Truth Magazine

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There is more to life than what you have. Jesus explained that to the man who came to him with the request that he speak to his 
brother about their inheritance. “Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth” (Luke12:15). What one owns is in his power to use for good or ill (Acts 5:4), but his attitude toward it determines whether he owns it or it owns him.

The Ambition To Be Rich

Money, or what it represents, has no character of its own. It takes the character of the owner. You could use it to gamble or buy whiskey, or to help the needy or preach the gospel. Paul warned, “But they that will be (desire to be, NKJV) rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition” (1 Tim. 6:9). The problem here is not money itself but the driving ambition to have it. That is what consumes a person. He becomes a slave to his ambition. It owns him. The counter-balance to that is in the same context. “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content” (1 Tim. 6:6-8). It is the “love of money” that is the root of all kinds of evil (v. 10).

Things Do Not Satisfy

The Preacher in Ecclesiastes 5 laid it out for us. “He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth substance with increase: for this is vanity. when goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes” (vv. 10-11)? The more silver the lover of it has, the more he wants. But he has a problem. As his goods increase, so does his staff. It takes more people on the payroll to take care of his enlarged holdings. He needs cooks, housekeepers, grounds keepers, tax consultants and money managers. Someone is always trying to get his hand in the rich man’s pocket. While the laboring man finds sweet sleep at night, “the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep” (v. 12). Oh, for the good old days!

Families can be torn apart over “things.” Keepsakes and heirlooms become bones of contention. Jealousies and envyings are not far behind when estates are to be settled. Objects with sentimental value loom larger than family solidarity and closeness. Things change, never to be the same again.

Some are into collectibles. After a while they just about take over the space in a house. We have a collection of souvenir plates from different states and some countries we have visited. While we enjoy remembering, we are going to have a problem when we move to smaller quarters and don’t have room to display them. What would our children want with them? Some of the grand-     children would use them for frisbees!   Antiques which have come down through a family for generations are good conversation pieces but we have to take care that they do not become objects of veneration.

Have you noticed that the more toys children have, the less they play with any of them? Sometimes they have more fun with the box than with the toy itself. The pleasure is momentary. Equipment for sporting interests must be justified and so it is off to the lake, or the woods or the golf course to use our things. Never mind that Sunday is the Lord’s day and that there are divine appointments to be kept.

The financial means to buy season tickets to sporting events creates a spiritual problem for many. What if that event conflicts with a gospel meeting or Bible study or worship on the Lord’s day? Some are so possessed by this possession that the Lord and what concerns his work takes second place.

Rich in Good Works

It is not wrong to own property. It is not wrong to eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of our labor. “Here is what I have seen: It is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; for it is his heritage” (Eccl. 5:18). Is one to be blamed because he worked hard and prospered? The Lord taught, “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might . . .” (Eccl. 9:10). There are a few who are rich from inheritance. Others before them labored and they reap the benefits. But many have prospered because they were diligent. One successful business man said, “The harder I work, the luckier I get.” Work is honorable and has its own reward. But when we use the health and strength given by the Lord and take advantage of opportunities opened to us in congenial circumstances, and prosper accordingly, then what are we to do with what we have?

It is proper to provide for our own needs and to give to those in need (Eph. 4:28). It is right to provide for our children. “For the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children” (2 Cor. 12:14). It is also right for children to “requite their parents: for that is good and acceptable before God” (1 Tim. 5:4). We are to “maintain good works for necessary uses” (Tit. 3:14). It is right to sacrifice property to meet the urgent needs of our beloved brethren. “Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, and laid them at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need” (Acts 4:34-35). Here were people whose possessions did not possess them.

Paul summarized all of this for all time to come. “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; that they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; laying up in store for them­selves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life” (1 Tim. 6:17-18). You see, what we do with our possessions has to do with laying hold on eternal life. If we are possessed by our possessions then we will lose our souls. Things are just not worth that much.

P.O. Box 69, Brooks, Kentucky 40109

By Archie Proctor

And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications . . . (Mark 7:20 ).

Our nation and society are awash in pornography. Playboy and other sexually oriented photography magazines are available at almost all corner grocery stores; R-rated films are readily available on cable TV systems and at the local video rental outlet. A product that once was stigmatized by American society, is now considered harmless entertainment. This persuasive leaven has had its effects on Christians as well. Many use this type of “entertainment” regularly.

