The Predator in Our Midst Kathy shut the door as she left her son’s room and leaned against the wall, trying to calm herself. Glancing down at the magazine in her hand, she felt sick to her stomach. A sultry looking brunette with large breasts exposed under a film of shimmering silk stared back at her. “Oh Lord, did I say the right thing?” Kathy whispered. “I can’t believe Todd would do this. He should know better than to look at this trash.” Your child may go to church and Sunday School and may have accepted the Lord as their Savior. Even if you have never had pornographic material in your home, and the TV and computers are well monitored, your child will encounter pornography at some point in their life. What they do with this experience depends not only with what they know the Bible says, but their knowledge of the consequences. Pornography use is progressive and destructive. Like using drugs, when the porn they are viewing no longer gives the effect they once experienced, they go to more graphic material. Pornographic images can invade their thought life disrupting their studies at school or tasks at work. Satan will bring back the images to their memory when they are vulnerable, such as in times of emotional pain, loneliness, sadness and stress. Escaping emotional pain “just this once” by using porn is a dangerous rationalization. This will be a time of decision for them, and they need to be aware that a wrong decision will chart a path of sin, pain and destruction. If they turn to pornography, the hook is set. The process to a life of bondage has begun. How do you know if your child is already involved with pornography? Here are some warning signs that may indicate a problem. Have you walked into your child’s room as they hurriedly stuff something under the covers or in a drawer? Do they flip TV channels or manage to get a VCR tape out of the recorder when you enter the room? Do they close the website they are on when you approach? Accepting Christ as their Savior is your child’s first great decision. What they do with sexual opportunities is their next crucial choice. To a child, it may seem harmless to look at pictures of naked women in a magazine, or clicking the mouse to an explicit internet site. Curiosity about sex is a natural part of a child’s development so it makes an easy target for Satan to expose them to porn, especially boys. Parents, schools and media remind children about not using drugs, smoking and protecting themselves against AIDS. What about the danger of using pornography? Because our courts have placed a shield of “freedom of speech” around pornography, it continues to be the silent predator of our children. Kathy prayed for her son but as a single parent, she felt totally alone and confused about what to do. She called Focus on the Family who referred her to the National Coalition Against Pornography, and she was directed to a local group where she began her education about the effects of pornography and how she could help her son. Satan has achieved his goal if we continue to treat the topic of pornography as unmentionable. Let’s tell our children about the consequences of using pornography, equipping them for the temptation that will surely come. ©Maria Peterson 2005