SEX, SEX, SEX. Sex is talked about everywhere in today's world. It's on billboards, on TV, in movies, in magazines and on the Internet. The way of the world says extramarital sex is fine, and any and all sex is good. You hear that you should enjoy it whenever you want, and there are many ways that people do. God says differently than what the world says. We see in Hebrews 13:4 that the marriage bed is to be undefiled. A lot of people are driven by lust. They may not have had sex; however, many try to see how far they can go and defile themselves in other ways.

Some people have had phone sex, some watch pornography or look at magazines like "Playboy," while others simply look at the opposite gender and have impure thoughts.

These are all things of which God disapproves. The apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 6:18: "Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body." And Ephesians 5:3 states, "But fornication and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints."

I begin this article in this way because I want to get the point across that the view the world holds concerning sex is not in accordance with God's view. I would like to add that I am writing this article because it concerns me and a problem that I have had—and that problem is pornography! It's everywhere on the Internet and in magazines. You can type one thing wrong in a search box and get pornography.

I started having a problem when I lived with my grandparents a few years back. I would watch it when they weren't around. I thought it felt good to watch it. I was always lonely because I was picked on, and my friends weren't real friends at all. They just hung out with me because I was there. So sometimes when I was feeling really lonely I would find something online. It seemed to help at the time, but ultimately did nothing good for me. It has now been almost seven years since I started. It is still a problem for me. I'm not as lonely as I was then, but because I started I am now hooked. There are times when I do really well and go months without looking at anything or even having an urge to, and then there are other times when I fight urges almost every day.

Eventually, I became tired of it. I hated myself. I decided it was time to try to do something about it. I tried a lot of things, but the problem was still there. I was trying to do it on my own. I was looking for my own strength to get me out of this issue, and I got nowhere. Then I started to hear sermons and young adult Bible studies about addictions. The subject was brought up more and more. Then one day when I was talking to a minister during baptism counseling, he brought up addictions. I sat and listened to him, feeling horrible. He saw that I was very unhappy. He asked me why I looked distraught, and I was able to tell him what I was going through. We talked about it a few times after that day, and it was really helping.

I stopped looking at any pornography not too long after that. I got baptized and felt really happy. I was free from my problem. Unfortunately, this freedom lasted for maybe three or four months, and then I started back up again. While I write this, I still struggle with my problem every now and then; however, I'm fighting it more then ever before. I was not battling this addiction correctly before. I was looking to myself to get me out of it. Now I'm battling the addiction with the best help that I could ever have, and that help comes from God. He is the only way to overcome an addiction. I am praying to Him to help me battle against it. I also have a few people I go to and talk with about how I'm doing. If I slip up at all, I go to God first, and then I go to them. They hold me accountable, and that really does help.

God is the biggest help that anyone could ever have. To really battle my addiction, I go to Him in prayer and ask for His help. Bible study is then the next step after prayer. I haven't done it as much as I should, but I know it would help. In prayer, you talk to God. In Bible study, He talks to you. Look to God for the strength to overcome any problem you have. He is helping me with my problem and if He is willing to help me, I know He is willing to help you as well. God be with you and give you strength.