com/news/499672-pastors-history-porn-problem-barna.html
LifeWay Research. Pornography Use Among Christians Reaches Crisis Level, 2023. https://lc.org/newsroom/details/121724-pornography-use-among-christians-reaches-crisis-level-1