Pornography is far from being a “harmless” product. Its influence has destroyed countless lives and marriages, and has brought many, many souls to eternal destruction. When heroin was first synthesized, clinical trials were not required before the drug was released. Many of the developers of this drug tried it on themselves, and found it highly effective as a pain reliever. Unfortunately, those who had first tried it were immune to the addictive effects of this powerful drug. When it was released, the addictive properties appeared, and far from being a blessing, heroin became a curse for mankind.

Pornography is like heroin; it has little or no effect on some; it’s mildly attractive to others. But for many, it is far more addictive and dangerous than heroin or other drugs. This greater danger is due to the fact that it is not recognized for the damage it can do. The numbers of those who are addicted to it grow daily. It is the root and substance of sexual addiction.

Until the affairs of Bill Clinton, John Kennedy, and other famous men were brought to light, sexual addiction was not widely known to the American public. In the past, when famous and powerful men were caught with a prostitute, or a woman not their wife, it was dismissed as a problem that comes with wealth and power. 

We now know that these things are often the result of sexual addiction. It is not just famous and rich men who are cursed with this problem; it consumes millions of men and women at all economic levels of our society. In a recent year, it’s estimated that the American public spent 13 billion dollars for all forms of pornography. That’s more than the combined annual revenues of Coca-Cola and McDonnell Douglas. It’s no wonder we are plagued with this filth. It is a major source of revenue to the entertainment business.

Christ knew that this material is dangerous to our souls. In the Sermon on the Mount, he condemned the practice of looking on a woman’s beauty for the purpose of gratifying lust (Matt. 5:27, 28). Just because the technology of photography was not known in that ancient time, it does not mean pornography did not exist; it simply found expression in other forms. The practice of beautiful women appearing before men in revealing costumes is as old as mankind (Esth. 1:11). Archaeologists have found paintings and sculpture which could have been used for sexual stimulation. Prostitution was accepted as a form of worship by many peoples. Sexually stimulating novels and other writings have appeared throughout history.

The danger that faces Christians today who fall under the spell of pornography is that this addictive material lends itself to secret sin, the type Paul describes in Ephesians 5:12. It begins with the pleasure of lusting for a man or woman without the difficulty of human interaction, progresses to the act of erotic stimulation, and ends in self gratification of lust. This process repeats, and each time the pleasure of sexual release causes the chemistry of the brain to change under the stimulation of pleasure and release. After a longer time, this stimulation may no longer be satisfactory, and a greater pleasure is sought. Hard core material is obtained, even that which is not normally accepted in our decadent culture. For others, it takes the form of visits to topless bars or massage parlors, even to purchasing the services of a prostitute. Each time, the addict goes through the same cycle — uncontrollable lust, surrender to the addiction, self gratification, and then, overwhelming guilt and remorse. Forgiveness is sought through fervent prayer, but again and again the cycle repeats, dragging the soul into greater and greater self-loathing, and depression.

Teenagers and young adults, both male and female, are most susceptible to the influence of this material. In the Song of Solomon 2:7, the preacher tells us, “Stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.” He is speaking of not awaking the sexual desire and pleasure of sexual gratification, until it can be discharged within the safety of marriage.

According to Thayer, the phrase “stir not up” means “to rouse oneself, awake, awaken, incite.” It is the same concept as when Adam and Eve ate the fruit of knowledge of good and evil. They were awakened to a new and unknown world. So it is with pornography and the virgin. Passions and lusts, which are difficult even for older and mature Christians to control, can become a great fire which consumes the young. As in 1 Corinthians 7:9, they “burn with lust.” Energy that should be spent on education, development of a good character, and a godly soul is abruptly diverted to a new and exciting form of pleasure. The fire of sexual passion consumes all, sending young and old into a life of misery and destruction. Consider Proverbs 7:13-23.

Marriage is sometimes sought as a hope to end the addiction of pornography, but it almost never does. The lust will not go away; it simply forces the addict to violate the command: “defraud ye not one the other” (1 Cor. 7:5). Often, the resulting emotional separation and lack of intimacy will destroy the marriage, or simply turn it into a sham, where both partners become victims of the evil of pornography. The congregation where I am an elder has seen this evil destroy a young gospel preacher, who had promise of great work for the Lord. It reduced him to a hollow shell, and eventually destroyed his work, his influence, his family, and his faith in the word of God. All came as the result of “harmless” pornography.

