Pornography and Masturbation: How Can it Hurt?

Pornography and Masturbation: How Can it Hurt?

© 2009 Fr. Billy Clark & Tiffany Snow

Does pornography really hurt anyone? If a person just views it in the privacy of their own home, how can it harm? Does it add to a relationship like some have said? What about masturbation? Especially if a person is single, isn’t it better to satisfy needs this way than going out on the town? Really, what’s the big deal?

The body is a blessing, not a curse – and it is made to receive information about our world and one another through its feelings, thoughts and senses. In fact, much of what we do in these bodies helps us recognize our gifts and purposes in life, and helps us connect with one another, with love and with God. And it is the body that contains the spirit, like electricity wired into a house. We are created by God in love, by love and for love. We all face the issues that come with having a body, namely the yearning and the longing we have to express intimacy and feel release. It is one of the three major balances in life – physical, emotional and spiritual health - which helps us stay connected to being human while actively accomplishing our purpose and pursuing spiritual things. All throughout history we see how if one of these balances is missing, major problems arise in a person’s life, often with disastrous consequences. Lack of maintaining balance habitually results in lack of discernment, a spinning out of control, and unhappiness.

We were blessed with the ability to recognize beauty in all its forms, and some say observing pornography is just as innocent as that. We recognize the glory of creation in nature; a majestic sunset, a purifying rain, a gentle breeze, a magnificent rainbow. But we are also built to recognize it in humans, and this is why people throughout history people have respected a beautiful body - seeing the ideal of how we were created to be, healthy and fit. Although modified versions of what is considered most beautiful may change slightly over the years, we have thousands of examples available to us in art, sports and in daily life. It is not the recognition of beautiful bodies that is a problem; it is something else much deeper that causes harm in pornography and masturbation.

There is a bigger picture behind what happens during orgasm than many people know. And this is the secret of why we crave it and want more of it. The moment of orgasm is not just a physical release of the body – it is an instant of intermingling and release of your spirit and the person’s spirit you are with (whether both achieve orgasm or not), and it connects you to the Spirit of God too. For a moment our spirit is at one, at peace, is fully accepted, complete, and unconditionally loved. Orgasm is a place where our spirit literally visits God. Why wouldn’t we want more of it? It is built into our DNA code for more than physically making babies – it literally is a place of receiving and giving love. It is touching the Divine place within us and within one another, and Divine Love himself.

And that is where one of the problems occur. We were not created to keep ourselves isolated from one another. Experiencing orgasm alone creates a two way connection between the person’s spirit and the Spirit of God, but misses out on the completeness it was made for in sharing with another human soul. So the more a person masturbates, the more it escalates a feeling of being separate, alone and empty, whether they are in a relationship or not. This can ripple out to more problems, and a turning inward and shutting down instead of facing challenges of attaining and maintaining healthy relationships and communication. When we feel cut off from others, feelings of unworthiness and depression readily surface and can affect all other places of our lives – our work performance, our parenting skills, etc.

Another reason why problems occur with pornography and masturbation is because it can generate feelings that damage the shield of free will. When we get holes in the shield we get attacked through them by demons, which desire to manipulate and destroy physical health, relationships and finances. When free will is breached, it is like having a nagging voice constantly whispering negative things in our mind. For example: we will never have long-term loving relationships, never accomplish the dreams and goals in our heart, never have full physical health or abundance, that we will always have to watch for the next shoe to drop, etc. This creates a war in our hearts, because we know in our spirit that these things are not really how we want to feel or live our lives - we were created to have happy, healthy lives full of abundance in all good things. Keep in mind that this negative voice is not you; it is a trick, a lie. And you can shut it down, heal any injured or manipulated areas, and have peace and joy again by doing special Deliverance prayers; these help heal the holes and get off anything on you that is not of light and love.

