Turning the tables...

A father was going through his 13 year old son's phone and noticed pornography through youtube videos.  It was graphic.  He had looked at a slew of videos and now the father had a tough conversation ahead of him.  He sat down his son, showed him the titles of a few of the videos on his son's phone and the son broke down in defensiveness and tears.  He made several concerning comments, one being: "You hate me and you're going to yell at me."  The other one being, "I'm a bad kid, I know I'm so bad."  The father's response, "Son, that's not me sending you those kind of messages, it's the porn."

What if his father hadn't caught him?  Where would these two shame messages lead?  They would lead to one of the four beliefs of an addict: I'm basically a bad and worthless person, worthy of no one's love.

This sets the son up for a spiritual wound as well, stating that God will never love him if he is this bad of a person.  Hiding, secrecy and shame all create a sort of petri dish of bacteria where the soul suffers alone.  If God walked in on this boy, He would scoff at him, walk out and never come back in (says the lie).

This couldn't be further from the truth.  Jesus wants us in right relationship with Himself and others.  He wants us to have life abundantly.  This will cost, and sacrifices will need to be endured.  However Jesus wants the truth.  Thus, He'd walk right into that room where the boy is viewing pornography, slam shut the computer, turn over the table and look at the teenage boy with an intense gaze.  Then He'd state, "I'm sorry you saw this, I'm here for you, I love you.  You are a great son of the Father.  Come with me and sin no more."

Allow Jesus into the sin.  Give him that space in the temptation.  Make eye contact with Him.  In this way, freedom begins...