What Men Need To Know About LUST And SHAME 

Quitting the pornography addiction is hard. But with Christ Jesus of Nazareth we will win this battle. God bless and keep all of you☦️☦️☦️

I still haven't beaten back anything, and I'm not going to pretend that I'm even remotely close to it, but I refuse to stop struggling. All those who have already managed to fight off temptations and allow Christ to lead them out of the mire are truly blessed, and I hope no further troubles come their way. Please, pray for my success in overcoming the temptations that have assailed me for the last 25 years of my life.

Quitting Social Media significantly helps

What really helped me is fasting and prayer with watchfulness GOD helped me . Be strong , man up ☦️

I’ve completely removed it from my life. It can be done fellas. The holy way is the only way! 💪

“Society has decided to do away with shame rather than the thing that’s causing the shame” really nails it.

I relapsed after 1 month of no pornography. Please pray for me 🙏

I quit that cold turkey instantly. I was kneedeep in that addiction but Jesus helped me leave that behind. The fear of god will force you out of that swamp SO fast... And to all thous stuck, i testify to the benifits of quitting fully. You will be envigirated, stronger and more drivven then before. It is all positivs when leaving sin.

I’m not Orthodox I’m Roman Catholic but he’s speaking real facts, God bless

I am struggling But I am trying Lord Jesus, have mercy on me .🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽😢😢😢

Jesus saved from me from that. Everytime the temptation comes, I pray "I say yes to *you* Jesus, come and dwell in my heart". He wins the fight for me, he healed me

I struggled with pornography for so long. It started when I was 8 and only a couple months ago my addiction stopped at the age of 25. It brings nothing but empty gratification. It was nothing that I did for myself that caused this change in me, but God alone. I still struggle with the passion of lust in my mind, but I thank God that he helped me see the destruction of the soul that porn brings. What has helped me a lot is to spend time in prayer contemplating how my passions affect my sisters in Christ and all women who are made in the image of God. Prayer and meditation on the Word awakens true love in the heart.

The way out of lustful thought is replacing it with reading and thinking about righteous thoughts. You’re can’t remove darkness you have to light a candle.

Here’s what I did: - Reminded myself the blessed God, Virgin Mary and the Saints in Heaven could see me - Recognized the ugliness of it - Woke up, worked out and Prayed at the same time every day, consistently. The key is discipline and consistency But everyone watches porn for different reasons, and identifying your reason for it can help developing your way to overcome it

Been battling it for 4 years. I became conscious of the sin at 16. Going on to 21 in May! There’s been ups and downs! Pray for me brothers my names Victor Maldonado.

Christianity needs more preachers like him, so articulate!

The struggle is your salvation. That is possibly the most profound thing I’ve ever heard. It is so true. It’s what you’re going to look back on when God saves you and pulled you out of this pit and you’re going to remember what it was like in the struggle and you’re never gonna look back and you’re going to praise God and thank God for the rest of your life.

Christ is risen☦️

In my own struggle with this heinous sin was the recognition that sloth and gluttony are almost *always* a contributing factor. If you don't know how to fast and how to lead a disciplined life in other areas, the battle with lust is going to be incredibly difficult to overcome. Once men begin to fast regularly and learn how to lead a life of discipline with prayer, work, family, etc, they will see victory in their battle against this sin. Kyrie eleison!

I've got 12 days under my belt so far. I'm striving for 4 years

This destroyed my marriage of 23 years. My husband succombed. I pray that he will walk with the Lord again.

As a lost broken soul once tricked into the demonic industry ,I have to thank you with all my heart, father, for this timely message. And just like what you implied in the video,I MUST testify with my own experience Christ is the only really effective way out of all kinds of addiction for me. Thanks to the prayers of brothers and sisters in Christ and insightful content online like yours,I am recovering ,each day gets better, finally found my way out of the deceitful delusions surrounding this demonic industry of pxxn , and gradually free from shame ,guilt and nightmares. Personally ,I found out for a Christian there's nothing more fruitful than occupy your time with spiritual reading,Jesus prayer and regular church attendance. To anyone struggle with and suffer from pornographic addiction (in a sense every each one of us),you are not alone, so never lose hope. Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me. Most Holy Theotokos save us.

