addictions and elephants

so, we went to a show last night at the river bank in south bend. playing were the rendition, whitecollarsideshow, and disciple. all good bands, but one really really really touched my heart. whitecollar... they were very artsy, and not something i would have thought that touched me as much as they did. not only was what they presented amazing, and something i'm passionate about as well, but after their show i was in the hallway and td (the lead singer) came and talked with me for about 15 minutes about our passions and how we have got to use them for God.

so, they talked about masks, and how we all wear them... we need to take them off, and be real before God and people. why do we, the church as a whole, try to skirt issues? i'm not pointing fingers or blaming at all, but speaking in generalities... it just seems like it's not something that is talked about.

addictions... things we replace God with... or put before God...

pornography, drugs, alcohol, video games, our kids...

oh my word... i'd never thought about it before... is it possible to put our kids before our relationship with Christ? most definitely! there's an importance to raising our kids in Christ, but we must remember to love him first... that hit me pretty good.

the one he talked about most was porn... do you realize the amount of porn that is viewed on the internet is more than any other single thing viewed? something like 47% of christian households have admitted to struggling with it... and that's just those that admitted with it! and, the other statistics are just outrageous. it's a very sad, but productive industry. the money that is made from porn is more than all of the huge industries added together... forbes, microsoft, and a few others. craziness! this is an issue that needs to be addressed, and people need to be made aware of it!

anyway, i'm glad that God is good, and that he's a God of forgiveness and grace! and freedom! aren't you?