Megathread...

Would you run for your life or just stand on the beach as a gigantic tsunami rushed towards you?

You’d run, right? Don’t be so sure.

During the Boxing Day Tsunami, many vacationers just stood on the beach and watched as the ocean receded into a monstrous wave...

The locals knew better. They ran as hard as they could. But some of the foreigners stood on the beach, stared in amazement, and were engulf in a deadly mass of water.

Why didn’t they run? Why did they just stand there like a bunch of idiots?

Because tsunamis weren’t a normal part of life in their country. They knew that tsunamis existed and that they happened in this part of the world. They, however, had never seen one. So they underestimated its danger and were slow to take actions.

This has a name: normalcy bias.

“A normalcy bias is a psychological state of denial people enter in the event of a disaster, as a result of which they underestimate the possibility of the disaster actually happening, and its effects on their life and property..."

"...Their denial is based on the assumption that if the disaster has not occurred until now, it will never occur.”

Huge portions of the American church are underestimating and therefore under-reacting to the disaster that is racing our way.

What disaster do I speak of?

I got the following text this morning. Here was my reply:

1. Tell them that you love them, aren’t ashamed of them, and that this is something that you have had to overcome. Tell them they can do the same.

2. Tell them that porn is bad for them spiritually, physically, and relationally. And then explain how.


3. Tell them that you are going to set up “speed bumps” to help them when they’re tempt but it comes down to their desire to live with integrity. Those speed bumps are:

a. Filters (on devices & IP)
b. Screens only in shared spaces
c. Weekly check ups: Have you looked at porn of any form this week?

4. Ask them to identify the a) the times that are most tempted and b) the things that seem to trigger the desire to look at porn.

5. Show them ways to deal with stress that are productive: bible reading, prayer, running, pushups, developing a skill, etc.

6. Remind them again that you love them, that porn makes you weak, & living a lie is hell. Let them know that you won’t look down on them if they stumble & they need to let you know so you can conquer it together: "You can overcome this. You can have a good conscience. Fight!"