Who would have thought that at the beginning of spring, we’d all be hunkered down in our houses with a whole lot of time on our hands? If you’re like me, you’ve reached the point of asking yourself, Is any of this real? For the time being, it is. So we have to make the most of it.
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Part of that is recognizing our own vices and putting safeguards in place to avoid them. XXX Church, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping people fight addictions to pornography, is stepping in to help.
“We really want to make sure that people know they’re not alone, because oftentimes, when you feel worried or you’re afraid, when you don’t know what the future has in store, you want to isolate and figure it out on your own,” said Brittni De La Mora, a former porn star who now leads XXX Church.
De La Mora told Faithwire that, in response to the social distancing orders put in place to fight the spread of the novel coronavirus, XXX Church has made all of its workshops 50% off and has opened up its phone lines and email for anyone needing support while they’re quarantined at home.
Pornography is just one click away, and when the largest pornography site in the world offers free premium access to its database of illicit content during the lockdowns, the temptation to turn to something comfortable — to pacify our fears with fleeting, self-serving satisfaction — is all too easy.
There ’s certainly no shortage of paranoia, fear, sorrow, and loneliness going around right now, and all of those things can be triggers for people who have struggled with an addiction to pornography.
“When you’re in those moments of high anxiety, you have to remind yourself that you’re not in control,” De La Mora explained. “Oftentimes, when you have high levels of anxiety, it’s because there’s something in your life that isn’t surrendered. So whether it’s those thoughts of fear, those thoughts of worry, you have to remind yourself: ‘I’m not in control. God is in control, and He’s a good God. So whatever He has for my life, He’s gonna work it together for good.’”
When anxiety sparks temptation to turn to pornography, the XXX Church leader said it’s critical to shift instead to worship, prayer, and Scripture, “because when you attract God’s presence, you’re attracting the God of comfort, you’re attracting the God of peace, you’re attracting the God of love.”
And while we are socially distancing ourselves from one another — following guidelines to not gather in groups of more than 10 people — De La Mora said it’s important not to distance ourselves spiritually from God. She also encouraged people to lean into technology, using it to hold each other accountable while we’re staying away from each other physically.
“Get on FaceTime, call your friends, do whatever you have to do so that you can stay encouraged, so that you can stay in communication,” she said. “We’re social distancing but we’re not spiritual distancing.”
If you are struggling with an addition to pornography, Faithwire has a seven-week, video-based course, Set Free, handing participants the spiritual and practical tools they need to tackle this sexual sin.