Despair is the worst device in this matter.

Praying for everybody who is struggling with this, you can overcome it 🙏🙏🙏

As a Catholic, I find in this Orthodox wisdom the same inspired teaching than in the Catholic Church. May God our Lord reunite us. May He have mercy on us sinners. May he bless you all. ✝️🙏☦️

Ευλογείτε πάτερ!

Guys please pray for me, I have been addicted since the age of 13. I want to be free to be who God needs me to be 🙏

Rather than fighting against the demon of lust...fight for Jesus. That's good... and very true. A Soldier fights harder when he/she is fighting for who he loves rather than what/who he hates.

90 days is the recovery time it takes to break an addiction. Renew your hearts and minds

This guy is a man of God

Thank you for saying this. I know so many men who say “it’s just natural” but as a woman, it has made me feel heartbroken and unworthy that my ex (who is a Christian man) had what felt like a secret life and that he would rather have the women he watched than me. It gives me hope that I will one day find a man who is devoted to Christ and his wife.

Been over a week since I broke my addiction, thank you for this video ✝️

I began truly trying to break my addiction last year at the Divine Mercy. I was exposed at a very young age as well as abused. For 23 years I’ve been addicted. I have made huge strides during this year through Christ’s Mercy and Love. No longer falling multiple times daily, but still not to the point of making it past a month. Through these battles it has completely reignited my faith through daily scripture, deeper prayer, and daily devotion. Though I am greatly ashamed and saddened when I do fall, I no longer despair. I am reaching out because I happened to see this video, and it really helped me after the terrible night I had last night. Yesterday for Good Friday my family and I took a mini pilgrimage to our Cathedral for Mass. Our Cathedral is newer and we haven’t always had one here, and it’s something I’ve always wanted to do. I was excited to finally be going, but when the time came things didn’t go as planned. My 8 month old daughter cried almost the entire 1.5 hour drive. Then, in Mass she was loud and my 3 year old started having a hard time. I kept my cool, and just trusted in the Words of Jesus about bringing the children to Him. On the way back home both began to cry. I couldn’t contain it anymore so, I finally made a terrible comment. When we got home, we went straight to bed and my 8 month old wouldn’t sleep. When she finally fell asleep, I was on RU-vid and realized that a lot of my suggested videos where normal, but many I’ve never seen and where videos that were basically porn(nudity included). It was constant. I turned my phone off and tried to go to sleep, but then it hit me. I prayed so hard, but found myself getting out of bed to go and sin. Before sitting down I stood frozen and trembling. I ran back to bed and tried going to sleep again and praying. I laid there cold and shaking uncontrollably. Eventually, I got up and fell to lust. How dare I do this on the very day He was crucified. I immediately prostrated myself face to the floor and asked for forgiveness(though I wanted to fall to despair). This morning I got up and prayed and I really need help and prayers from others. I want to defeat this and be victorious. I will continue to fight and trust in Jesus Our Lord and Savior. I definitely can’t do this alone.

Order, God first soul next and last body!! Thank You !!! From Ethiopia 🇪🇹

I want Christ, I want my relationship more than I want lust.

Dude your videos always come on time and always the very specific thing I’m wondering about 😭

It's good to know it is wrong but it's also good to be gentle and patient with oneself with this struggle. In the past I would beat myself up for my stumbling with self hatred, but this makes the temptation worse. I guess that's the despair alluded to in the video. Since joining the church I begged God to take this sin away from me, and fast forward to now I've been away from it for years and I'm married.

This is so valuable

I needed to hear this so bad, this came just in the right time(as a catholic) Praise Christ ✝

Lust is the hardest battle I’ve ever fought. That’s why when I get received into the church I’m gonna make St John the Longsuffering my patron saint

This would have saved my college career. I used to PHYSICALLY hurt myself over this crap. I just hope it reaches others and saves them. God bless, y’all, stay safe.

Conquering lust is both difficult and easy. Difficult because we must submit to God and easy because he is merciful and gives us strength! Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner!

Thanks you father, lust is sin the demons use the most nowdays to atack us as Christians

Incredible insight and wisdom. Thank you Father and thank you Roots of Orthodoxy for bringing us this content.

40 plus years of struggling with this. I hate it. When I get depressed (often) the fight is on. Some times I ask God to take me home because of it. The dread I feel over life’s hurts and disappointments drive a desire to feel better. I have gone as long as 6 weeks by praying and reading my Bible. Being accountable to a friend. I’m still in bondage. I have confessed to God, begged, pleaded and cried out over a thousand times for God to help me. I’m still in bondage.

Thank you father, I’m a Catholic and I appreciate your straightforward sharing. Very succinct and timely for myself and tons of other men, especially in this Holy Week when the devil is more active than usual creating a lot of despair when we can’t fast or be as holy as we want to be.

Lord Jesus Christ, please have mercy upon me.

This a very important topic and a major societal issue. What is it to be man is something that you can only be taught by the church and by god fearing men. The enemy has removed the father out of society. The enemy wants to isolate and make us despair. Thank you father for this message. Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on us sinners ☦️

The struggle is our salvation.

Carnal passions have their basis in the imagination, say the Saints.Anything before we do it first goes through the imagination. So the imagination (this awful passion) we should work in a way that can never hurt our soul. And I soo agree with the father! Devil is always get us on traps.... God gave us the shame to be feeling like when we sin. So devil is taking of the shame when we are making a sin and he is giving it back to us when we go to our spiritual father to confess it.... Σας ευχαριστούμε πολύ για τα όμορφα βιντεάκια και τα λόγια των πατέρων! Κύριε φώτισον το σκώτος ημών!

I sold my phone and it stopped quickly. So yes, access to the porn is a HUGE problem. Limit your access. I still fall to it when I am alone with the internet but when I am not alone with the internet, I am calm. I have just limited my access to it, that has helped me A LOT!

"The struggle is our salvation." The struggling for something other and greater than lust - Christ, himself.

Took 10 years of shame, crying and tons of prayer but Christ won the battle for me

Thank you my Lord Jesus Christ for leading me to this beautiful video

Beautiful message. I am a staunch Orthodox Presbyterian, but am so grateful for the wisdom from my brothers in the Eastern/Greek Orthodox, especially as it relates to lust.

The Lord freed me from this and I’m a teen. One of best strategies to stop is to think about what will happen after you do it and how you will feel and being away from God. Also people might see you doing it and failing and using that as an excuse for them to do it.

Thank you Jesus Christ loves you all

You can do it, never give up! When you fall down get back up again and keep trying and don't fight the battle on your own keep knocking at the door and God will answer your prayers, remember that his faithful love endures FOREVER! don't turn your backs on God because that's exactly the aim of the evil one. Always lean on God for wisdom and understanding, only he can set us free.

Grace and perseverance, brothers. It is possible. He is alive, well, and with us.

May the Lord strengthen and bless us through this struggle.

Sounds like such an awesome book! Thank you for sharing those three very helpful and insightful points. I struggled for 18 years and learned many of these lessons the hard way, including a level of despair that led me not only away from my church at the time, but almost to suicide. However, not only did God intervene in His infinite mercy, but I was blessed to have eventually discovered Holy Orthodoxy. I have many reasons for converting to Orthodoxy, but one of the main ones is because the prayers/liturgy/mysteries (including the Intercession of the Saints; they are the ones fighting the demons), were what finally gave me the lasting Romans 12 transformation that I have always longed for. That is, understanding the underlying theology and entering into the experience of the Church, I received exactly what Christ promised. Go figure! Despite my best efforts, being sober for longer than a month only happened a handful of times in 18 long years, even with all the tips and tricks both the world and Western Christian prayers and theology had to offer. But, as soon as I started attending an Orthodox Church, I have had lasting sobriety ever since (and for everyone out there, yes, there is a very significant difference after 90 days). This is absolutely no coincidence. And though, as Fr. Paul says in point number 2, lust isn't removed and therefore the struggle doesn't cease to exist (even when you're sober for a long time), the prayers, fellowship, and mysteries of the church that we learn to run to and rely on in the struggle, sustain us in such a way that not only is it possible to remain walking in victory/sobriety, but to answer point number 1, it destroys the despair. And this is possible because, with point number 3, we "keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the founder and perfector of our faith", and it is the great cloud of witnesses surrounding us that do the spiritual battle directly against the demons. This has been my experience, and I am eternally grateful for the Holy Orthodox Church and the fullness of the faith contained within her.