The issue of humanity, sexuality and creation has been of interest since the beginning of time. One of the big differences between mankind and Angels is the ability to procreate. In fact, when a couple enters into making love, a bright bubble encapsulates them that makes a sacred space where none of the Angels or any other spirit beings can see. It truly is a time of connection between humans and God. This special attention (including the gift of procreation) is one of the egotistical issues that some of the Angels had with God and humanity, and Angels left their position in heaven about this, thus making themselves unHoly Angels or demons (read more in All About Angels – The Good and Bad of It All)

It is also the reason for the constant barrage of over-emphasis on the body and lust in the media, magazines, television shows, movies, and emails to the point where what was once objectionable has now become commonplace and frequently overlooked. It is a brainwashing that we will only be loved if we are thin, rich and young forever. It is precisely this entrenchment in our everyday life that makes pornography even more dangerous because people fail to see the danger and leave themselves vulnerable to attack. We are asked to be on guard to pay attention and be aware that we not fall prey to manipulation. “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong.” (1Corinthians 16:13) We must be sharp in recognizing what is helpful and what is harmful. We are asked to have discernment and recognize the things that are of love and God, and what are not. It has nothing to do with what is popular or accepted by others or not. Poison is always harmful, no matter what form it may take.

Pornography is a manipulation of our natural desires, a perversion. This is far from what God had intended. When a person willingly views pornography they have opened the door for manipulation of natural desires; it now becomes like a distorted version of an exquisite painting. Where once there was beauty, now all we see is brushes, canvas and paint – all we see is the fundamentals and basics, and we lose all perception of true art and vision that the painting’s creator wanted you to see. It is the same thing by taking the gift of making love and the beauty of the human body and debasing it to the point of centering only on torsos and genitalia. It is a form of idolatry for it places more emphasis on the creation rather than the creator. It is a dangerous pitfall that begins with the violation of the gift from God and can end with the degradation of a person to such a point that a person viewing pornography no longer sees the person in the images as a person but rather they become an object. Whenever anyone is marginalized and separated, destruction soon follows. Pornography harms everyone it touches - those who make it, distribute it, show it and view it. Even children, the innocents, are used for profit.

Pornography also causes problems within relationships. It sets up perceptions of how a person should look or act to enjoy sex, and can create feelings of inadequacy or of “missing out” if they are not looking or feeling the same way. Many have separated over issues dealing with pornography much to the delight of the unHoly Angels. Worse yet, many have sought to carry out disturbing actions they have seen by seeking out others with the objective of trying out degrading and detestable acts of perversion. This destroys what was created to be a sacred place for a couple.

The tendency for pornography and masturbation to become addictions becomes a further pitfall. Like any addiction more and more is needed to meet the level of desired satisfaction. What someone may think is only slightly wrong, something to be hidden from family or friends, grows into a larger problem as it implants more and more depraved images into the mind. People become used to the objectification of themselves and others and no longer see it as an evil but rather seek out additional and increasingly corrupt images and false interactions. The emptiness and injury that occurs to individuals, to couples and to relationships is profound and affect us at our very core. It is the shield of our free will that has been damaged and we have the ability to ask God for assistance in healing it. God can step in and break this cycle of addiction and perversion through a specialty prayer called a Deliverance prayer (Deliverance prayer included in the article Are You Being Attacked? Deliverance and Exorcism). We can also monitor our thoughts and move away from situations that stimulate unwanted thoughts. We can choose to see sex as part of the whole of relationships and not the only reason to come together. We can remind ourselves we are barraged by social and media influences that is targeted to manipulate how we view our bodies and those of others. We can choose to think for ourselves again, and make love how we and our mate choose to in the natural flow of being together.

God does not desire us to have so many struggles with sexuality or with our bodies. The body is a blessing, not a curse – and the instant of orgasm is meant to be a place of union between a man, a woman, and God. It is a gift meant to be unwrapped and fully appreciated, it is not dirty or perverse, but just the opposite. Yet how each of us chooses to handle this gift is up to us. Will we treat it with respect and the treasure it is intended to be, gifting it tenderly to the one we love? Or will we dash it across the floor and wonder why we feel all alone? The choice is up to you, it really is a big deal.

About the Authors: Tiffany Snow carries the 5 marks of the Holy stigmata, and is a documented miracle healer, award-winning author, NDEr and public speaker, and Father Billy Clark is her husband. Distant healing, deliverances, classes, live teleconferences and more articles are offered. This article may be reprinted and shared in any form without permission - please list website: www.TiffanySnow.com, 800-535-5474 God’s L.A.W. Love Always Wins!