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How Porn Destroys Families (Scholarship Essay)

Last Updated: March 4, 2024

Each year Covenant Eyes awards thousands of scholarship dollars to students who demonstrate integrity. This year, we’re doing it again! Check out the application information and pass it along to a student you know or apply for the scholarship today. Applications are due by May 31.

The essays below were written by one of last year’s winners.

In 2-3 paragraphs, please explain how you use Covenant Eyes, and how it has impacted your life.

When I was a freshman in highschool I found myself deep in pornography addiction. This continued for about two years before I finally reached out my parents. As soon as I told them what was going on, they found Covenant Eyes and downloaded it on all of my devices. The journey of freedom from pornography has been long and slow, but there is no way I could have done it without the help of Covenant Eyes. Since I have began my journey of freedom from pornography, I have been researching pornography, the way it works, and the effects it has on the human brain. I have done several school presentations on pornography, and Covenant Eyes has been a source of useful information for each of those projects.

Besides my own experience with pornography, I have watched my family fall apart because of it. My parents are currently going through a divorce because my father has been addicted to pornography for many years and has had several affairs over the years and he refuses to stop. Watching my parents go through this and seeing the pain and anguish has tempted me to believe that there is no possible way that there could be such a thing as a good marriage or such a thing as freedom from pornograpy. However, with help from Emmaus Bible College, my own personal studies, and the impact and resources of Covenant Eyes, I have come to realize that freedom is possible and it is truly possible for there to be such a thing as good and healthy marriage.

Up until these past few months, my view of sex and sexuality has been completely negative. I have been convinced that sex is gross, painful, and nothing but bad. However, the impact of Covenant Eyes on my journey has helped to transform my understanding of sex. With the use of the Covenant Eyes services, I have been able to eliminate pornographic images from my everyday life and I have been able to replace them with prayer, nature, and scripture. Covenant Eyes has given me the freedom and the tools I have needed to not only break free from pornography, but also to completely transform my understanding of sexuality. All this being said, I am so thankful for the impact Covenant Eyes has had on my life as I have learned that freedom is possible and my faith has been allowed to grow tremendously with the help of Covenant Eyes.

Part of the Covenant Eyes mission is to equip men and women to live lives of integrity, to assist people in their commitment to set no worthless thing before their eyes. In your academic, social, and spiritual pursuits, describe how you strive to demonstrate a life of integrity.

In my previous essay I mentioned that Covenant Eyes has truly allowed me to find freedom from pornography and to replace pornographic images with the Bible and the truth of God. My battle against pornography has been a long and slow one, but I have grown so much over the past few years with the help of Covenant Eyes. One of the biggest motivators for me was Jonah 2:8, “Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love.” It has been my strongest desire to be a good example to those around me and to let other people know that freedom is possible.

At Emmaus Bible College, I am currently double majoring in Counseling Psychology and Bible Theology. In several of my classes, I have had the opportunity to give a presentation on pornography. In these presentations, my goal has been to not only inform my classmates of the affects of pornography on the brain, but also to show them how it is so destructive, but that freedom and healing are possible. I have recommended Covenant Eyes in all of these presentations as a tool that will allow anybody to get on the path they need to reach true freedom.

Academic integrity is important to me. The honor system is used a lot in my school, and I always strive to be honest in every situation. Cheating has never been a fallback for me, and I have always worked hard to study, and I have accepted the consequences of bad grades when my studying failed. In my social life, I make a point to spend my time with people that build me up, encourage me, and are a good example. I have many non-Christian friends whom I love and I try my best to show God’s love to, but I also strive to be different. I strive to make good choices, like not using drugs, not swearing etc. but at the same time being with those friends and being a picture of God’s love to them.

In my spiritual life, the biggest thing I desire is to not be hypocritical. I desire to truly live the spiritual life that I would encourage others to live. I try hard to spend time in the Word and prayer everyday, if even for only a few minutes. The one thing I hate the most about the Christian circle is that they often tend to have this idea that they are better than everyone else. I completely disagree with this idea and I try to make a point to be humble and be an example of what a Christian is supposed to look like. My philosophy on this issue is that I am a fellow traveler along with every other person. I am a beggar that is showing another beggar where to find food. My faith is the most important thing to me, and I desire to grow and mature everyday and take every opportunity that I can to be a picture of God’s love.

Growing up I have watched my father be the perfect example of a person who claims to be a Christian but lives completely to the contrary. My father has been addicted to pornography and had affairs for many years. His double life has been a nuclear destruction on my family, and I have watched it tear my parents apart. My father has moved out of the house, out of my life, and has clearly shown that he no longer cares about this family. He has stopped helping me pay for school and refuses to help me for anything else. This has left me in a tight spot with paying for school as I suffered the consequences of his sin as he no longer helps me pay for school and I have to look for the money elsewhere. My mother would pay for every dime if she could but she needs to support herself and my two brothers and her income is just above the poverty line. This entire situation has greatly motivated me to live a life of integrity. I detest the life that my father has lived, and I want to be as completely opposite of that as I possibly can. Covenant Eyes has been a huge step and a major tool in allowing me to reach these goals and to live the life of integrity that I truly desire.


Are you or someone you know in college? Check out the Covenant Eyes Scholarship and pass along the information to a student you know or apply for the scholarship today.

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