Absolutely true. Needed this.

Wow this video was EXACTLY what I needed, the Lord sent it to me, bevause he has heard my prayers!!! Hallelujah, thank you father

Today I found wisdom in this video I'm currently struggling to get away from lust I pray to God for liberation.

I can’t stop, pray for me please.

After half a year i fell back again. Please pray for all of us who need God more in our life🙏❤️✝️

I am a catholic, and I need to say that this is helping me a lot. Please continue with this content. God bless!

I've been struggling with this for years, but I will not give up. God has claimed victory over death, and he shall claim victory over my suffering.

God bless you people ! Jesus loves you all ! 🙏 Amen ❤

Lord have mercy on me a sinner, Iv fallen so far back into this problem. May the prayers of the Orthodox Church and all the saints and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be upon me

It took me a long time to understand that „the struggle is the salvation.“ And here you are just speaking it out… great video never thought that I find so much reason in a religious person, I have different experiences with the church but I’m glad to be proven wrong.

Father, this is profound. Thank you!

Thank you for taking this seriously and addressing how much of a problem this is. God bless.

I am just starting my journy with Christ and I find these advice invaluble.

He hit the nail on the head

Just fell into lust after few days of going strong but I will not fall ☦️ I am learning new perspectives and I give glory to God always and trying to get better ☦️✝️

Thank you Father. Please pray for me.

What he said about God's calling, the souls response and the bodily vehicle at 2:08 is brilliant. It summed up 2 years of my research about philosophy, theology, religion and spirituality.

looking foward to the book man! As an 18 year old I struggle and fall into despair often , but always through repentance am I reminded of gods love, let us pray for one another that we may prevale past our lustfulness.

I noticed once I truly confessed my hatred for my addiction and admitted that I’m wrong and living in denial, that my temptations came back even stronger and the inner arguments in my head grew louder and became harder to succumb. It constantly interferes with my prayer and thoughts but I know I have to remain strong and cast out these demons with the power of God through prayer. It’s a very long road ahead of us and a narrow one. We must overcome this with God’s wisdom and love and see through the face of what this evil industry is really doing to our spirit and salvation. Stay strong in prayer God bless you all! 🙏

Until your forthcoming book is released I HIGHLY recommend “From Object to Icon,” by Andrew Lawrence. It really gets to the root of the issue, objectification, idolatry. As well, if one has looked into the neuroscience of “p0rn brain,” the crossovers into the spiritual realm are made quite evident in the book. Pray to God for us, O Holy St. Mary of Egypt!

It’s a battle the media will never talk about …… it’s a battle between you and yourself your ego and the devil ….. I pray we all overcome Shalom……

Also relevant for women, who watch porn.

Thank you Father

wow, this is really.. really fresh, its like discovering gold. Praise Jesus for this video. this is definitely not a coincidence.

I feel a great energy following me around after battling off these urges for about a month now. It's hard to explain, but knowing that feeling gives me more energy and I just think of that whenever I get the urge.

Thank you father for addressing this important topic 🙏 Great video and God bless ❤️

Jesus, give me the strength to fight for you. Amen

NOT JUST MEN!! Women struggle with this too! Numerous women get violated when young and their sexual appetite gets complicated! We are in this battle together, it just looks different! and confession gets complicated.

Very true message, and quite moderate perspective, which is quite refreshing

I needed to hear that. Thank you.

From a Protestant, this is great.

The importance of seeing despair as the underlying enemy attack rather than lust itself is helpful. Part of what makes temptation appealing is when we try to pursue what is good and are blocked.

I can’t tell you how amazing this channel is. Thank you so much.

“The demons want us to enter in despair and turn away from god” So good !! i never seen it on that perspective I was definitely 1 year round without being tented and all I can said that the more you turn away from god the temptation come rigth after you I been experience gods mercy and goodness, crying on his presence few times , I just pray to keep focus on him everyday and never fall in temptation against

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner

I am proud to say i am 2 weeks sober and 2 weeks stronger and all glory and honor goes to the lord! YOU CAN DO IT!

Thank you Fr. Paul

The fighting for something is a great point.

Important message Fr. God bless you.