How To Fight Bed Bugs

Sitting in Chicago traffic on the way home from a hard days work in his new Audi Fred is enjoying some good talk radio. He hears there is heavier traffic than normal. Not just regular heavy Chicago traffic, but the kind of traffic one might prefer to call gridlock. Then it hits. Fred hits the brakes and sits. And sits. And sits. He waits. And waits. And waits. For 6 hours he sits, no movement at all. Not even an inch.

Fred, like the other drivers passed frustration hours ago and have placed into a defeated "dear God please let us move sometime" mentality. Connie, Fred's wife, worries at home as she called and saw confirmed what Fred said on their call about the gridlock on the news. More time passes, it is now 7Am and it is time to start heading the other way to go to work. Yet, the question is no better. Still no room to move. To make matters worse, those without nice vehicles just got out of them and left them on the road. Even if there could be movement there would be no inherent way to move because only those with the nicer cars waited this long. Well, those with the nice car and the occasional fool who had nothing great to do than wait.

The stations traffic narrative say they see no hope of anything moving. Ever. Fred finds this hard to believe. After all, who has ever heard of traffic that never moves. He'd just wait it out. He would try and drive on the shoulder, but the shoulder was filled with cars as well.

Day three, Fred still sits in the car, nearly everyone else he knew were doing the same... all being owners of classy cars. Fred is so hungry and going to the bathroom has proved to be a challenge. Thankfully he got the tint package for his Audi.

Day seven, in life there are some decisions when you reach a inevitable point there is no going back. Fred found a decision like this. By the end of day one, he proclaimed himself to be one who would stay "as long as it took." It is odd, there is still a strange admiration for folks like Fred, who stay even though conventional (and non-conventional for that matter) wisdom is discarded. It is in the discarding they are respected for being those who do not live as obsequious sheep following the herd.

Day twenty one, Fred, still as focused as ever, decides to keep on "lasting it out." No one else assuredly wants to wait this long... but to Fred... the notion of losing that Audi he worked so hard for is wholly unbearable. Fred tries to outline out any way to get out of the traffic and cannot think of any that don't involve leaving his prized car. One thing. For Fred it is his high-priced Audi. He will suffer anything to keep his hands on this car. Why? If we asked Fred, he might not even know. Sometimes there are vices and decisions we make that are so wholly out of synch with reality, to try and construe it is faultless futility.

Let's try and be fair though... let's give Fred some reputation and assume there are some legitimate reasons he has to do what he is doing. What are some options? Well, here is a list of thoughts he might have to construe his behavior...

I have worked for years to be able to save sufficient for this car. I am not going to lose it for 2 days on the freeway.

There are many thugs and if I leave it, it won't be here when I am back.

The car is comfortable and this is the first real rest I have had in years.

I live 100 miles from home and even if I pick walking, it would take 7 to 10 days, and each day I get surprised there is still no movement.

I don't know how to walk, only how to drive

What do you think of his reasoning? Is there a time when he should get out of the car and go and at least get some food? Why do you think he'd stay in the car?

If one car a mile down the road vanished and no one moved forward, how far could Fred go? If the car directly in front of Fred vanished, how far could Fred go? What would this tell us about the reality of Fred going anywhere? (What is it contingent upon?)

Now let's rewrite some of the story and place it in a different light...

Sitting in his office on a Friday afternoon after a hard days work Fred is enjoying some internet surfing and good Bible study. A pop up hits the screen. This is not just a regular ad, but the kind of ad one might expect to see make a father weep if they saw their daughter posing for the ad. Then he clicks. An instant where a inexpressive desire hits the surface and concrete sin hits a man in the face with a force so excellent it commonly dulls all that is to come after. Fred hits the shades and turns off the lights in his office. And sits. And sits. He waits. And waits. And waits. In the thrill of the forbidden, the loading seems to take forever. For 6 hours he sits, no movement at all. Except his hands clicking objects and his lust raging and driving his fingers to click... click.... Click.

