I was a well-behaved kid. I feared getting in trouble at school so would painstakingly follow directions. In kindergarten, I remember noticing my socks matched a friend’s during circle time. The teacher got onto me for talking and I was mortified. That emotional response seared the image of his socks in my brain.
White socks, two red stripes (it was the 80s), one thick, one thin . . . thick stripe below the thin one . . . thin stripe was about 1 ½ inches from the top of his sock.
Things we see, accompanied with an emotional or chemical response linger in our brains for years. If you’re reading this, you can conjure up pornographic or sexualized images you’ve seen from years ago; for many, you can describe the details of your first exposure (I can). It’s as though these images permanently imprint our brain, and inoperably stay there.
But God . . .
two powerful words . . .
BUT GOD.
Matthew 19:26 tells us that with God, all things are possible. And what’s better yet is that on this specific notion, God created neuroplasticity in us. Which means, we can rewire our brains. We can create new patterns, habits, tendencies, and yes, new memory prompts.
Things we want to bury we can and things we want to bring up regularly we can as well.
Think of it this way. If you brew a pot of coffee, the water you pour in would be clear but when it comes out would be dark brown.
Suppose you poured that pot out
(which I don’t know why you’d do that and not drink the coffee but stick with me)
and didn’t change out the grounds.
The fresh water you poured in the second time would be clear but come out a slightly less dark brown.
Suppose you followed this pattern again and again. The product would grow lighter and lighter, to the point that eventually it would be just about as clear as the water you pour in the coffee maker, right?
There are two rules you must follow though:
1. You must keep pouring water in
2. You cannot add any more grounds.
Such is the same with pornography & lust. Those images and internal prompts are strongly wired.
But if you keep pouring Jesus into your life, and stop adding grounds, you can rewire your brain.
That is truth.
Now you’ll notice this is part 1 of this discussion and I want to stop here. The question to answer for yourself is, do you believe this?
And not just in theory, but for you personally.
For you, son of God, _(NAME)_, do you believe that you can rewire your brain to the point that those images aren’t easily brought up like a file on a computer but rather deeply catalogued in the recesses of your memories, buried away to the point they aren’t ever accessed?
Last, let me tell you that if you’re having troubling personalizing this truth, it’s likely because you feel you’ve been at this too long or pornography is too embedded in your life.
Feelings are real but that doesn’t make them true.
Jesus offers abundant life (John 10:10).
Not just in general terms but for you, __(NAME)__.
For now, focus on two things:
1. Pouring more Jesus in your life.
2. Stop adding more grounds.
Thoughts to Journal:
- Do you believe your brain can be rewired? Yes, why? No, why are you the exception to God’s rule?
- Take Inventory.
- 1. What "water" are you pouring into your life each day? What are you allowing Jesus to do in your life daily?
- 2. What ‘grounds’ are you adding to your life each day? What are you adding which distracts from what Jesus is doing?
- If you focus on those two categories of behavior, what needs to change about your daily routine?
Reading: