If your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out

[Austere]

Hello my friends,
I would very much highlight the importance of this phrase when dealing with sin, especially sexual sin, as I have great experience unfortunately. At the present moment, I’m contemplating discarding the phone I have at the moment for a more simple phone whereby it only does calls and texts. I believe this is of necessity because being on the phone for an exorbitant amount of time leads to occasion of sin, which we either yield or flee from. Does this sound acceptable? I know myself that this sin continues insofar as I have instruments to bring it about. Forgive me if this is not posted in the correct section.

Thank you very much for reading.
God bless you.
:thankyou:

 

[whm]

Getting rid of the smart phone is an excellent idea. It wouldn’t be advisable for a recovering alcoholic to have a fridge full of beer or other alcohol. Smart phones make access to impurity too easy and too tempting. Taking such a significant step also help solidify your resolve.

 

[AClaire11]

As long as you don’t need a smartphone for work or school, that sounds like a great idea. Good for you, not many would be willing to make the sacrifice.

 

[SuperHappy]

I think that is a great idea.

Anything you can do to help yourself in the area of sin is worth the effort.

 

[1Lord1Faith]

Hello my friends,
I would very much highlight the importance of this phrase when dealing with sin, especially sexual sin, as I have great experience unfortunately. At the present moment, I’m contemplating discarding the phone I have at the moment for a more simple phone whereby it only does calls and texts. I believe this is of necessity because being on the phone for an exorbitant amount of time leads to occasion of sin, which we either yield or flee from. Does this sound acceptable? I know myself that this sin continues insofar as I have instruments to bring it about. Forgive me if this is not posted in the correct section.

Thank you very much for reading.
God bless you.
:thankyou:

I think the verses you mention refer to somewhat of a last resort type of mentality, metaphorically speaking. My point is that, you indicated you spend a lot of time on your phone. You could simply fill that extra time with good things like volunteer work or household chores or whatever that will keep you busy, instead of getting rid of your phone.

You won’t give into sexual sin when you are around other responsible people doing something. Just put your phone down and do something good. If you joined the peace corps and went to some third world country and worked for a year, do you think you’d be on your phone looking at porn? No, your head would be in the right place. If you sit around with nothing to do, guess what’s gonna happen.

This sounds like a case of sins of omission not necessarily commission. It’s more likely that what your not doing with your time is leading you to trouble. Everybody’s heard the phrase, “An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.” It’s true.

 

[pianistclare]

I think the verses you mention refer to somewhat of a last resort type of mentality, metaphorically speaking. My point is that, you indicated you spend a lot of time on your phone. You could simply fill that extra time with good things like volunteer work or household chores or whatever that will keep you busy, instead of getting rid of your phone.

You won’t give into sexual sin when you are around other responsible people doing something. Just put your phone down and do something good. If you joined the peace corps and went to some third world country and worked for a year, do you think you’d be on your phone looking at porn? No, your head would be in the right place. If you sit around with nothing to do, guess what’s gonna happen.

This sounds like a case of sins of omission not necessarily commission. It’s more likely that what your not doing with your time is leading you to trouble. Everybody’s heard the phrase, “An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.” It’s true.

Exactly. The phone is not the problem.
I have a smart hone and I check my email.
That’s it.
You have way too much free time on your hands. :twocents: Literally.
Put yourself to work int he vineyard. Students to tutor, homeless to feed, parish ministry to get involved in, visit a nursing home. Sure there is something productive that a young person can do.

 

[rymichael]

Yes if it will help you advance in holiness I say do it. But sometimes just avoiding things will not help the problem. You have to use different approaches, not just avoiding images that make you sin or avoid looking at women. Say if it is pornography or inappropriate images, you have to look at those women as children of God. You have to change your mindset and just not look at them as objects, but realize that God created them too. So sometimes avoiding problems won’t always solve them, you have to look at them a different way.

 

[Austere]

Yes if it will help you advance in holiness I say do it. But sometimes just avoiding things will not help the problem. You have to use different approaches, not just avoiding images that make you sin or avoid looking at women. Say if it is pornography or inappropriate images, you have to look at those women as children of God. You have to change your mindset and just not look at them as objects, but realize that God created them too. So sometimes avoiding problems won’t always solve them, you have to look at them a different way.

I have begun to actually engage in this mindset so it’ll hopefully merit some good results. I know avoiding the problem is not exactly the same as solving it, but for sins of the flesh, there is no easy solution than to rid yourself of the instruments whereby you commit those sins and devote time to other things as 1Lord1Faith and pianistclare have posted above saying.

 

[bmaj]

I think that is a great idea.

Anything you can do to help yourself in the area of sin is worth the effort.

Definitely an excellent idea! Every step in the right direction is so important. May Our Lord assist you every single day in your efforts to do His will. St. Michael, please intercede, too! God’s blessings to you.

 

[Austere]

Definitely an excellent idea! Every step in the right direction is so important. May Our Lord assist you every single day in your efforts to do His will. St. Michael, please intercede, too! God’s blessings to you.

Thank you very much for the kind words. I despise sins of the flesh so vehemently since I fall pray to temptation so very frequently. I believe this is the best way for me to fight this particular vice, as removing the phone will allow me to concentrate on reading and saying the Rosary, activities upon which my mind is better spent.

 

[JD1789]

One more vote for ditching the smart phone as long as it isn’t needed for work or school.

 

[Deus_tecum]

Hello my friends,
I would very much highlight the importance of this phrase when dealing with sin, especially sexual sin, as I have great experience unfortunately. At the present moment, I’m contemplating discarding the phone I have at the moment for a more simple phone whereby it only does calls and texts. I believe this is of necessity because being on the phone for an exorbitant amount of time leads to occasion of sin, which we either yield or flee from. Does this sound acceptable? I know myself that this sin continues insofar as I have instruments to bring it about. Forgive me if this is not posted in the correct section.

Thank you very much for reading.
God bless you.
:thankyou:

It’s a good idea to remove the temptation. Now here’s some technical advice lots of people don’t know. When you delete pictures, videos, and other files, they don’t really go away. Only the pathway goes away, and all that stuff can be recovered. If you are signed up with Google or the Apple equivalent, oops, all that stuff is on the cloud as well. Both the device and the cloud need to be cleaned up.