Porn is 'Poison for the Soul'

Shore2Shore with a Roar riders rode into Grand Rapids, Mich., late last week on the last leg of a 2,400 kilometer (1,500-mile) journey they made to draw awareness to the dangers of pornography.

Originally, organizers had hoped to start the ride in western Canada and then travel across the continent to the Atlantic Ocean, stopping along the way to hold rallies.

That didn’t happen and instead the motorcycle ride kicked off in early July at a Christian Reformed Church in Kitchener, Ontario.

The riders then crisscrossed their way through Ontario and Michigan, staying overnight in homes and meeting with people at Christian Reformed congregations in communities along the way.

“We have been well received. We met with people at a dozen churches,” said Jim Terpstra, organizer of the motorcycle ride. The CRC’s Safe Church Ministry was a supporter of the ride.

“Every church had a supper and devotion and we had the chance to talk about the importance of this issue.”

Too often, use of pornography is a secret and not discussed in a church setting, said Terpstra. “We wanted to open the door and start up a dialogue and discussion.”

In discussions, they had the chance to talk about the nature of pornography -- how it becomes addictive and devalues people and the God-given gift of sexuality, said Terpstra.

Homer and Janette Vander Zaag joined Terpstra on the ride that took them across Ontario and then into and across Michigan.

“When we shared our stories at churches, other people shared their stories,” said Janette Vander Zaag. “We gave people permission to share their brokeness over this very personal issue.”

She said they also talked about the prevalence of pornography in society. “You don’t have to look far to find it. You can’t get away from it. In fact, it comes looking for you,” she said. “Pornography is poison for the soul.”

They also talked about what someone can do to break free of addiction to porn.

First, said Terpstra, talk about it with people you trust. This can be in your church.

Then seek ways of becoming accountable.

Finally, realize you need to rely on God  in order to sustain a recovery from this.

“The thing is that we walk this road together,” he said. “We realize that there is freedom in Christ.”

Shore2Shore with a Road finished on Friday, July 11, with a rally at Brookside CRC. The speaker was Douglas Weiss, who runs the Heart to Heart Counseling Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.