It’s Mating Season!

-Wage War by Bringing the Darkness of Pornography into the Light.

 

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” – John 1:5 (NIV)

For those of you that couldn’t make it to our Koinonia event, we discussed the challenging topic of pornography. At the gathering I referenced an extremely persuasive and informative documentary on Hulu: Addicted to Pornography, Chasing the Cardboard Butterfly.

I purchased loaves of bread for the evening so that we could break bread together as a reminder to give thanks even in the brokenness (Luke 22:19).

On the way home from shopping, I noticed the migrating butterflies continuing their journey through San Antonio. It is the first time I have seen them. I could not help but sense the transformative promises of God as I took in what nature had to offer through these beautiful, resilient creatures.

Potato Chip Intimacy 

We addressed the topic of pornography from the perspective of dining on crumbs through the use of greasy, residue-leaving, potato chips. Why would we snack on crumbs when God has lavished us with a feast, by way of physical intimacy in our marriages?

On the way home from the store I reflected on this discovery of the cardboard butterfly from the documentary I’d watched just a day or two prior. What I did not know, is that it is migrating and mating season for these snout-nosed butterflies here in San Antonio, Texas. They are abundant!  Literally thousands of butterflies fluttering about and they have increased substantially since our blessed time together at our gathering. I cannot help but trust that the Lord is reminding us, it is migrating & mating season!

There are a few spiritual considerations about this particular butterfly. “When dry weather occurs, they have a tendency to retreat… though it’s not a real migration– the snout-nosed butterflies are opportunists, seeking their host plant and looking for mates”. They also come out after the hard rains. Can you relate to any of these nature-driven anomalies? While we married folk are not seeking out mates (though in a way we are), it is migrating and mating season. It’s time to rapidly advance! Another noteworthy characteristic- “The insects disguise themselves as dead leaves when their wings are closed. With wings open, they flaunt their orange, black, and white accents and are sometimes confused with monarchs or painted lady butterflies.” How many men and women affected by pornography hide under closed, dead wings, when they have the opportunity to display and take in God-designed beauty?

Migrate. Go!

Mate. Connect!

What is ‘Chasing the Cardboard Butterfly” anyway? I am so glad you asked.

Nikolaas “Niko” Tinbergen was a Dutch biologist and ornithologist who shared the 1973 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discoveries concerning organization and elicitation of individual and social behavior patterns in animals. A major part of Tinbergen’s research focused on what he termed the supernormal stimulus, the concept that one could build an artificial object which was a stronger stimulus or releaser (emphasis mine) for an instinct than the object for which the instinct originally evolved. He constructed cardboard dummy butterflies with more defined markings; the male butterflies were so enamored with them that they would try to mate with the artificial butterflies preferentially to the real females. Hence, chasing the cardboard butterfly.

In the documentary, the wife shares that she could not understand why her husband would choose pornography over reality: real, physical, human touch with his wife. Those of us devastated by pornography’s marital thievery can relate.

I believe this is our bold spiritual opportunity! It is mating season.

Anyone that has suffered at the hand of this addiction and its varying effects needs to fervently engage in this waging war. We must fight to take back our marriages! We must come together as one with our spouses… often. These tragic neuropathways are not rerouted through our angered abstinence. The “you’ll never touch me again” model will not work. You must put on your belt of truth. Stop taking a passive or passive-aggressive stance as you repeatedly get gut-punched. Wage war. Pray. Fervently. Don’t you dare take a backseat to your own marriage bed!

This battle cannot be fought in passivity.

Fingers can no longer be pointed at one another. Instead, swords need to be taken up together in battle to fight and gain some ground in this very real, spiritual battle.

 

Bold prayers in Jesus Name must be proclaimed!

I came across an article by Rick Ezell, pastor of First Baptist Greer in South Carolina. He writes, when we pray in Jesus name “We are admitting the bankruptcy of our own name. When I pray in Jesus’ name I come boldly before God because of the power of his name. It would be like a bride coming from abject poverty to marry a wealthy husband. At that point the woman takes the name of her husband and all that entails. She no longer acts in her name, but in his.”

We are impoverished, borderline starving in our marriages due to the cheap lies our culture is selling, which many are unfortunately buying. The cost, however, is extremely high. No longer will we live in abject poverty when the Lord our God promises a marital feast.

Let this be an encouragement to you today to fight the battle with expectant, triumphant hearts knowing that God can redeem all things through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, and in accordance with the riches of His grace (Ephesians 1:7).