Pray for me, I’m addicted to internet porn

The title is just an illustration I use later in the blog.  Don’t call the Bishop or District Superintendent and don’t freak out.

I did a memorial service at the church on Sunday.  We didn’t sing Amazing Grace or Rock of Ages at this memorial service.  There would be no solo of The Old Rugged Cross.  Right before I played Downtown Train by Rod Stewart, I told the 140 people in attendance that the surviving spouse wanted the Rod Stewart song played along with Keep on Loving You by REO Speedwagon.  These songs were special to the couple.  We weren’t there to impress anyone.  We were there to help the family deal with their grief and to honor the life of a 53 year old who, just like the rest of us, had his struggles and did the best he could.  His wife wasn’t about trying to pretend anything.  And neither was I.

Billy Joel’s song The Stranger would have been a fitting song.

Well we all have a face
That we hide away forever
And we take them out and show ourselves
When everyone has gone.

The church is a lot like Facebook in that we only like to show our best side.  We rarely say or hear anyone say, “I drink too much”.  Nobody every says, “Pray for me, I’m addicted to internet porn” in church or on Facebook. And if they did, most people would write or say, “That’s TMI”, (TMI=too much information).

For me, the memorial service was a rare time of honesty.  It was a beautiful moment where we quit pretending everything was perfect. And lest you think it was without hope, the opposite was true. It was full of hope as we discussed the grace and mercy of God through Jesus that is available both to the person who serves Him their whole life and the one who accepts Him at the last moment. I spoke of the parallel between someone like Betty Walker a local teacher who recently died on a mission trip in Guatemala verses someone who struggles with their demons until the last moment.

There is always hope if we’re willing to be honest.  And God can handle our honesty even if nobody else can.  And he will “Keep on Loving You”.

Heavenly Father, Creator, Almighty God,
Thank you for being so loving and so forgiving. Thank you for allowing me to be honest with you. Thank you for allowing me to come to you as I am. Thank you for sending Jesus to sacrifice Himself on the cross to pay for the penalty of my sins – all of them. And not only do I ask you to forgive me, which I do, but I also ask you to help me overcome those things you know I struggle with. Break these chains that bind me and break the bonds of the things that control me.  For Your glory and my benefit I ask this in Jesus’ Name, through the power of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

*

*

*