The journey I have embarked on to quit porn has been long and arduous. In fact, I don’t think it’s over. Covenant Eyes has been a significant part in helping me overcome my addictions and grow closer to Christ. My journey isn’t over, but I’m glad to have Covenant Eyes backing me up going forward.
I believe that to live with integrity using today’s technology relies on purity in a crucial way. Technology can be used for good in countless ways, but it can also be used for evil. Liken the internet and electronic devices to a knife or an axe; they’re tools, but they can be used for hurting and killing just as much as they can be used as they were intended. Yet unlike those tools, technology also has a purposeful and designed way of tempting a person into using it for the wrong reasons. It requires a lot of strength to handle that temptation, and one can only use electronics and the internet with integrity if they also have purity. For myself (and for most other people) I believe that purity is unobtainable without firstly God, and second, a community to keep us accountable. Nevertheless, technological integrity 100% rides on the purity of its use, and the means of getting there are further necessary acts.
I’ve always been crafty and can find a way around most obstacles. When I fell into my addiction, this translated into finding more and more ways to bypass the countermeasures in place for me. This made it hard for me to quit, even with people by my side helping me. To begin with, it was a complete secret. It was only after I got saved and became a follower of Christ that I told my parents about my struggles and asked them to help me quit once and for all. I had been struggling for almost five years by the time I told them, and they were surprised by the news, which told me I had, unfortunately, hidden my struggles well.
Even after I told them and consciously tried to stop, as I mentioned before, I always found a way to get around their protection. At a certain point, I felt trapped, like I would never quit. It felt like I would constantly be under the judgment of my own sin, and I could do nothing but sink.
My addiction to porn had gone on for seven years by the time my brother bought a Covenant Eyes subscription. The software it entailed was like nothing I’d seen before; I was finally being protected properly. While no program is fool-proof, Covenant Eyes has protected me far better than anything ever has, and that’s something I am truly grateful for. There were few victories before the program; not too much could deter an addict from his drug, especially when he has crafty ways of getting it. After the download, however, my battle with porn started to feel a little less one-sided. I went from watching every day, to twice a week, to once a month, and now it’s not at all. I still hold myself accountable for any failures I have, but so far none of them have been on the account of porn.
I’m not the kind of person to overstate something, but the before and after are really black and white—I went from a hopeless addict who pursued my addiction beyond any obstacle to a follower of Christ who perseveres relentlessly and keeps his eyes on the Lord at all times. In summary, my story is a testament to the quality of Covenant Eyes and its service. It’s truly a Godsend, and I mean that literally. There wouldn’t be any hope of quitting porn for me if it weren’t for Covenant Eyes. To put it simply, I’m very satisfied with my purchase. To put it flatly: this program changed my life!