There is hope for those addicted, but it must be found in the word of God. Paul wrote that some ungodly persons at Corinth were “abusers of themselves with mankind,” but he also proclaims that those who did these things were “washed . . . sanctified” . . . and “justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor. 6:9-11). Dealing with this sin is the same as other addictions. It is not a “do it yourself” matter. Professional help and a firm commitment to leave the sin and serve the Lord are required.

A number of resources are available which can help the Christian in overcoming this addiction, but space will not permit them to be listed here. The best source of such may be found on the Internet by entering the words “sexual addiction” at a search engine such as Yahoo.com. It is my hope and prayer that this article might save some, and prevent others from having the great loss and pain our congregation has endured from this evil and destructive substance.

8102 Fox St., Baytown, Texas 77520

By Dickie Cooper

And God created man in his own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female He created them (Gen. 1:27).

Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body (1 Cor. 6:19-20).

A 15 year-old girl was brought to the hospital emergency room with a group of five girls and two boys. All had deep lacerations and/or broken bones. The police explained that a fight had broken out at a local rock concert and that the 15 year-old girl, of medium height and build, had fought with such uncontrolled fury that she had inflicted all of the injuries on those who had been brought to the hospital with her. When the police attempted to subdue her, she broke facial bones in one officer’s face and bit off part of the cheek of another officer. The police finally used pepper spray on her, but in spite of the pepper spray and a broken arm, she showed no signs of pain and had to be strapped to the hospital bed with leather restraints across her arms, legs, and chest! Drug use was suspected and confirmed by both those who were brought to the hospital with her and blood tests. It seems her parents had bought the concert tickets for their daughter and her friends for her fifteenth birthday and the girl’s friends had bought her “a couple hits of K-hole” (ketamine). Her blood tests showed the presence of the hallucinogens ketamine and phencyclidine (better known as PCP).

Her parents were flabbergasted. Her father was a high school principal who had led the drug awareness program at his school and her mother was a social worker who was quite knowledgeable about drug abuse. Their daughter had always been well-behaved. When the girl recovered, she said she had never used drugs before and “thought that something like K-hole wouldn’t hurt. It was just one time, for my birthday. No big thing” (Taken from Drug Abuse by A. James Giannini, M.D.)

A recent Robert Wood Johnson Foundation report on the nation’s number one health problem indicates that the United States spends nearly $238 billion a year because of substance abuse! Alcohol abuse accounts for $98.6 billion of the total, tobacco for $72 billion and drug abuse for $67 billion. Alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs are a major cause of death, disability, and disease in this country. Alcohol and drug abuse are further related to the spread of HIV/AIDS, child abuse and neglect, trauma, murder and other violent crimes and psychiatric disorders. A recent government study indicated that in 1995, 41.7% of 12th graders had used marijuana and that 21.2% used it at least once a month. (Twenty million Americans — of all ages — smoke marijuana at least once a month, and nearly half of those use it once a week, and six million Americans use it daily.) 17.4% of 12th graders had used inhalants, 12.7% had used hallucinogens, 6% had used cocaine, 15.3% had used stimulants, and a whopping 80.7% had used alcohol!

While the Bible does not speak directly about drug use, it is logical to apply those Scriptures which teach about the use of alcohol to the use of drugs. Galatians 5:21 includes drunkenness in the list of deeds of the flesh and several passages in Proverbs warn of the dangers of intoxication (Prov. 20:1 and 23:19-21, for example). 

We have been created in the image of God, and yet that young woman brought to the hospital emergency room did not display his image. She was not glorifying God in her body or treating her body as if it were God’s temple. She no longer had control of either her mind or her body because she had given them over to drugs. 

The devastation caused by drug use — to society, to families, and to individuals — can’t be denied. To see a family torn apart by substance abuse is heart-breaking. The prevalence of drug abuse in our society also can’t be disputed, and yet I fear that Christians have not admitted that drug abuse is a problem among us. Yet, how can it not be? We live in the world and are not immune to its problems. We have seen other “worldly” problems such as divorce, adultery, fornication, alcoholism, and materialism creep into our congregations. Drug abuse is also creeping in, and we need to be aware of it instead of denying it.

