The HALT Acronym – Use it to gauge your susceptibility to temptation

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Feb 15 1

Use the HALT Acronym to see how easy a target you are for temptation

 

The other day at a church breakfast, one of the guys shared something he had learned by listening to a speaker at a recent conference.  It is very good and resonated with me so I thought I would share it with you.

There are times in everyone’s lives when we become weak and easily drawn in by temptation.  Using the H.A.L.T. acronym we can easily identify and counteract, making temptation a little harder to give into.

Hunger – When you are hungry, you turn into a predator looking for something to consume.  Think back to the times when you were so hungry that you stuffed your face with whatever was readily available with no regard to nutritional value or calories.  Whether you raided the fridge or pulled into the fast food drive through, consequences went out the window to satisfy your need.

Anger – Reactions to anger often include giving into temptation.  Indulging in drugs, alcohol, sex, and pornography to dull these feelings are very common.

Loneliness – When you get lonely watch out.  This is my greatest pull of temptation.  Instead of seeking company or finding a noble activity, we usually seek to make ourselves feel ‘better’ by indulging in illicit behavior.

Tired – If you work hard and are tired often, the pull of temptation is great.  It’s almost as if we ‘reward’ ourselves for the hard work by giving into temptation.  We justify our deservedness when our defenses are weak.

HALT acronym

Be careful if you are experiencing any of these symptoms because temptation will come knocking.  This reminds me of the scripture when Jesus went to the desert for 40 days of fasting and praying.  The devil came out to the desert to tempt him when he was hungry, lonely, and tired.  The devil took advantage of this time of weakness to put Jesus to the test.

The devil is no dummy.  He waited till Jesus got weary then came to offer him the world all in exchange for a little bit of sin.  Jesus was very hungry, tired and was all by himself praying to the Father in preparation for his ministry.  A weakened Jesus would be much easier to break than a Jesus who was physically and mentally sharp!

The devil turns up the heat on us during times of weakness too!  We need to counteract these times of weakness and go pray for the strength of the Lord!  Eat, seek reconciliation, connect with a friend and get some sleep to, but don’t forget to ask the Lord for help.  He was tested in every way that we are and is familiar with our human frailties.  He is our intermediary with the Father.  Is that not great?!

The Propaganda behind Pornography

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Oct 22 2
The propaganda behind the porn industry

Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position.  Some propaganda is obvious such as those used in Nazi Germany to bring Hitler from a political nobody to ruler of the country.  Other propaganda is hidden in plain sight barely noticed for what it is while it works to change the opinions of the population.  Perhaps all propaganda is barely noticeable until looking back and marking the change of opinion and the agents used to make it happen.  That is a whole other discussion, but now we will explore propaganda related to sexual issues.

Today, propaganda is hard at work to change the minds of the masses on the issues of homosexuality and pornography.  Take some time to be an active observer of the messages that are being sent about homosexuality for instance.  News stories are hammering away at the hypothesis that homosexuality is a tendency some folks are born with.  They have no choice so who are you to say it is wrong.  Television shows are featuring gay couples and characters as part of sitcoms.  Weaving homosexuals into TV programs makes them appear more mainstream and ‘normal’.  These shows evoke sympathy and acceptance of this lifestyle choice.

Propaganda to increase acceptance of pornography is active today.  How often do you hear references to internet pornography being dropped as punch line on a sitcom?  I have heard radio talk show hosts talk about internet pornography and how often they use it.  Do you think that articles about first amendment rights and spousal usage of pornography as healthy are propaganda?  There is still a stigma attached to pornography, but I see it slowly being eroded by the propaganda out there.

Whether you agree with me or not regarding propaganda being used to change minds about homosexuality and pornography, can you at least see the general decline or abandonment of values that once ruled?  There has been a breaking away from our moral bedrocks to become more ‘inclusive’ and more ‘tolerant’.  Those who take a stand against an activity that violates their moral and religious beliefs are labeled as haters and intolerant.  This whole issue is best saved for another article.

Breaking from our moral and religious beliefs and accepting the culture’s views does not happen over night.  Little by little our convictions are eroded by the constant propaganda all around us.  Allowing a steady flow of just a small bit of propaganda to our unconscious or unaware minds will plant seeds of doubt and eventually change us.  When we are exposed to something radically different from our convictions continually over time, our convictions can change and we could find ourselves doing and believing something that once was inconceivable.

We must actively look for these sources of propaganda and counteract them personally.  When we see a TV show with gay characters, we should avoid watching it.  If we hear a radio show talking about their favorite pornography websites, we need to change the station.  Don’t allow propaganda to influence your mind.

What do you think?  Is propaganda busily at work to change our minds and attitudes?

What Triggers Your Urge For Pornography?

By Leave a Comment
Nov 13 4
Suggestive ads that exploit women

Regular users and/or addicts of pornography generally have a handfull of triggers that set them off on another binge of pornography use.  Many of you can identify with an event, a state of mind, or the influences that drive us to using porn.  Here are a few items that may trigger your urges:

  • A fight with the wife
  • Boredom
  • Depression
  • The glimpse of an attractive woman
  • Lonliness
  • Anger
  • Free time

Let me share a really BIG one for all of us – suggestive ads –

What is this ad promoting?

What is this ad promoting?

This ad from netflix that features actress Megan Fox really caught my eye.  Here’s why:

  1. She is attractive and the middle of the ad focuses on her breasts. – us men are obviously visually oriented.
  2. She has a look of vulnerability or fear on her face – this triggers the manly need to rescue her.
  3. She is posed in a way that asks you to help her, rescue her, love her.

I have seen this ad off to the side of my Yahoo mail at least 50 times and it has caught my eye everytime.  In the past, I would have focused on this ad and it would have revved me up to the point of search for pornography then acting out.  How do I respond differently now?

Initially I was caught off gaurd with this ad and quickly looked away.  (fleeing)  As I saw it more often I started to analyze what it was about that ad that was so appealing and those details are above.  I did not take the ad into my head and run with it!  This is where we get tripped up.  You have to train yourself to stop the runaway thoughts that lead into acting out.  You need to stop yourself, calm yourself down and move on to another subject.  Don’t even entertain thoughts of sex for a few moments thinking you are just skirting the edge.  You need to estinguish these lustful thoughts right away!  Walk away for 10 minutes, change the channel, call a friend or your accountability partner – Don’t linger.

Many of the triggers that lead us down the road into acting out and using pornography can be counteracted by doing something to oppose that trigger.  If boredom leads you into pornography sessions, you need to keep yourself busy – do something to occupy the time.  If free time is your downfall, don’t allow yourself to have free time while you are alone.  Leave the house and go into a public setting.  Invite a friend over.  Do you see where I am going?  We have to set up a plan (in advance) of what will are going to do when we face a situation that could lead to our downfall.  That action plan is a part of your overall Battle Plan to stop using pornography.  You will then know what to do and excute the action plan to counteract these attacks before they start.

What are your triggers?  What do you find helpfull to counteract everyday situations that could bring your down?  Please comment.