Ok, so I get lots of requests about this post from last year. So, I'm just going to repost it, as it is one of my favorites as well. I use this very often at men's conferences, and it gives us a great way to laugh at ourselves while getting the point that we need community. Isolation is deadly.




Ok, so this is you fighting porn/sex alone. Maybe you are an addict, and maybe you are not, but if you try and fight it alone, this is what you look like. Really, if you fight any sin issue alone in your life, this is what you look like. The Gospel, my friends, is meant to be lived in community. We are to be Proverbs 27:17 people - iron sharpening iron. We are to encourage each other on in the race to win the prize.

This clip is such a great metaphor. The Black Knight initially does not talk with his adversary - that was the right call. But then, he engages in conversation, and ultimately in combat, and he winds up a bloody stump in complete denial. How many times have you been there?

You're alone, and the urge hits. You try and shut it down, or walk away from the computer. That's the right call. Even better is to call your friends and accountability team. But you don't, and soon the rationalizing begins and you stay at the computer, and you are engaging. Well, I'll just look at a splash screen, and then I'll stop. An arm falls off, and you claim it is only a scratch. Hours later, there you are, a bloody stump in denial.

Think about it - when you isolate yourself from your community, isn't that when you get into the most trouble?

Watch this, get a laugh, and get a point. None of us are invincible...

Fight alone, and you wind up a bloody stump in complete denial. It's just that simple.

By the way, do you have any accountability software on your computer? This is a great help, because you know you're not really alone. Your accountability team will get reports of every site you visit. This is a big help for me. I use and recommend Covenant Eyes, and they have graciously agreed to extend a 30 day free trial to readers of this blog! Just click on the banner ad on this page, and then click "sign up now!" Then you won't be the Black Knight.

2 Response to " "

  • Anonymous Says:

    Thanks, Tal!

    Accountability is just an aspect of healthy Christian community. Thanks for encouraging us to strive towards real redemptive relationships!

    Thanks also for your testimony. I can identify as someone who has been in vocational ministry while dealing with a deeply rooted sexual addiction to porn. Praise God, I now have some distance from that life. I posted a bit of my testimony on Covenant Eyes blog page: http://blogs.covenanteyes.com/2008/02/20/how-a-porn-addict-found-hope-between-the-altar-and-the-door/

    A question for you: Do you have any sermon outlines and/or mp3s that deal with lust, sexual addiction, pornography? Do you have any where you specifically speak about Covenant Eyes? I'm putting together a pastor resource packet that will give pastoral teachers good Biblical and practical information for their congregations and I'd love to get any material from you, with your permission.

    Thanks!
    Luke Gilkerson
    Internet Community Manager
    Covenant Eyes

    PS: I have posted some comments about the power of accountability at http://blogs.covenanteyes.com/2008/01/24/why-accountability-part-1/


  • Tal Prince Says:

    Hi Luke,

    Thanks for your comments! You are right - accountability is just one aspect of community. I was just making the point there that when we get into trouble, it's when we isolate ourselves from our community.

    Congrats on putting some distance between you and a life of porn! It feels great doesn't it?

    Thanks for asking about sermons, outlines, and information. I'm in the process of a book, so it will all be available there at some point. We will talk a great deal about Covenant Eyes on my radio show on Sirius Satellite Channel 161. Sunday nights at 9 Eastern. Covenant Eyes is a sponsor, and this Sunday we are going to focus on porn specifically, so Covenant Eyes will be a key part of the broadcast.

    You may want to check the church podcast site for sermons. I've started a 12 step series for this year, so there's some stuff there -

    Thanks for writing!