Two things for this brief article. First of all, this morning I will be attending a hearing for one of my counselees. His world was shattered last year as state troopers stormed his home, confiscated all electronics, and arrested him for downloading child porn. Exposed to porn as a child and other details that I can’t disclose, this young man is fully penitent, has made much progress, and desires for God to use him to help others find freedom.
Yes, child porn is about as evil as it gets. Those who produce it and profit from it ought to be severely punished. No question.
But this young man is more victim than perpetrator. He’s never committed sexual abuse, has now lost a promising career, and truly wants to be used by God. His church and family have surrounded him with loving support. Five years in the pen seems an injustice in his case.
In one hour, I will be walking into the courthouse as a prayerful observer and potential character witness. He himself is fully prepared for whatever the sentence may be delivered.
Child porn is from the pit of hell. It shatters the innocence of children and cripples them for life. But the devastation ripples out to all who gaze at their computer screens as well.
I will update you on the results.
The Promised Zoom Discussion
As mentioned in a previous post, I’ve written a 58 page manual for pastors and counselors who encounter people addicted to BDSM. It is self-published and not fully polished, but it is FREE to paid subscribers as a download. All others can receive a hard copy for $15 (that’s $10 + postage). Just email me at ongley01@icloud.com.
Those who’ve already received it have said the following dates work best for a Zoom discussion: September 7 @ 7:00 pm ET and September 21 @ 7:00 pm ET. Those who’ve shown interest will receive Zoom links.
If you’ve not yet indicated interest, email me in advance at ongley01@icloud.com.
Tearful Insight
Once I had a man give his testimony in church about his battles with sexual addiction. It had started with molestation from his father as a toddler, but it led to a depraved life of near daily trips to clubs, bookstores, and parks. He was and is an amazing work of God’s grace.
Standing before my congregation, he eventually, he stated, “I know that when someone is convicted of child molestation, we secretly hope they are confined to the darkest corner of some prison and suffer horribly for their crimes.”
Then with tears streaming, he choked out the words, “I just remember that they once were little boys too.”
God have mercy on us all. And may we as his Church rise up to be the healing hands of Jesus for all caught up in this evil Sexual Tsunami.
My cousin went to jail for 20 years for sexually abusing his daughters and stepdaughter. It's always hard to find the path of justice and compassion.
I'm praying for your counselee. For an artistic expression of the effects of child abuse, you might want to check out the song and video "Disarm" by the Smashing Pumpkins. It's on YouTube. The lyrics are rather cryptic but the author says it is about being abused as a child and then considering suicide as an adult. The line, "The years burn; I used to be a little boy,"always gets me. Powerful.