There was a time when I was honestly more ashamed of my acne than my porn- addiction. I could talk to people about my recovery journey and all that, but if I had more acne than usual I didn’t want people to see me. The funny thing about Pornography and Acne is that basically all the teenagers I know have struggled with both. Actually, that’s not very funny. Anyways. One time on the mission I had this one acne spot in particular that would not go away and just kept growing. It got so bad I literally tried to convince my comp we should stay home. We went out anyways and during every lesson we taught, somebody made a comment on the guy on my forehead. Guys, it was so bad.
“Elder Owens, seriously, what happened to your face?” –Yuvraj the 9 year old asked
“Elder, in Fiji we put turmeric on those, I can send you home with some” –Brother Singh (who has bad eyesight but still noticed)
“That thing looks like its ready to blow, would you like a band-aid?” –some dude
Of course the only band-aids I had were space themed and only drew more attention to my face.
Sidenote– I’m super grateful for my comp and other missionaries who were like brothers to me. They already knew me and this giant chunk on my face didn’t change what they thought about me lol. They loved me and laughed with me and found the whole thing entertaining rather than gross. Friends like that are the best. (especially when it comes to addiction-recovery)
So- what’s the purpose of sharing this?
I thought it would be a fun way to introduce the topic of “Leprosy.”
Leprosy is this awful disease where your skin starts falling off– way worse than what is going on in the above pictures. Lepers were cast out of societies and basically left to die. When I read about lepers, I think of Pornography addiction.
The skin falls off of lepers, addicts lose sense of who they are. It feels like their true self falls off.
Lepers are left to die, addicts have all experienced the thought “I will bring this secret to the grave”
Lepers are removed from society, People with pornography addictions remove themselves from society by isolating themselves and losing connection with loved ones.
The skin of lepers rots away, pornography rots away our heart, mind, and eyes
See what I’m say’n?
Lucky for me, my forehead didn’t fall off my face and people didn’t kick me out of town. Here’s the good news:
Leviticus 14: 4-7
“4 Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive and clean, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop:
5 And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water:
6 As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water:
7 And he shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose into the open field.”
This is how God instructed priests to cleanse lepers way back in tabernacle-time. I hope you notice the two birds, that’s what I wanna focus on. Two birds that are alive and clean. One of them is killed. the other bird is dipped into the blood of the bird that was killed. That bird is then let “loose into the open field.”
Consider this verse too:
Mosiah 3:11
“For behold, and also His blood atoneth for the sins of those who have fallen by the transgression of Adam. . .”
That bird from like 3,500 years ago was symbolic of that principle in Mosiah. The blood of Jesus Christ atones for our sins. When we “apply the atoning blood of Christ” (Mosiah 4:2) we are then empowered to be like the other bird- we can literally fly away.
I think a bird flying is the epitome of “freedom.” What is more free than a bird flying? As somebody who has experienced genuine repentance and the process of changing my life to become a disciple of Jesus Christ, I can say it really does feel like “flying.” Jesus choose to willingly be the first bird and die for all of us SO THAT WE CAN FLY FREE.
So, whether you’re struggling with acne or porn or whatever, Jesus is for you. Remember the legend of the “Leviticus Birds” and remember which bird you are. You don’t have to be a leper. You can literally be free.
Leave a Reply