Fred, like the other surfers passed guilt hours ago and has placed into a defeated "Dear God, I will stop doing this someday " mentality. Connie, Fred's wife, worries at home. She called the office and was told he would be working late. "Why does Fred always have to work late on the weekend? It seems like he never has time for the kids anymore" she thinks. She feels a microscopic great when she got an E mail because it helped to confirm what she had already been told. Still she felt uneasy and wasn't sure why. Where is he? She goes to bed tired and lonely and like a bug attracted to light, Fred continues clicking images on his computer screen. More time passes, it is now 7Am and it is time to start heading back to work. Yet, the question is no better. The lust in Fred still rages. His receptionist walks in ... Startled to find Fred is still there and admires his work ethic. She looks even prettier to Fred this day as the thoughts of his wife grow more distant. He looks a bit ragged, but she attributes it to a long night of prayer or sermon prep.

Fred sees no hope of anything changing. Ever. Fred finds this hard to believe. After all, who has ever heard of a Christian... And pastor... Who is so addicted to sin? Something like this must just be a phase. He'd just wait it out. He would try and be devoted to only his wife... but other women seemed to occupy his mind at all times. Why did God make them beautiful if he wasn't supposed to look. He notion to himself... "It will not hurt anything as long as I don't do anything with someone else woman..."

Day three, Fred still sits in the office, nearly everyone else he knew were doing the same... Of policy they didn't advertise it. After all, if he were doing this, they must be... right? He sears his conscience again and pays someone else to way more pictures. Fred is so... The only word he can think of is hungry... But ravenous might fit better. Thankfully there is a porn filter at the church he has worked around... at least no one will reckon anything.

Day seven, in life there are some decisions when you reach a cetain point there is no going back. Fred found a decision like this. By the end of day one, he proclaimed to himself he would stay "as long as it took to meet the needs Connie wasn't meeting." It is odd, there is still a strange admiration for pastors like Fred, who are so open with their own sin... even if it is only to themselves they are so open and bold. It is in the discarding they are respected for being those who do not live as obsequious sheep following the herd. Maybe it helps those who admire them to see these vices having an impact because it is not convicting.

Day twenty one, Fred, still as focused as ever, decides to see if his wife would like to rent a porn flick. Connie begins to weep and Fred realizes it was a bad idea to bring her into this. She has always been too "churchy" and he should have known she'd have a poor reaction to something so natural. Fred tries to outline out any way to get out of the mess he just made without getting rid of the sin which had him wrapped so tightly. One thing. For Fred it is his high-priced porn. He will suffer anything to keep his hands on this mouse awaiting the next image. Why? If we asked Fred, he might not even know. Sometimes there are vices and decisions we make that are so wholly out of synch with reality, to try and construe it is faultless futility.

Let's try and be fair though... let's give Fred some reputation and assume there are some legitimate reasons he has to do what he is doing. What are some options? Well, here is a list of thoughts he might have to construe his behavior...

-Connie has been cold in her affection and a man needs to be sexually satisfied.

-No one assuredly knows what I am doing, "what they don't know won't hurt them."

-God made women beautiful and I am giving God glory by appreciating what He made beautiful.

-Sin like this runs in my family. My father used to watch porn flicks with me when I was a child and I have never been able to break its grip.

-With all the stress I feel as a pastor, I need an outlet to relieve this stress.

-My own habits are my own question and others shouldn't be involved as long as I do a good job preaching on Sunday.

What do you think of his reasoning? Is there a time when he should get out of the office and go and at least get some help? Why do you think he'd stay in the office and continue with the porn addiction?

Like the man stuck in traffic, how must Fred deal with this issue? Will choosing to stop looking at porn next year help Fred overcome his addiction today? What about Connie, will she feel great if Fred tells her he thinks he can stopping looking at porn next year? What should Fred do? What lies does Fred believe? Are there any Biblical truths that could help Fred if he would assuredly believe them?

Are you or person you love struggling with internet pornography? Here are some Scriptures that might help you in this battle.

Job 31:1

Psalm 51

Ps 119:9,11

Proverbs 5

Proverbs 7:24-27

Proverbs 9:15-18; Prov. 20:17

Matthew 5:27-30

Matthew 6:13

Ro 6:6-8

Ro 8:12-14

Ro. 12:1-2

1 Cor 6:9-11

1 Cor 10:13

Eph 4:17-24

Eph 5:1-6

Phil. 4:8

Col 3:5-10

1 Tim. 6:11

2 Tim. 2:22

1 Pt. 2:1-3

1 John 1:9

1 John 5:21

There are abundance more, but these verses should help provide some ammunition for the fight.