What do we need to do? First, we need to teach and preach frequently about the dangers of drug use. We need to teach that just like alcohol, drugs cause intoxication. While intoxicated, a person will do things he would not normally do. Drugs decrease inhibitions; they decrease the control that our conscience has over us. Drug use often accounts for teen pregnancies, sexually transmitted disease, crime, and suicide. (It is a sad fact that as drug use has increased among young people, juvenile crime and suicide have increased proportionately.)  We need to teach that drugs can be fatal. Young people need to know that a non-fatal dose for one person may be a fatal dose for another. It’s also important for teens to realize that drugs cause the same kind of physical impairment as alcohol when driving. We need to teach that perhaps the worst danger of drug use is the possibility of addiction or drug dependence. Teens need to know that there is no such thing as “safe” drug use. Any drug which produces intoxication can cause physical dependence! Dependence often leads to a life of crime. The dependent person may begin to steal or to deal drugs in order to financially support his habit. His health will suffer and there is always the constant danger of death from overdose or from “bad” or contaminated drugs. Our young people need to know that these dangers are real and not exaggerated just to scare them.

Dr. Robert DuPont, Jr., in his Getting Tough on Gateway Drugs, indicates that drug use almost always begins between the ages of twelve and twenty. As preachers and teachers, we must help those young people develop the skills to withstand the pressure to use drugs. As parents, we must start teaching our children long before they are twelve years old about the dangers of drug use and what God teaches about it. And as preachers, teachers and parents, we must never assume that drug use is someone else’s problem, one that doesn’t really affect us. If 41.7% of high school seniors have used marijuana, how can we be so naïve as to assume that no high school senior in our congregation (or in our family) has tried it? 

Second, we need to educate ourselves about the different kinds of drugs, the effects of these drugs, the warning signs of drug use, the reasons that young people start using drugs and why they keep using them. Peer pressure may be the reason most kids start using, but the reason they keep using is because they like the way drugs make them feel. We must face that reality if we are to truly teach our children and not just “preach at” them. Every parent needs to know the warning signs of drug use. While they may vary slightly from drug to drug or from person to person, there are some common signs. If you notice any of these signs in your child, it may not be because of drug use, but the possibility is there and that possibility must not be ignored! When one of my daughters began to use drugs, she exhibited most of these warning signs, but drug use never occurred to us. My wife and I tried dealing with each behavior as she manifested it — talking, reasoning, discipline, punishment — but nothing worked. We then turned to the professionals: first a licensed clinical social worker and then a renowned psychiatrist. Still nothing changed. It was only after she left home and was subsequently arrested for writing bad checks that she admitted her problem.

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse reports that parents’ drinking behavior and attitudes about drinking has been associated as an important risk factor for their children’s drinking. It is logical that the same holds true for other drug use. As parents, you must ask yourselves what is your real attitude about drug use. Before you answer that question, go to your medicine cabinet. How many pain relievers do you have? Besides aspirin or ibuprofen, is there some Demerol or Percocet (just in case you need it.) What about sleeping aids? Do you reach for the Tylenol PM regularly and keep some Seconal (just in case?) Do you need Valium or Xanax (sometimes called “solid booze”) to make it through the day? If you need to loose weight, do you go buy Dexatrim or some other appetite suppressant to help you? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you must be concerned about what kind of message this sends to your children or grandchildren. Does it tell them that your real attitude about drugs is that it is OK to use them? We live in an over-medicated world that tells us that there is a drug to solve nearly any problem. We live in a world that tells us to “take a pill” to get well instead of changing behavior patterns that have led us to get sick in the first place. I fear that this sort of attitude prevents our young people from developing a healthy fear of illicit, prescription and over-the-counter drugs. It also opens the door to drug abuse problems in our own lives. So, like the girl brought to the hospital emergency room, drug use seems to be “no big thing.” Even though my wife and I are not guilty of this (we don’t even take an aspirin unless it’s absolutely necessary), we still constantly ask ourselves what we might have done differently to have prevented our child’s problems. Drug use is definitely a great big thing!

Instead of giving our minds and our bodies over to drugs, we need to give them to God. 2 Corinthians 6:16-7:1 says: 

For we are the temple of the living God, just as God said, “I will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will be their God and they shall be my people. Therefore, come our from their midst and be separate,” says the Lord. “And do not touch what is unclean and I will welcome you. And I will be a father to you and you shall be sons and daughters to me,” says the Lord Almighty. Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God (emphasis mine, DC).

I can think of no better statement against the use of drugs than that!

105 E. Main St., Stanford, Kentucky 40484

By Steven F. Deaton

No doubt, the Internet is a great tool for many of us. We use it to communicate (sometimes too much) and to find information that 
is beneficial. The Internet, like money or TV, is morally neutral — it is neither inherently good or evil. However, as with anything, it can be abused and used for evil purposes. Thus, it would do us good to examine the danger of the Internet, specifically as it relates to pornography and sexual encounters.

