Book Review: Think Before You Look by Daniel Henderson

I am a reviewer for Mind & Media's Blog for Books program. I am not paid for this, but I do get free books to review from time to time, on the condition that I post my reviews (in a timely manner) and I include a link to Amazon.com where people can purchase them (right hand side, below my blog roll) if they liked my review and found themselves wanting the book. A great program, the only requirements are that you have a high enough traffic on your blog, and that you be literate :-) So below you will find my first official review for Mind & Media. While Daniel Henderson is a pastor in the Metro area I live in, I have not met him, nor have I attended his church.
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Think Before You Look
by Daniel Henderson

Let's get to the heart of the review first. Buy this book. Even if you aren't a man, you can benefit greatly from this book. While nothing said here is new, it is nicely stated, nicely packaged, and quite readable, which is important for such a heavy subject.

The book is worked around the author's list of 40 Powerful Reasons to Avoid Pornography. 30 of which apply to all men, 6 of which are focused on men who are married, and the last 4 which pertain to men with children. Along the way, each one of these areas is explained, and relevant scripture is cited. I think this is critical in forming a rock solid basis from which to make an argument.

I'll highlight a few of my favorite of his "reasons" to avoid pornography.
#8 I refuse the temptation of idolatry
#9 I prove to be a faithful steward of my money
#24 I learn the relational skills of authentic intimacy
#29 I prevent potential temptations for others in my sphere of influence
#31 I avoid adultery in my heart
#33 I honor my vow of marital purity and faithfulness
#37 I minimize the risk of my children being exposed to pornography
#38 I model strong and genuine moral values for my children

The book is interspersed with stories of men who have fallen to the temptation of pornography. Research done by my church conference confirms that pastors are not exempt from this temptation either, with a number of pastors who have viewed pornography in the past year at a rate much higher than I would suspect most would guess. This is an enormous problem in our society, and this book hits it head on, and doesn't back down, beginning to end.

I have watched first person, a man come from the depths of porn addiction. A man in a small men's groups I was part of had allowed his life to become consumed with porn. He'll readily admit he was addicted. His collection was vast, literally filling a commercial dumpster when he got rid of it all. Thankfully he burned everything in that dumpster, so that it couldn't be found and viewed by anyone else. His story is so great that he even got a page in our denominational magazine a few months ago to tell his story. This book speaks to me, and to every other man with a pulse. The temptation is there, just around the corner or the next web page for most men. God can redeem you if you have fallen prey to this, but most men need something to help them along the way. This book is best suited for those who have not yet fallen to this temptation, or those who have just tested the waters, instead of those whom porn has a deathgrip upon. I have no doubt that any Christian man reading this book who has viewed porn will be heavily convicted.

The book concludes with a jewel of 3 pages of 40 practical pointers for avoiding pornography, and those alone are worth the price of the book.

So buy this book. Keep copies of it on your pastors desks. Put them in your church library. Put them in the high school library. Give copies to your friends and relatives. The church needs to deal with this problem, and this is a wonderful tool to that end.