Stop the supply

In 2 Chron 32:4 we read:

This makes perfect sense doesn’t it. If a large army is going to come and besiege your city you don’t want to make life easy for them by providing an abundant water supply. If we again remember that the Assyrian army were really just a representative of the carnal mind, then the apostle Paul gives similar advice in relation to the enemy that you face. In Romans 13:14 he says:

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

Romans 13:14 (ESV)

In other words, don’t put yourself in situations where it is going to be easy to gratify your carnal desires to view pornography. Just as Hezekiah set out to make life difficult for the Assyrians, you need to make it as difficult as possible to get access to pornography, you need to do everything you can to cut off the supply.

This may sound like a difficult thing to do in the age in which we live as it is so easy to access pornograpy via our smart devices. You are probably also thinking that it would be impossible to live without your smartphone, tablet, or laptop as you need them for work or study. However, there are some simple practical steps you can take, as well as some helpful technologies that can help to limit your access to pornography while still allowing you to use your devices for legitimate tasks.

Google Safe Search
Turn on Google Safe Search. Go to https://www.google.com/preferences and make sure the ‘Turn on SafeSearch’ box is ticked:

You should then see ‘SafeSearch On’ at the top of all your Google search results pages.

YouTube Restricted Mode

Click on your icon at the top left of YouTube and make sure ‘Restricted Mode’ is set to ‘On’.

Lock down any devices you have access to

Purchase some sort of filtering software that can be installed on your phone, tablet and laptop. A reasonably cheap option is https://www.kaspersky.com.au/safe-kids. There is a reasonably up-to-date review of other options at https://au.pcmag.com/parental-control-monitoring/44998/the-best-parental-control-software

Although many of these filters are designed for keeping children safe, don’t let your pride fool you into thinking that you don’t need to install these on your devices as an adult. The truth of the matter is that these days what the world considers suitable for children is probably the equivalent of what is suitable for a disciple of Christ.

You have probably also proved time and time again that you can’t resist the desire to view pornography by sheer adult willpower alone. So, do yourself a favour, admit you have a weakness, own the problem, and take steps to make it as hard as possible for your carnal mind to access what it desires.

To make the use of a filter on your devices effective you really need to get a trusted friend to set it up and assign an administrator password that you never get access to. This way, in moments of weakness you don’t have any way to override the filtering software. It may be difficult for you to confide in someone else about your problem, but as we will discuss in step six ‘Take Counsel’, it can make a huge difference in your ability to overcome this problem. Make sure you read that step before making any decisions about who you might talk to about helping you set up some filtering software.

Make wise choices about where and when you use technology

Aside from technology solutions for blocking access to pornography, you can also make personal choices about where and when you have access to devices. If you find that you often fail when you are alone in your bedroom with a device, then you can choose to make your bedroom a device free zone and only use your devices in the living areas where other people are around. Have a work of the truth beside your bed, and read that instead when you are alone in your room. Having no devices in your bedroom can also have the added benefit of allowing for a much better night’s sleep if you are not exposed to the light of screens late into the evening.

If you know you are going to be home alone for an extended period, then plan some activities in advance that will keep you busy and away from technology. This could include leaving the house yourself and going to help a brother or sister in need, anything to keep you busy and active, and your mind distracted from its carnal desires.