We understand that sexual lust is rampant in our society. It does not take a genius to figure out that fleshly lust is a big tool used by advertisers to sell their products. Everything from rice to toothpaste is promoted using sexually soaked commercials. Advertisers are not the only ones who use this evil, so does the devil. He attempts to lure us away from holy living through sexual temptations (cf. Gen. 39:7-12). The devil wants us to sell our soul, so he can devour it (1 Pet. 5:8).

A couple of sensual, sexual sins that readily come to mind are fornication and adultery. The Bible repeatedly warns against them (Acts 15:20; Rom. 1:29; 1 Cor. 5:1; 6:13, 18; 7:2; 10:8; 1 Thess. 4:3; Rev. 2:14, 20). If a man commits fornication or adultery, he will lose his soul in hell (1 Cor. 6:9-10). Yet, these are not the only sensual, sexual sins. The Bible clearly teaches that there are things which lead up to actual fornication or adultery. The Spirit says, “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness” (Gal. 5:19). Some people try to act like uncleanness and lewdness do not exist. However, the Spirit says they do — so what are they? Uncleanness is defined as “. . . the impurity of lustful, luxurious, profligate living” (Thayer). In the New Testament, uncleanness is commonly joined with sensual, sexual sins (Rom. 1:24; 2 Cor. 12:21; Eph. 4:19; 5:3; Col. 3:5). Notice that it is distinguished from other sexual sins such as fornication and adultery. It would involve things leading up to these sins, such as pornography, the lustful looking upon and wanting of the opposite sex, and even clothing which is designed to insight such lustful thoughts. Lewdness is defined as “Unbridled lust, excess, licentiousness, lasciviousness, wantonness, outrageousness, shamelessness, insolence . . . ‘wanton (acts) or manners, as filthy words, indecent bodily movements, unchaste handling of males and females, etc.’ (Fritzsche)” (Thayer). It, too, is listed with other sexual sins, but distinguished from them (Rom. 13:13; 2 Cor. 12:21; Eph. 4:19; 1 Pet. 4:3; 2 Pet. 2:18). Lewdness would include such things as modern dancing (the prom, post-game dances, etc.), cheer-leading which involves “indecent bodily movements,” and petting which takes place between some couples on dates.

The danger of being tempted by these sins in greatly increasing in our society. More and more people are purchasing computers and Internet access. On the Internet “there are ‘upwards of 20,000 or 30,000’ porn sites” (USA Today, January 29, 1999, 1A). “The on-line adult industry is booming because the medium ‘affords even more anonymity’” (Ibid). The “anonymity” and privacy of using the Internet can be a great temptation to those with access (cf. Prov. 9:17). One friend recently commented that preachers, perhaps, are especially susceptible as they are usually alone in their office all day with access to the Internet.

Notice some statistics from the USA Today article. “Adult Web sites gross $700 million-$1 billion a year.” With that kind of money, it’s not going away. “Of 56.8 million individuals on the Web in December [1998], 32.3% visited adult content sites, a figure that has varied little since 1996.” We are not a prophet, but our guess is that this number will increase as more and more folks bring computers into their homes (cf. 2 Tim. 2:17).

Thus, we can see that pornography is definitely a danger of the Internet. Mom and dad, do you know what Junior is doing with his computer?

Further, not only is the feeding of fleshly lusts through pornography a danger, but also an actual sexual encounter with someone else sometimes results from misuse of the Internet. “Usenet newsgroups; 250 of the discussion areas are in the . . . hierarchy, where users post stories and photos on subjects from abstinence to zoophila” (USA Today). More than once people have entered a “chat room” on the net and begun a conversation (sexually explicit or otherwise) with another person. After some time has passed, the two decide to meet each other, which can lead to fornication or adultery. We personally know of a married sister-in-Christ who was allured by the devil in this way, but came to her senses and cut the relationship off (she even had to change her phone number as the man would not stop calling).

Finally, we must remember that even though others may not know what we are doing, God does (Heb. 4:13). We need to steer clear of anything dealing with pornography or possible sexual encounters on the Internet or elsewhere. If we accidentally run across such material, then we need to be like Joseph who “fled and ran.” We are not above this temptation (1 Cor. 10:12).

378 White Dove, Lufkin, Texas 75901