As a counselor who specializes in sexual and pornography addiction treatment, I see many men who battle with shame because of their inability to manage their addiction. They believe they have failed their loved ones, themselves, and God. They struggle to believe God would want to have anything to do with them. And they can’t be more incorrect.
Today, guest columnist Tom Moucka, the president of Samson Society, an organization dedicated to helping men move beyond pornography, shares how Jesus never judges or shames us. That despite our brokenness, He sees the individual that God created.
Mark 5:1-10
They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him. This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and in the hills, he would cry out and cut himself with stones.
When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name, don’t torture me!” For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!”
Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”
“My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.
This poor man is a heartbreaking character. He lived in cave-like tombs where people laid the bodies of their dead to decompose so they could gather the bones and repeat. He had lost his mind to the control of wicked spirits, and over the years, people tried over and over again to bind him with ropes and even chains. Like the beast in “Beauty and the Beast”, he was ostracized and feared. His pain, external and internal, must have been crushingly unbearable, horrific and relentless. He even cuts himself in a desperate attempt for control over his
Intuitively, or prompted by the wicked spirits, he recognizes Jesus as the Son of the Most High God and begs for mercy. Was it a last-ditch effort or simple acknowledgment? No one knows, but Jesus sizes up the situation quickly, looks at the man but speaks directly to the spirit. It is a beautiful mixture of authority and compassion. He doesn’t fault the man. He knows the man no longer has a personal identity, his trauma is so deep he is the home of so much darkness they self-identify as “legion.” No matter how dark our situation is, in the company of Jesus we are safe. He will always love us as we are, where we are, for who we are. The good news is, no matter how deep the hurt, or dark the darkness, he can love us back to him.
Eddie Capparucci is a Christian therapist and licensed by the State of Georgia. He is certified in the treatment of sexual and pornography addiction, and he and his wife, Teri, have a private practice working with men struggling with sexual and pornography addictions, as well as their wives who are dealing with betrayal. Among his many clients, Eddie has worked with professional athletes, including NFL and MLB players and television personalities.
He is the creator of the Inner Child Recovery Process (ICRP) for the treatment of Sexual and Pornography addiction. This unique treatment method helps individuals get to the root issues of their addiction and provides them with the tools and insight to manage the disorder. It is endorsed by many leaders in the sex addiction field. The Inner Child Recovery Process is the subject of his new book, Going Deeper: How the Inner Child Impacts Your Sexual Addiction. He also is the host of the webcast entitled Getting to the Other Side: Helping Couples Navigate the Road to Recovery.