You're listening to Stand to Reasons, hashtag SDR ask podcast with Greg Kokel and Amy Hall.

Hi, Amy.

See, Greg, I gave you top billing this time.

You too. Thank you. It feels a little weird because it's me saying, I don't know.

Anyway, well, today just... I think it is I saying. Oh, no. Where are we going?

He's getting me back for all the times. I edit his writing. So today, we actually have some more adult themes. So if you're listening and you have children in the car, I'm just going to give that little warning here. And Greg, this first question comes from Leslie.

Dear Mr. Kokel, I am a 13-year-old boy who loves your ministry and plans to watch the live stream of your reality conference for students next year.

I have been struggling with pornography for a while now and just with my faith as a whole and have been wondering, is it really wrong?

Hmm.

It's interesting, Leslie, the way you have put your question, I have been struggling with it.

Now, to me, that indicates something.

If it's not morally questionable, then in what sense is it a struggle? I guess you could say,

well, I don't know if it's bad, but I'm doing it a lot, and maybe I shouldn't be doing it a lot,

even if it's not really bad. I mean, maybe it's excessive. That could be a sense of it. But I think that what Leslie

has indicated in his question is that there's an intuitive sense that something's inappropriate

here. And that's why he's struggling. There's another element, too, with the struggling, and that is

there are certain sins, maybe, with the struggling, and that is there are certain

sins, maybe all sins to some degree, that the more you give in to them, the more they get a hold

on you, and it's easier to do and harder not to do. So if you're, if you are, if you let yourself,

uh, get angry and express your anger, you're, if you are, if you let yourself, uh, get angry and express your anger,

you're going to become an angry person. It's going to get a hold of you. It's going to be your natural response. You get bugged and then you blow up. And, uh, so it, it, it leads to

excessive behavior.

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